Republicans are urging a ‘yes’ vote; Democrats are pushing for a ‘no’ vote
Wisconsin voters will be asked to weigh in on two constitutional amendments on the Aug. 13 primary ballot, both targeting the same outcome to give the state Legislature more authority and the governor less power over how federal money is spent.
The questions will appear as follows:
Question 1: “Delegation of appropriation power. Shall section 35 (1) of article IV of the constitution be created to provide that the legislature may not delegate its sole power to determine how moneys shall be appropriated?”
Question 2: “Allocation of federal moneys. Shall section 35 (2) of article IV of the constitution be created to prohibit the governor from allocating any federal moneys the governor accepts on behalf of the state without the approval of the legislature by joint resolution or as provided by legislative rule?”
The first question essentially asks whether to prohibit the Legislature from giving up its power to spend money; the second question asks whether to require the governor to acquire legislative approval before spending federal dollars.
The issue intensified during the pandemic when Wisconsin received billions of federal dollars. Democratic Gov. Tony Evers had free rein to spend the money as he saw fit; the Republican-controlled legislature wanted more oversight.
Republicans are supporting the measures, urging a “yes” vote.
“There are more calls for how are these dollars invested. Are we getting out of them what we should. Are they solving the types of problems that we want?” State Rep. Robert Wittke, (R-Racine), said when introducing the amendments in 2022.
Democrats are campaigning for a “no” vote.
“The consequences of this power grab are even worse,” Gov. Tony Evers said during a news conference Monday. “If these amendments pass, me and any other future governor will be left without the tools we need, especially during a time of crisis.”
