CONLEY COMMENTARY (WSAU) – Wisconsin’s Governor has the most powerful line-item veto pen in the country. We learned earlier this month that the state Supreme Court considers it lawful for Tony Evers to line out individual digits in the budget document. That’s how what was supposed to be a two-year funding increase for school aid became a 400-year commitment. The governor vetoed a digit and a dash, and strung it together with the number “4” – which was part of the page number in the budget. Our crazy-liberal high court thought that was okay.
Ironically, the governor does not have the power to line out works or parts of words in the budget.
So, how must the new budget be written? Republicans must make two important changes. First, all dollar amounts in the budget must be written out into words, as if you are writing a check. If you are writing a $250 check, on the pay line you probably write out the words “two hundred fifty dollars.” Sadly, all dollar amounts in the budget must be written this way.
And, if there are areas where digits must be used in the document, the numbers must be in descending order. For example, the dollar amounts must be expressed as “$532” so if the Governor wants to strike the digit “5,” the number after it is of lower value, a “3”. This keeps the governor from stringing numbers together to create higher amounts, only lesser amounts.
If you think all of this sounds ridiculous, you’re right – but it is necessary. Or else the governor can make a mash of the budget, changing date and dollars to his liking.
What this whole sorry affair reminds me is that there’s a difference between the law and ethics. The law, determined by seven clowns in black robes, says that the governor can line-item veto individual digits in the budget. Ethics tells us that’s not right. And Tony Evers doesn’t know the difference.
Chris Conley
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