Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers delivers his State of the State address on Jan. 22, 2025, at the State Capitol in Madison, Wis. He is set to propose an overhaul of Wisconsin’s corrections system. (Joe Timmerman / Wisconsin Watch)
CONLEY COMMENTARY (WSAU) How do you negotiate with someone when you know they aren’t trustworthy? You could reach an agreement only to find that they won’t do what they promised.
Something unusual happened this week. Assembly speaker Robin Vos said that he and Governor Tony Evers will sit down to negotiate a tax cut. This is unusual; Vos said years ago that he and the Governor almost never speak to each other. The current state budget was presented to the Governor with no input from the executive branch. Evers used his line-item veto to strike parts of the budget that he couldn’t accept, and… he struck a digit and a hyphen to extend a two-year school funding increase to a 400-year funding increase. The state Supreme Court, charlatans in robes, said such a veto is constitutional.
And that’s the problem. How can Robin Vos negotiate a tax cut with Tony Evers when the governor now has the power to alter the amount of the cut, and the length of the cut, but deleting digits?
Vos has suggested that a tax cut bill be separate, and be signed before the state budget goes to the governor. Evers says the tax cut must be a part of the budget. That’s problematic.
What might the Governor want in exchange for a tax cut? Probably something like more funding for childcare programs, funding for the U-W system, or an agreement to extend BadgerCare to more people. But all of those items could be subject to the line-item veto. Funding numbers and eligibility rules could be altered by striking a word here, or a date there, or by lining out parts of an agreed-upon dollar amount. Any agreement between Robin Vos and Tony Evers must include the governor promising not to use his line-item veto on things that were agreed to. Would the governor agree to limit his own newfound, court-approved, power? Doubtful.
Even if Evers agreed not to use his line-item veto, suppose, hypothetically, what if he goes back on his word? This is the last budget of the governor’s current term. The liberal voters in Madison and Milwaukee will decide if there will be any consequences. The legislature can do nothing to hold the governor to any promises he might make.
I think a better approach is to concede that tax cuts are unlikely while Tony Evers is in office. The legislature, realizing that the governor cannot be trusted, should probably allow the current budget to roll over for the next two years. When the governor uses his veto pen, any budget that’s presented to him could become unrecognizable.
Chris Conley
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