Wisconsin Supreme Court to hear arguments in Democratic governor’s suit against GOP-led Legislature
MADISON, Wis. — The Wisconsin Supreme Court will hear a case Wednesday pitting Democratic Gov. Tony Evers against the Republican-controlled Legislature in a battle that could have a broad impact on how the state government functions.
The case marks the latest power struggle between the Legislature and Evers, who has cast more vetoes than any Wisconsin governor. A ruling in Evers’ favor would upend decades-old practices in the Legislature and make it easier to approve projects in a land management program. But Republicans warn the dispute is about much more than that.
Evers argues that the Legislature’s powerful Joint Finance Committee, controlled 12-4 by Republicans, exceeds its constitutional lawmaking authority and serves as a fourth branch of government. The Legislature counters that the commission’s powers, including approval of certain state conservation projects, are well enshrined in state law and court precedent.
The Legislature’s attorneys argue in court filings that Evers is seeking a “fundamental change” in the state’s government structure. If the court sides with Evers, numerous other functions of the Budget Committee, State Building Committee and other legislative committees would also be unconstitutional, Republican lawyers argue.
Evers said Tuesday about the case that the Supreme Court should recognize that the Legislature’s budget committee has functioned as a fourth branch of government and should be restrained.
“The idea that they somehow have the ability to essentially function as the fourth arm of our state is just wrong,” Evers told reporters.
The lawsuit cites the commission’s rejection of dozens of conservation projects selected by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources under the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program.
The Legislature created the stewardship program in 1989. It provides funding primarily to local governments, conservation groups and the DNR to purchase blocks of land to preserve natural areas and wildlife habitat, protect water quality and fisheries, and expand outdoor recreation opportunities. Proponents herald it as a way to further protect natural areas from development.
Republicans have been trying to scale back stewardship purchases for years, complaining that they are taking too much land off the tax rolls, depriving municipalities in northern Wisconsin of revenue and driving up the state’s debt.
Legislative scrutiny of the program increased as concerns grew about the scope and costs of the stewardship program.
The Legislature did its job by passing laws that created and funded the program, lawyers for Evers argue in court filings. But the Budget Committee’s ability to block the approval of stewardship projects, essentially vetoing executive branch decisions, is an unconstitutional violation of the separation of powers, they say.
Evers’ attorneys are calling on the court to “restore the constitutional balance of power in our state government.”
But the Legislature’s attorneys counter that it would be “a grave affront to the separation of powers” to “now undermine these decades-long systems that allow agencies to have unchecked authority.”
The court will give its decision within a few weeks or months.
Evers brought the case in October, two months after the court switched to liberal majority control. The case is one of several high-profile lawsuits filed by Democrats since the court’s majority changed.
Most importantly, the court struck down Republican-drawn legislative maps in December, leading the Legislature to adopt maps drawn by Evers that are expected to lead to more Democrats gaining seats in November.