Democratic Gov. Tony Evers has sued Republican lawmakers, accusing the group of violating the state constitution by “intruding” into executive functions.
The lawsuit, filed Tuesday, outlines Evers' allegations that Republican members of the Legislature are holding hostage the pre-approved raises for 35,000 University of Wisconsin System employees and misusing the legislative veto process to block executive actions outside the bounds of normal budgetary operations.
“Republican legislators are unconstitutionally obstructing basic functions of government — actions that have not only aimed to prevent state government from efficiently and effectively serving the people of our state but are now actively harming tens of thousands of Wisconsinites every day across our state,” Evers said in a statement Tuesday. “I’m a born-and-raised Wisconsinite, and what I know for certain is that Wisconsinites expect elected officials to govern, they expect us to get things done, and they expect their government to work and work for them — and certainly not against them.
“I promised the people of our state that I would always work to get things done, and I’d always try to do the right thing, and today, I’m doing both by insisting we follow our state’s constitution.”
Democratic Attorney General Josh Kaul filed the lawsuit with the state Supreme Court. The suit outlines three specific instances of “obstruction.”
As part of his biennial budget proposal, Evers introduced a 5% wage increase for all state employees over the first year and a 3% increase over base pay in the second year of the biennium. Lawmakers instead approved a 4% and 2% increase over the two years. After the budget was enacted by the governor, the funding was released for the raises with the exception of 35,000 UW System employees — funding that Evers says the Republican-controlled Joint Committee on Employment Relations is “holding hostage.”
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, has noted the committee — which he leads — won’t release the funding until the UW System cuts positions dedicated to diversity, equity and inclusion.
Additionally, the governor is challenging the Joint Committee on Finance for blocking Department of Natural Resources conservation projects that require legislative approval, as well as arguing the Joint Committee for Review of Administrative Rules is moving too slowly in considering updates to professional licensure regulations.
In the lawsuit, the governor says legislative vetoes must be passed through both the Senate and Assembly in order to take effect, not by legislative committees made up of only a few members as is the case with the Joint Finance Committee and Committee on Employment Relations.
“To protect our liberty, the Wisconsin Constitution, like the U.S. Constitution, provides for the separation of powers. Despite the importance of this constitutional safeguard, however, the state Legislature has given legislative committees a veto over a wide range of executive branch activity, concentrating executive power in small subsets of the Legislature,” Kaul said in a statement. “In the case filed today, we argue that, as courts in other jurisdictions have, the Wisconsin Supreme Court should hold that legislative vetoes of executive branch acts are unconstitutional.”
The suit names Joint Finance Committee co-chairs Sen. Howard Marklein, R-Spring Green, and Rep. Mark Born, R-Beaver Dam, as defendants, as well as Senate President Chris Kapenga, R-Delafield, and Vos, who are co-chairs of the Committee on Employment Relations.
In a statement, Vos said the lawsuit would have the effect of eliminating the 4% raises for all public employees.
“In a time of unprecedented inflation brought on by reckless Democrat spending, we think it is abhorrent that the Governor would try and take away lawfully approved money for hardworking state employees," Vos said.
Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu, R-Oostburg, meanwhile, blasted the lawsuit as "frivolous" and vowed the Senate would fight back.
"The Governor is working to diminish the voice of Wisconsinites by limiting the authority of the legislature and unduly strengthening his own administration," LeMahieu said in a statement.
Marklein declined comment on the lawsuit Tuesday morning, saying he had not yet seen it. But he reiterated past comments that he was in support of approving the UW System pay raises.
