April 18, 2025
"The sentence, dull but clear, was buried 158 pages into Wisconsin’s budget. 'For the limit for the 2023-24 school year and the 2024-25 school year,' the sentence read..."
"... when it was passed by the Republican-controlled Legislature, 'add $325' to the amount school districts could generate through property taxes for each student.
But by the time Gov. Tony Evers, a Democrat, and his veto pen were finished, it said something else entirely: 'For the limit for 2023-2425, add $325.'
It was clever. Creative. Perhaps even a bit subversive, extending the increase four centuries longer than lawmakers intended. But was it legal?
On Friday, the Wisconsin Supreme Court said yes. In a 4-to-3 ruling in a lawsuit challenging Mr. Evers’s use of his partial veto authority, the court’s liberal majority said the governor had acted legally. The three conservative justices on the court dissented...."
Tags:
editing,
law,
Tony Evers,
Wisconsin,
Wisconsin Supreme Court
50 comments:
Why do people continue to say that both parties are the same? One is lawless batshit crazy.
Jesus. Insane doesn't cover it. Now the governor has the ability to make every law passed by the legislature the opposite of what was intended. Remove every instance of the words "no" or "not" and what do you have? I can see Evers trying to get away with this, but your Supreme Legislature is just incomprehensibly vicious. You live in a lawless state.
At least it's not a tariff.
"It was clever. Creative." Surely that's how the NYT would describe a similar action by Trump or any other Republican.
Yet another example that we no longer have a culture and the consensus that support the form of government we have now. The questions are what comes next, and how does that come about.
Walker changed one to last a thousand years, he set the precedent for these creative number edits.
But of course the usual uneducated idiots claim only Dems would consider something like this.
Republicans: Permission granted.
Can the next Republican governor veto Tony Evers’ veto just by changing For the limit for 2023-2425, add $325 to For the limit for 2023-2425, add 325 lashes to Tony Evers?
I hear your property taxes in WI are quite high.
"I hear your property taxes in WI are quite high."
Looks like it'll stay that way for a while.
There won’t be a United States of America in 400 years.
Libs want to rule forever. For them, that’s democracy. More like the Divine Right of the Elites.
That’s Wisconsin’s first damage from electing the lefty Democrat to your state supreme court. It won’t be the last.
Evers is nothin’ if not a pencil-necked geek.
Mark said...
Walker changed one to last a thousand years, he set the precedent for these creative number edits.
Is this true?
Wisconsin just seems like, Crazy town. And it was so nice when we visited the AOPA museum in Oshkosh, and that Cajun joint in La Crosse.
Badgers getting what they voted for.
so, a serious question..
Assuming, for the sake of argument, that Wisconsin EVER gets a Republican Governor again..
If/When he tries this, what will be your courts reasoning for saying that HE can't?
pious agnostic, takes a simple google to find out the WI Supreme Court (when GOP controlled) approved it.
"Those partial vetoes Walker issued in the 2017-19 budget include one that’s been dubbed the “thousand-year veto.” That’s because Walker used his partial veto authority to turn a legislative deadline of Dec. 31, 2018, into December 3018."
Quit yer bitching, GOPers
gilbar, when GOP controlled, the WI Supreme Court allowed Walker to do this.
JFC, learn your WI Frankenstein veto history.
According to Wikipedia:
"In 2008, the constitution was amended to place certain restrictions on the Frankenstein veto. With those changes, the governor of Wisconsin still has far greater veto powers than any other governor in the United States of America. The Wisconsin State Journal, in response, stated that "no Governor should be allowed to veto all but a couple dozen words and figures across reams of text in state budgets to unilaterally create law from scratch." The New York Times called the practice "a legislative twist on the game of Mad Libs."
I still wonder if the budget, as crafted, left the door open for this 'amendment.'
When the official government gets voted in by hook or crook, and then they pull sh*t like this, while standing piously in the grand surroundings of a State House setting, giving press conferences, you being to understand why there are things like the mafia. Their version of enforcement would respond to this kind of leadership by setting an example with violence directly on the offender, and then it wouldn't happen again - and all of the worst-affected citizens would nod quietly in agreement.
[Shrug]. You live in an insane state, Althouse. Surely you’ve known that for a while.
Completely insane.
The Democrats seemingly have a very low inflationary expectations.
'For the limit for 2023-2425, add $325.'
I read that as a single $325 increase for the next 400 years, instead of two increases each for the 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 schools years.
So the governor basically became a one-man super Legislature.
Fine. Just don't bitch when turnabout hits you right in the ass. Because it will.
What fools we are not to understand the centrality of naked power.
Will the Republicans do anything about it? No.
Will they stupidly assume that when there's a Republican Governor that the Democrat Controlled Wins. Supreme Court will rule their way if the D's sue? Yes.
Will the Democrat High Cout be inconsistent and find a way to stop a Republican Governor and not a democrat one? Yes.
I love how the response to every Democrat Judicial outrage is .... "well, they'll be sorry". Which means accepting what they did and doing nothing.
That's a legal loophole that needs to be closed. Logically, the Governor should only be able to delete complete scentences or clauses, not rewrite individual words or dates. Splicing two dates together to make it one date is a complete change, not just a simple deletion of a date.
For example: What's to stop a Governor from changing a bill that states, "Elected officials should not have their salaries raised by more than $50,000 every year." to "Elected officials should have their salaries raised by more than $50,000 every year"
It doesn't matter what the useless Wisconsin GOP did, they're just the other side of the globalist coin. Change the dates on a rental agreement or business contract while thinking you're cute, and you'll be heading for Cell Block B pretty fast. President Trump is doing the right thing and ignoring maniac judges like this. Next step is arresting them. If that doesn't work "how many divisions does Boasberg have?" will be the question of the century.
Guess Who...
https://x.com/OntWtf/status/1913381241379860812
True?
Wisconsin: “Too Much Cheese”
Mark said...
gilbar, when GOP controlled, the WI Supreme Court allowed Walker to do this.
and i'll TRY to ask, again, for people that CAN'T keep up..
what would THIS court do? you know.. These members..
Try to keep up.
Same thing they did here, gilbar.
Try to keep up.
Liberals only ever view Law, the Constitution, as restraints on their political opponents’ power. For liberals, the *law* is whatever they can get away with. Liberals are not ethical people.
What is a woman, amirite?
What a thing! And ex law professor Althouse is perfectly situated to give us a blow-by-blow description of what it's like to live in a budding kritarchy too.
The governor's lawyers argued that he could do this because previous efforts to prevent the state's uniquely abusable executive veto power applies only to letters, not numbers.
So this governor and this state supreme court is so craven as to use such dubious reasoning that low-income and middle-class homeowners may find themselves taxed out of the state or simply lose their homes, unless the loophole is closed. Is this an ambition of the state's liberals? To create economic uncertainty and increase homelessness?
The language is also unclear. I read it the same way as Wince does. Terrible behavior. Bad drafting. Dishonest intent. Pretty nasty sausage-making, even for judges and elected officials. I don't care which party does it: in this case it is the Democrats playing games with people's ability to plan their lives and retain their homes. Grotesque.
There really is no limit with these lunatics, is there? The gall…
So the Republicans have to change the line asap to read, "2024-2654" and "remove $825 per student" and scream loudly as the governor vetoes that. If you're gonna play games, at least enjoy yourselves.
Mark said...
pious agnostic, takes a simple google to find out the WI Supreme Court (when GOP controlled) approved it.
"Those partial vetoes Walker issued in the 2017-19 budget include one that’s been dubbed the “thousand-year veto.” That’s because Walker used his partial veto authority to turn a legislative deadline of Dec. 31, 2018, into December 3018."
Quit yer bitching, GOPers"
Oh! That makes it OK, then.
Rusty, you guys LOVED when Scott Walker did this.
Loved it when the WI Supreme Court affirmed it then.
Funny to see all this outrage at your own playbook being followed a decade later.
Wisconsin does not have a real democratic government. It has a government of white gloves and cloaks where everything depends on what hand you are watching.
As the arms gyrate in circular motion and the cane
taps three times—- oooohh there is a democratic victory due to a 100% turnout in Milwaukee. A plain bill to outlaw parking on Sunday becomes a bill to outlaw parking someday, under the Governors pen.
In Wisconsin keep your eye on the pea.
Lanny @11:59, 04.19.25
No. You get what the MAJORITY (as counted in Milwaukee and Madison vote for. That's the "democracy" part.
Mark, it was wrong when Walker did it, and it was wrong for Evers to do it. Can we at least agree they were both wrong? Or is this just a game for you?
I'd like some legal explanation as to how the courts decided that numbers are different than letters encoded in law. Is there one?
That is not a line item veto. That is a line item change. Do the Democrats realize they just handed the next republican governor an ax? If the Wisconsin SC approved that, then they all need to be replaced. The current SC justices need to be ridden out of town on a rail.
Get up to speed, Tom. The prior Governor (GOP) created a 1000 yesr run for something the same way. The GOP dominated WI SC approved it then too.
I will always remember GOP Gov Tommy Thompson vetoing individual letters to create new words, something even our GOP controlled Legislature decided was too mucb and removed.
They expected Evers to lose, so after Walker used this number veto tool to outrage from the left . n they purposefully left it as law to use again.
But go ahead an pretend that this game wasnt invented by the WI GOP if that gets you through the night
Based on the lack of curiousity, ability to read articles or google as seen in answers here, y'all are happy to grandstand without even knowing the full story.
Rusty, its been 40 years of GOP using these veto tricks .... and just now you see an issue?
Should have said something when you were goring our ox, now is too late.
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