Voters to decide constitutional amendment questions

By Mike Warren

MMC Staff

WISCONSIN – Who should be tasked with spending Wisconsin’s share of billions of federal dollars?

In Wisconsin’s partisan Primary elections on Tuesday, Aug. 13, voters will decide the fate of two referendum questions which – if approved – would change the state Constitution to allow the legislature to have more authority over how money which comes from Washington, D.C. is doled out. Currently, that authority lies with the governor’s office.

The two questions will appear statewide as follows:

Question 1: “Delegation of appropriation power. Shall section 35 (1) of article IV of the constitution be created to provide that the legislature may not delegate its sole power to determine how moneys shall be appropriated?” 

Question 2: “Allocation of federal moneys. Shall section 35 (2) of article IV of the constitution be created to prohibit the governor from allocating any federal moneys the governor accepts on behalf of the state without the approval of the legislature by joint resolution or as provided by legislative rule?” 

“Effectively, the two questions – if ratified by the voters – would give the legislature authority by rule or by joint resolution of the two houses (Senate and Assembly) to make a determination on approval of federal funding that comes in,” Bob Lang, a spokesman for the non-partisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau, told MMC. “Right now, that is under the discretion of the governor, and it was prominently used during the CARES (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security) Act and ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) funding that came in during the pandemic by the governor, when there were discretionary funds that he could use, which he did.

“In some instances, federal monies currently go to a specific purpose identified in legislation, but the passage of these would basically – rather than having the governor unilaterally determine the use of those funds – the legislature would be able to do so by joint resolution and by rule,” Lang added.

The Wisconsin governor’s current authority dates back to the 1930s, when the office was given the power during the Great Depression.

“Whenever the United States government shall make available funds for the education, the promotion of health, the relief of indigency, the promotion of agriculture or for any other purpose other than the administration of the tribal or any individual funds of Wisconsin Indians, the governor on behalf of the state is authorized to accept the funds so made available,” that law reads.

If approved by voters on Tuesday, Aug. 13, the constitutional changes would go into effect in Jan. 2025, prior to the start of the next legislative session.