ICYMI: Wisconsin State Journal: Say ‘No’ Twice to Gumming Up Emergency Relief for Wisconsin

MADISON, Wis. — This week the Wisconsin State Journal Editorial Board endorsed a ‘NO’ vote on the GOP-backed constitutional amendments appearing on the August 13th primary ballot. These amendments are a scheme to mislead voters into allowing Republicans in the State Legislature to make an underhanded power grab—one that Wisconsinites can’t allow to happen. In their endorsement, Editorial Board writes: 

“Voters should keep the governor in charge of handling emergency federal relief, as has been the case for nearly a century. Our communities can’t afford to let partisan bickering stall help in the next crisis.”

For example, during the COVID-19 pandemic—when Wisconsinites needed swift action from our Legislature the most—Republicans in the Legislature went 300 days without doing so much as lifting a finger. Without the quick action of Governor Tony Evers to distribute emergency federal funding, Wisconsin communities would’ve suffered and the economy would have ground to a halt. The bottom line is that Wisconsinites should not allow Republicans to obstruct emergency federal funding and vote ‘NO’ on these amendments.

Wisconsin State Journal: OUR VIEW: Say ‘no’ twice to gumming up emergency relief for Wisconsin

By: Wisconsin State Journal Editorial Board

When the federal government sent $150 billion to the states for pandemic relief in 2020, governors — both Republicans and Democrats — controlled most of the money for one very good reason: It needed to be spent fast.

Fears of COVID-19 infecting and killing millions of people caused parts of the economy to shut down. States needed immediate help to contain and treat the disease, and to keep essential services and businesses going.

In an emergency, having a single person in charge of government spending decisions is much more efficient than waiting for the governor and lawmakers to agree on a plan. That can take months if not years when power is split between the two parties.

The Republican-controlled Legislature didn’t like being cut out of Democratic Gov. Tony Evers’ spending decisions for federal dollars during the pandemic. That’s understandable. But swift action was needed.

The Evers administration got $5.7 billion from Washington over two years. Most of that money — about $4.6 billion — was discretionary. Evers spent a lot of it on health supplies and workers, rent assistance, child care, schools and more.

The money got to the public much faster than it would have otherwise, thanks to the streamlined process that state law requires.

Voters in the Aug. 13 primary should keep it that way. They should reject two constitutional amendments that would gum up and politicize the distribution of federal funding in future emergencies.

The Legislature has placed two questions on statewide primary ballots. Question 1 asks voters to change the state constitution “to provide that the Legislature may not delegate its sole power to determine how moneys shall be appropriated.” Question 2 would “prohibit the governor from allocating any federal moneys the governor accepts on behalf of the state without the approval of the Legislature.”

We recommend voting “no” and “no.”

Granting one person authority over emergency relief may sound undemocratic. But voters across Wisconsin elect the governor as their top executive, and they expect that person to be decisive in a crisis. State law only grants the governor sole authority over unanticipated federal dollars. The Legislature and its budget committee still get their say in approving state budgets and spending bills, many of which include federal money.

This is common across the country, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Just as a Democratic governor controlled federal COVID relief here, Republican governors elsewhere controlled decisions there, shutting out Democratic lawmakers.

Transparency sometimes suffered in Wisconsin, as a state audit determined. That was disappointing. Some money may have been spent in better ways had more time and input been possible or allowed.

But in a calamity, our leaders need to move fast. And too often, they move incredibly slow.

The governor and Legislature, for example, have been sitting for years on a state surplus that now totals $3 billion (not counting a healthy $2 billion in the state’s rainy day fund). The two partisan sides at the statehouse in Madison seem to agree the money shouldn’t just sit there. Yet it still does, because they can’t agree on spending and tax priorities.

State law granting the governor power to distribute emergency funding from Washington dates back to the Great Depression. Today the law does more than affect COVID money, which has mostly expired. It can speed federal dollars for tornado or flood relief. And it can ensure the state doesn’t lose federal aid by missing deadlines to seek or spend it.

Voters should keep the governor in charge of handling emergency federal relief, as has been the case for nearly a century. Our communities can’t afford to let partisan bickering stall help in the next crisis.