Voters were asked to consider two possible amendments to the Wisconsin State Constitution during Tuesday's August primary election.
These two questions were on the ballot:
Question 1: Delegation of appropriation power. Shall Article IV, 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 Article IV, Section 35 (2) 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?
Wisconsin residents voted against Question One.
They also voted against Question Two.
Many voters reached out to TMJ4 in the months leading up to the August Primary, confused over what the two questions actually meant.
The two questions on the ballot in the statewide primary are the result of a yearslong power struggle between Democratic Gov. Tony Evers and Republicans who control the Legislature over how Evers used federal COVID-19 aid.
Evers had discretion to spend more than $4.5 billion in pandemic aid from the federal government, according to a report by the nonpartisan Legislative Audit Bureau. Evers used much of that money to support health care, small businesses, education, and child care during the pandemic. But auditors criticized the Evers administration for not being transparent about how it made spending decisions.
Republicans have tried since 2021 to pass a law restricting the governor’s ability to spend federal funds, but Evers has vetoed their bills. The governor cannot veto a constitutional amendment if it is passed by a majority of voters .
The simplest explanation is voting yes would limit the governor's ability to spend federal money. Voting no would keep things the way they are.
The first question on the Aug. 13 ballot would amend the Wisconsin Constitution to bar the Legislature from delegating its authority to make appropriations. The Legislature passed a law in the 1930s during the Great Depression allowing the governor to allocate federal relief.
The second question would require the governor to get approval from the Legislature’s powerful budget-writing committee before spending money the governor has accepted from the federal government.
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