Report: Wisconsin’s August amendments could have big impact

(The Center Square) – Wisconsin voters are being asked whether the state lawmakers who currently write the state budget should have any say in how billions of dollars in federal money are spent.

There will be two constitutional amendments on the ballot in August, both look to give the legislature some say in how federal money is spent. A new report says it’s a limited, and little-covered question that could have a big impact on Wisconsin’s budget going forward.

The Wisconsin Police Forum released the report which details the current process of spending federal money, and the process the Republican-controlled legislature would like to see going forward.

“Wisconsin legislators say they advanced these amendments in response to the governor’s role in allocating tens of billions in federal pandemic relief funding,” the report states. “ Billions more passed through programs such as unemployment insurance and Medicaid, as funding and eligibility for these programs were substantially expanded through federal action. However, more than $4.4 billion went directly to the state through the Coronavirus Relief Fund and the State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds. [Gov. Tony] Evers had broad discretion over the use of these funds.”

The governor had almost unlimited discretion, which Republican lawmakers said was the problem.

Some of that discretionary money went to community theaters, movies theaters, minor league baseball teams and other smaller community development grants.

Republicans at the time called it a “slush fund for the governor.”

The legislature approved a plan in 2021 to check the governor’s spending power, but he vetoed it. So instead, the legislature approved a pair of constitutional amendments the governor cannot stop.

“At the most basic level, approving these two questions would require that lawmakers take action before the state allocates federal funds, the report says.

The questions read:

● Question One: “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 Two: “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?”

“Depending on how the Legislature implements this rule, the change could mean that future governors would play a smaller role in approving the use of federal funds than the governor currently plays in approving the use of state tax funds,” the report added.

Currently most of Wisconsin’s $20 billion in federal money are pass-through dollars earmarked for Medicaid, roads or environmental projects. The constitutional amendments would not change the process for how those dollars are spent. The Policy Forum report also said the amendments would not change how the University of Wisconsin spends its federal money.

The focus would be on discretionary spending.

The Policy Forum Report, however, ends with a warning.

“So far, the news media has devoted relatively little coverage to this admittedly obscure and technical issue, which will likely confuse many voters when they find it on their August ballots. Because of the broad nature of the language included in the amendments, their ultimate impact on the state’s allocation of federal funds is uncertain,” the report adds in its conclusion. “We hope this brief leaves voters better informed when they cast their votes in August.”