Will we have a state budget on time? Republicans say it depends on the Wisconsin Supreme Court
Mar 25, 2025
Republicans who control the Wisconsin Legislature said two big cases before the state Supreme Court could delay their work on a new state budget.Both cases address the governors partial veto powers and could determine how much a
uthority Democratic Gov. Tony Evers has to strike down portions of the spending plan Republicans propose.Were kind of stuck, in many ways, until we see what happens with those two court cases, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos said.The Wisconsin Supreme Court heard a challenge last October to a creative veto by Evers that extended a school funding increase for more than 400 years. However, justices still have not issued an opinion in the case. Its not uncommon for the court to take upwards of six months to rule.The delay in receiving a ruling poses a greater problem for legislative Republicans in a second case pending before the court. That lawsuit challenges Evers partial veto of a plan to spend $50 million that had been appropriated for literacy education in the last budget.Watch: Will we have a state budget on time? GOP says it depends on the Supreme Court Will we have a state budget on time? Republicans say it depends on the Wisconsin Supreme CourtThe court isnt set to hear that lawsuit until next month. Meanwhile, a new two-year budget is due on June 30.You dont actually know the rules that youre operating under in passing a budget, Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu said.Republicans argue that Evers partial veto of the literacy bill was unconstitutional because the governors partial veto power only applies to appropriations bills. If the courts liberal majority rules in Evers favor, it could greatly expand the kinds of legislation he can amend going forward.This idea that the governorwhos already got the strongest line-item veto in the countryis now going to be able to take bills that clearly dont have an appropriation and rework themthats not acceptable, Vos said. We just have to wait and see.Democrats accused Republicans of delaying much-needed aid for state agencies and local governments.Cities, towns, villages and school boards, and everyone across the state of Wisconsin is counting on us to do our job, Senate Minority Leader Dianne Hesselbein said. Not passing a budget is unacceptable and reckless.If the Legislature doesnt pass a budget by June 30, Wisconsin government wont shut down. Instead, funding will remain at current levels until a new budget is in place. That could be an issue for agencies dealing with the costs of inflation or local governments trying to plan their own budgets around an uncertain amount of state funding.For now, Republican leaders say they're still on track to pass a budget on time. The Legislature's powerful budget-writing committee recently scheduled a series of budget listening sessions across the state in April.Its about time to watch on your time. Stream local news and weather 24/7 by searching for TMJ4 on your device.Available for download on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and more.Report a typo or error ...read more read less