(ReliableNews.org) – The Republican Party has a supermajority in the Wisconsin Senate. That means they control two-thirds of the chamber, which gives them the power to override the Democratic governor’s vetoes. That’s exactly what they did recently.
On May 14, the Senate voted to override nine of Governor Tony Evers’ vetoes. However, the overrides were viewed as a symbolic move because the GOP did not have enough votes in the Assembly to get it done there. That means Republicans were still not able to force their bills to go into effect. Democratic Sen. Mark Spreitzer accused Republicans of “wasting time” voting on overrides that they knew wouldn’t “be sustained.”
Among the bills Evers’ vetoed was a plan that would have set a goal for the number of gray wolves hunters would be allowed to hunt each year. The measure was passed by Republicans after Wisconsin’s Department of Natural Resources failed to set a hard cap when it put its management plan in place. Hunting advocates believe that left both wolves and hunters unprotected.
One of the other bills was related to a post-election audit. Conservatives passed SB 736 which would have required the Legislative Audit Bureau to conduct an audit after general elections. Lawmakers argued the bill would have restored trust in the democratic system.
After the Senate voted to override the veto, state Rep. Scott Allen (R) issued a statement saying lawmakers overrode the “sensible post-election audit bill that would help to restore trust in the election process,” He said the governor proved that he didn’t understand how the bill worked or how the residents of the state felt when he vetoed the measure. He went on to accuse Evers of spouting “political slogans” instead of making sure the state had a robust system that ensured election integrity.
Another of the bills Evers vetoed and Republicans took action on was related to “forever chemicals.” The governor has repeatedly called on lawmakers to hand over $125 million in funding to combat pollution in groundwater. Conservatives passed a bill that would have funneled the money through a grant program, but Evers killed the bill.
On the day of the veto overrides, Evers announced a lawsuit against the legislature for withholding the money.
Copyright 2024, ReliableNews.org
