Stop stalling the effort to kill Frankenstein veto

Stop stalling the effort to kill Frankenstein veto Lawmakers continue to drag their feet on a measure that should be a no-brainer — eliminating the so-called “Frankenstein veto,” which allows Wisconsin governors to pick and choose individual words to keep or eliminate in legislation, in effect allowing the state’s chief executive to change legislative intent. For instance, let’s say Senate and Assembly approved a funding measure that said: “The transportation department shall allocate $18 million to the state patrol for a helicopter dedicated to search and rescue missions as designated by the governor. The aircraft will be used exclusively for investigations that extend beyond road searches. It will not be used for non-emergency trips by state officials, but only to address emergency situations such an outdoor disappearance that shows evidence of criminal intent. It will be stationed at Somerset. With a few strokes of the governor’s pen, it could be modified to say “The transportation department shall allocate $18 million to the state patrol for a helicopter dedicated to search and rescue missions as designated by the governor . The aircraft will be used exclusively for investigations that extend beyond road searches. It will not be use for trips by state officials, but only to address emergency situations such as an outdoor disappearance that shows evidence of criminal intent. It will be stationed at Somerset. In other words: “The transportation department shall allocate $18 million to the governor for trips to outdoor shows at Somerset.” Is that crazy or what? Senate President Fred Risser, D-Madison, is scheduling the matter for a committee vote this fall, but that will be too late to impact the biennial budget now being discussed. This measure requires approval twice by the Senate and Assembly before it can advance to a statewide referendum. It already has advanced twice from the Assembly and once from the Senate. There’s only one reason Risser would want to postpone further Senate action — so Gov. Jim Doyle can manipulate the budget one final time. This veto authority has already been abused by two governors — Doyle and Tommy Thompson. It should be eliminated as soon as possible.