Conservatives on the Wisconsin Supreme Court have struck down three of Gov. Tony Evers' partial vetoes from the 2019 state budget, bucking decades of court rulings that have upheld or expanded Wisconsin governors' veto powers.
The court's ruling was the second in as many days that sided with the Legislature in a power dispute with the governor, the first coming Thursday , July 9, when justices largely upheld lame duck laws passed in 2018.
Justices were asked to rule on the governor's veto power by the conservative Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty, which challenged four of Evers' budget vetoes from 2019. But more broadly, the group used the case to ask the court to rethink, and largely reject, state Supreme Court precedent handed down in decisions dating back to 1935.
While justices sided with the institute in three of the four vetoes, the court's 5-2 conservative majority could not settle on a single rationale for when a governor's partial veto goes too far.
The practical effect is that three of Evers' 2019 budget vetoes have been declared invalid. They include one that shifted funding for school buses to electric vehicle charging stations, another that changed the definition of "vapor products" and a third that redefined who qualified for funding under a local roads improvement fund.
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Justices rejected a second, more limited lawsuit brought by Wisconsin Small Business Inc. which challenged two vetoes made by Republican Gov. Scott Walker in 2017. The court ruled that case was brought too late to be considered by justices.
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