Wisconsin governor sues GOP lawmakers for ‘obstructing basic government functions’

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers (D) is suing a group of GOP state lawmakers, alleging they unconstitutionally “obstructed basic government functions,” including by blocking pay raises for thousands of state university employees, through the use of legislative vetoes.

The suit, filed in Wisconsin’s Supreme Court, challenges legislative vetoes that “evade our [Wisconsin’s] constitution’s ‘carefully crafted restraints.'”

The suit points to a state Legislature committee’s use of its veto power to block the already approved pay raises of around 35,000 University of Wisconsin System (UW) employees.

The committee is “demanding that UW first make policy concessions not found in any law,” the suit alleges.

The complaint also takes aim at two other legislative vetoes from separate committees. One was used to block state conservation projects selected by the Department of Natural Resources, and another blocked a set of rules that would update the state’s commercial building standards and ethics standards for social workers, marriage, family therapists and professional counselors.

Evers argues that the use of committees’ vetoes “improperly sidestep” the state’s constitutional safeguards and attempt to change a law without passing a bill and presenting it to the governor for signature or veto.

“Republican legislators are unconstitutionally obstructing basic functions of government—actions that have not only aimed to prevent state government from efficiently and effectively serving the people of our state but are now actively harming tens of thousands of Wisconsinites every day across our state,” Evers said in a statement.

Evers is asking Wisconsin’s high court to review the three sets of statutes that give the legislative committees their veto powers and declare them unconstitutional.

The state Legislature included a 6 percent pay raise for UW employees over the next two years in the state budget, which Evers signed earlier this year.

However, the raises must then be approved by a committee of legislative leaders. The Legislature’s Joint Committee on Employee Relations approved the pay raises for state raises, but not the UW employees, The Associated Press reported.

The veto came as part of Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos’s opposition to university spending for diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, per the AP.

Those named in the suit include Republican state Sens. Howard Marklein, Chris Kapenga and Steve Nass, along with Vos and Republican state Reps. Mark Born and Adam Neylon.

In a statement shared with The Hill, Vos called the lawsuit “an attempt to eliminate the 4 percent raises given to all state employees by the legislature,” in reference to the 4 percent pay raise included in the budget for 2024. An additional 2 percent bump would be put in place the following year.

“In a time of unprecedented inflation brought on by reckless Democrat spending, we think it is abhorrent that the governor would try and take away lawfully approved money for hardworking state employees,” Vos said Tuesday.

The Hill reached out to the other defendants’ offices for comment.  

Updated at 4:42 pm.