Madison, WI – Today, Sen. Cory Tomczyk (R-Mosinee), Sen. Julian Bradley (R-New Berlin), and Rep. Scott Allen (R-Waukesha) introduced a joint resolution to right-size the power of the governor’s veto in Wisconsin. They released the following statement:

“For too long, governors in Wisconsin have abused the partial veto power to twist legislation passed by elected representatives into something that is unrecognizable. We need a permanent fix to this problem.

“The proposed constitutional amendment would return the Wisconsin Constitution to the original intent of what a partial veto meant. According to the Legislative Reference Bureau, ‘There is no evidence that the partial veto power was originally intended to allow the governor to fashion new words or sentences or to embark on new policy directions not intended by the legislature.’

“The proposed amendment would only allow a governor to reject entire bill sections and reduce appropriations.

“Every time a constitutional amendment has sought to restore the veto to its intended scope, it has been overwhelmingly supported by the people of Wisconsin. It’s clear that the people of Wisconsin don’t want the governor to be a dictator.

“As Supreme Court Justice Rebecca Bradley has said, ‘The governor is becoming the most powerful person in the state, arguably, just to make the law whatever he declares.’

“This proposed amendment is a common sense solution that would put Wisconsin in line with how the majority of states treat the governor’s veto power.”

Representative Allen will be available to speak to the media via zoom at 4:30pm on January 27th. Contact rep.allen@legis.wisconsin.gov by 4pm to receive the zoom link.