The Wisconsin legislature has passed the language concerning the so called "Frankenstein Veto" that has been used by governors to cobble together words and letters and numbers from more than a single sentence. This practice is permissible today and was used by Governor Doyle most recently to create something that hadn't been passed by the legislature.
The actual language that we'll find on the ballot on Tuesday, April 1st was published in today's Journal Sentinel. The question is stated thusly:
Should the Wisconsin Constitution "be amended to prohibit the governor, in exercising his or her partial veto authority, from creating a new sentence of two or more sentences of the enrolled bill?"
Your 'Yes' vote will remove the governors' authority to create language never intended nor approved by the legislature. It will not preclude the governors from using their 'partial veto' authority so that they can still strike various items.
In the last two budgets, Governor Doyle made these changes, as described in the Journal Sentinel article, using the Frankenstein Veto:
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"In 2005, chopped some words and stitched together others in the Legislature's budget, moving $427 million from the transportation fund to public schools - a diversion the Legislature never approved."
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"In 2007, turned the 2% limit on property tax increases the Legislature imposed on counties and local governments into a 3.86% limit by striking language and stringing together remaining words."
Wisconsin's governor has the most powerful veto authority of any state in the nation, and it is obvious that this change needs to be made by we citizens. We elect officials expecting them to approve legislation and giving the governor the right to use his or her veto pen to strike various things. We do not expect that the governor should be able to craft his or her own legislation whether or not the legislature has taken any action.
I hope that you will cast a 'Yes' vote for the change in language on Tuesday, April 1st.
