Doyle’s losing that power, and soon. We get to vote on it in April. That extra $45 MILLION we taxpayers are to come up with in the coming year was the nail in that coffin.
Doyle hasn’t decided whether he’ll campaign against veto change
Associated Press - December 18th
MADISON (AP) — Gov. Jim Doyle said Monday he hasn’t decided yet whether he will actively try to sway voters when they get a chance in April to curtail the governor’s veto power, which is the strongest in the country.
But he’s sure not excited about the possible change, saying it could have unintended consequences.
“There are some real issues with this proposal,” he said in an interview with The Associated Press.
The proposal, expected to be put on the April 1 ballot would ban the so-called “Frankenstein” veto. That allows the governor to cross out words and numbers and stitch together others to create new laws not approved by the Legislature.
Doyle has used the authority to make major changes to the state budget, including the one he signed in October. In that budget, he used the power to allow local governments to increase property tax levies by 3.86 percent, instead of the 2 percent as the Legislature wanted.
The result was a projected $45 million property tax increase.
Doyle said Monday that voters will have to be “very, very careful” when they consider doing away with the veto authority. He said banning it could have unintended consequences that may lead to “extreme mischief” in how the Legislature words things in the budget.
--that has to be the laugh of the week--