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Posted on 02/28/2010 10:51:48 AM PST by marktwain
An Assembly attempt to override Gov. Jim Doyle's veto of a bill that would strip the governor's power to appoint Department of Natural Resources secretaries failed by six votes Tuesday.
The bill's chief Assembly sponsor, Rep. Spencer Black, D-Madison, criticized those who opposed the override, saying they were acting based on political convenience and pressure from special interest groups.
"I've heard excuse after excuse," Black told lawmakers.
Democrats have long sought to strip the governor's power to appoint DNR secretaries after Tommy Thompson made the position a Cabinet post in 1995. In November, the governor vetoed AB 138, which would have returned DNR secretary appointments to the seven-member Natural Resources Board.
During Tuesday's session, Rep. Jeff Fitzgerald, R-Horicon, said he and other Republican lawmakers were showing bipartisan cooperation by supporting the governor's veto.
"This is politics at its finest," Fitzgerald said.
A vetoed bill can become law despite a governor's opposition, but it requires a two-thirds vote in both houses. There were 96 representatives voting on the bill Tuesday, meaning 64 votes were needed to override the veto. Only 58 voted in favor of it, while 38 voted against. The last time any veto override attempt was successful was in the 1985 legislative session, when Democrat Tony Earl was governor and Democrats had the majority in the House and Senate. The 1981 session was last time the override of a bill vetoed in its entirety was successful.
(Excerpt) Read more at host.madison.com ...
Never fear. Scott Walker is just around the corner! ;)
Barret is no threat, and with ‘Diamond Jim’ waltzing off into the sunset with a lot of our cash after destroying Wisconsin’s economy, this should be an easy pick for the Wisconsin GOP. However, they are remarkably adept at snatching defeat from the jaws of victory! ;)
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