Sandhill cranes in flight. (Ted Thousand/International Crane Foundation)

Wisconsin voters will be asked whether the state’s constitution should be amended to prevent the governor’s powerful partial veto from increasing taxes or fees under a measure that cleared the state Assembly on Thursday.

It’s a direct response to a partial veto from Democratic Gov. Tony Evers’ in 2023 authorizing school districts to raise property taxes to bolster their budgets through the year 2425.

Republicans have continually blamed Evers’ “400-year veto” for causing property tax bills in Wisconsin to hit their highest point since 2018. With a party-line vote on the Assembly floor Thursday night, they responded by passing a joint resolution that will place a consequential question on voters’ November ballot.

Voters will be asked whether the Wisconsin Constitution should be amended “to prohibit the governor, in exercising his or her partial veto authority, from creating or increasing or authorizing the creation or increase of any tax or fee.”

The partial veto power used by Wisconsin governors since 1930 is a standout compared to other states. Since then, it’s only been tempered nine times through similar constitutional amendments.

During debate on the Assembly floor Thursday, state Rep. Amanda Nedweski, R-Pleasant Prairie, claimed Evers’ 2023 veto “will tax seniors out of their homes and push the dream of home ownership further out of reach for young families.”

“And I look forward to the voters approving this constitutional amendment in November,” Nedweski said.

Democrats in the Legislature have stood by Evers’ veto that authorized schools to raise more money through local property taxes, claiming he had no other choice because Republicans haven’t been willing to adequately fund public education.

In addition to the amendment question, Republicans in the Assembly also passed a bill that would eliminate the annual school funding increases created by Evers’ veto for the 2027-28 school year and beyond. Unlike the proposed amendment, Evers would have the power to veto that plan.

Republicans tack crane hunt to other bill

The Assembly chambers erupted with shouts from Democrats who chanted “shame!” after Republicans added an amendment that would create a sandhill crane hunt onto a bill aimed at regulating wake boating.

The amendment initially didn’t draw any attention until state Rep. Deb Andraca, D-Whitefish Bay, noticed it contained language authorizing a crane hunt.

“In all of my years when I was waterskiing and doing water sports, I’ve never seen a sandhill crane water ski,” Andraca said. “I don’t know, can they slalom, or do they only go behind the wake boat?”

Andraca said the surprise amendment was evidence of “gamesmanship” in the Legislature. She said it’s “the kind of stuff that really gets people upset.”

After Democrats complained about the crane hunt amendment not being “germane” to the original bill, state Rep. Shae Sortwell, R-Two Rivers, called their concern “rich,” pointing to a series of amendments Democrats attempted to attach to Republican bills in a prior Assembly session. Sortwell argued regulating wake boats and hunting sandhill cranes are related.

“For those who aren’t aware, sandhill cranes like to nest near water lines,” Sortwell said. “They like to be in the marshy areas — you know, where we often find marshy areas around lakeshore? You know what’s a great way to protect our lakeshores? Keeping those high-speed, high-wake boats away from those shorelines.”

After the bill’s passage, Democrats left their seats to line up and individually ask the Assembly clerk to have their votes counted against the combined legislation as a form of protest.