Republicans hope to pass a constitutional amendment stripping the governor of sole authority over how federal funds are spent

Republican lawmakers hope to include a constitutional amendment on the April ballot stripping Gov. Tony Evers from having sole authority over how to spend federal funds.

If approved, spending would have to be approved by the GOP-led state Legislature, which has repeatedly clashed with Evers over how to allocate federal pandemic aid.

The spending amendment was introduced in January 2022. It passed the Assembly and Senate during the last session.

Sen. Howard Marklein, R-Spring Green, and Rep. Robert Wittke, R-Racine, are circulating the bill for co-sponsorship until Jan. 13. A constitutional amendment must pass two consecutive legislative sessions and then be approved by voters.

Evers could not immediately be reached for comment. In a tweet after the story was initially published, Evers' spokeswoman, Britt Cudaback said: "There is no one less qualified to be an authority on governing in a crisis than Republicans in the Legislature, who took a 300-day vacation during the worst economic crisis in a decade and the worst public health crisis in a century."

Between March 2020 and June, Wisconsin received $5.7 billion in relief funding from federal laws known as the CARES Act, the American Rescue Plan Act, and the Consolidated Appropriations Act, funds that have helped state government amass a projected $6.6 billion budget surplus.

Evers has broad discretion in distributing federal pandemic aid and has used the ARPA funds for purposes ranging from shoring up school finances, grants to small businesses, maternal and infant health initiatives, and closing the deal on a conservation project in Ozaukee County after legislators blocked funds.

A report released last month by the Legislative Audit Bureau found the Department of Administration did not provide auditors enough information showing how state officials made decisions regarding where to distribute the funds. So far about $3.7 billion has been spent.

But the report did say auditors have information about the planned use of the remaining $1.8 billion.

This is the second constitutional amendment Republicans are hoping to put on the April ballot. They're also hoping to include an amendment that would allow judges to consider the totality of the circumstances of a defendant, including a person's past criminal record and the need to protect the public from "serious harm," when setting the monetary amount of bail.

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: GOP hopes to pass constitutional amendment on spending federal funds