Wisconsin Supreme Court made right call on separation of powers

“Maintaining the separation of powers between the branches is essential for the preservation of liberty and a government accountable to the people,” Justice Rebecca Bradley wrote in the majority opinion.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court made the right decision last week in affirming the separation of powers between the governor and legislature.

In a 6-1 ruling that crossed ideological lines, justices said legislative Republican lawmakers overstepped their constitutional authority when they used a committee to block the governor from taking action.

This is not only a victory for Gov. Tony Evers, but a victory for Wisconsin residents and a reminder that elections matter, no matter how much the party leadership in the legislature may wish to pull the strings of government.

The specific details of the case centered on the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program. The popular statewide program helps with the purchase of lands for conservation purposes in partnership with local governments.

As part of the budget process, the entire legislature votes on the money to be earmarked for the program with the individual projects to be awarded funding through the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and the governor.

The case was filed against the Republican members of the Joint Finance Committee by Evers last year, over anonymous legislative objections to land purchases. Who made those objections and why have never been publicly disclosed.

“By placing the power of the executive branch to carry out the law in a committee of the legislature, the legislative branch subsumed the executive power,” wrote justice Bradley, a conservative member of the court.

The supreme court did the right thing in upholding the fundamental separation of powers enshrined in the state constitution. While the system established a system of checks and balances, the legislature has worked hard in recent years to attempt to accumulate more power, not so much as to take action, but to block actions in an effort to effectively neuter the position of governor. The legislature’s attempt was to make the party leadership in the legislature the real power in the state and the governor little more than a figurehead.

They would have gotten away with it too, if it hadn’t been for the meddling supreme court justices who saw through the charade and through their ruling restored balance between the branches of government.

Last week’s ruling will have wide implications across the state and open the door to further pushback against the legislature’s attempt to overstep its authority by refusing to act on the release of funds for reading programs and removal of so-called forever chemicals in the water supply.

However the benefits of the ruling could be short lived as the legislature has pushed through a proposed constitutional amendment which would require the legislature to approve how federal funds are spent rather than the governor.

The proposed amendment is yet another bald-faced attempt by the legislature to take away the power of a popularly elected governor.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court reaffirmed the separation of powers in Wisconsin and it is up to the voters in the state to do the same thing and say no to legislative overreach.