Western Wisconsin Republicans held a press conference Thursday urging voters to approve two proposed constitutional amendments on August 13th.

The referendum questions will appear on the back side of the ballot for the upcoming August 13th primary. Approval of the first amendment would prohibit the state legislature from delegating its power to appropriate money. Approval of the second amendment would require legislative approval via a joint resolution before the Governor could expend federal money that was appropriated to the state.

Thursday’s press conference featured Republican State Senator Jesse James, Representative Rob Summerfield, and Representative Karen Hurd at River Prairie Park. According to a WQOW report, in their statements they claimed that the Governor has too much power in being able to decide where and when federal funding is allocated and approval of the questions would give more checks and balances for legislative oversight.

Western Wisconsin Democrats have held a couple of their own press conferences in recent weeks urging for residents to vote no on the amendments. At one press conference earlier this week, Governor Tony Evers and State Representative Jodi Emerson rallied for residents to vote against the measures, referencing the legislature’s lack of response to the Covid-19 pandemic as evidence for why the Governor must retain the power to distribute emergency federal funding.

In response to that argument, the Republican officials noted on Thursday that if emergency funds were needed it would take only a few hours to have a special session in Madison thanks to current technology.

Democratic officials have also criticized the wording of the amendments, accusing Republicans of using confusing language to trick voters into approving them. The Republican officials responded by saying the amendments are written in constitutional language designed for the judicial system.

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