Crowley says he won’t vote to limit governor’s veto pen

Democratic gubernatorial candidate David Crowley told reporters Tuesday in Madison that he would not vote for a change in the state Constitution to prohibit using the partial veto to create or increase a tax or fee. 

Voters in November will have the final say on the constitutional amendment proposal that could further limit Wisconsin’s uniquely strong executive partial veto power. The proposal was introduced in reaction to Gov. Tony Evers’ 2023 state budget partial veto that extended annual school revenue limit increases for 400 years.

The Milwaukee County executive, who has won the endorsement of Evers, said he would “absolutely not” vote for the amendment. He said that what Republicans in the Legislature are “trying to do is just rig the system.”

The partial veto power has been a recurring issue throughout the Evers’ two terms in office. He often used it in creative ways to shape policy sent to him by Republican lawmakers, who in return worked painstakingly to make their legislation veto-proof. 

In 2023, Republicans were shocked to find that Evers had used the power on the state budget to increase school districts’ ability to raise property taxes. Republicans and their allies have often referred to the governor’s action as implementing a “400-year tax increase,” though the veto did not automatically mean taxes would increase. The increase in revenue limits allows schools the option to bring in additional revenue through property taxes or state revenue, though Republicans have declined to provide funds to backfill the revenue limit increases. School boards still have to opt in to increase property taxes. 

That use of the veto pen was upheld by the state Supreme Court in 2025 as constitutional, which led to Republicans’ decision to put the issue up to voters. Constitutional amendment proposals in Wisconsin must pass two consecutive sessions of the state Legislature before they go to voters for the final say. 

Crowley, who previously served in the state Assembly while Democrats held a minority of seats, noted his time in the state Legislature.

“What I’ve seen from the Republican-controlled legislatures is that, anytime that there’s a stop gap on all the policies, dangerous policies, that they want to push through, they want to eliminate the power of the governor,” Crowley said. 

U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, the Republican candidate for governor, has made repealing the veto alongside freezing property taxes a central promise of his campaign. It was one of the points in his housing plan and one of the points of his affordability plan released on Tuesday. 

Tiffany said in a statement about his plan that “Wisconsin families work hard for every dollar they earn, but government at every level keeps taking more” and that “property taxes are too high, utility bills have soared and everyday purchases cost more.” He criticized Crowley for supporting a sales tax increase in Milwaukee, which was implemented to help address financial challenges in the state’s largest county, and recent property tax increases in the county. 

Tiffany told the Wisconsin Examiner in a statement that he plans to vote for the constitutional amendment and promised not to use the veto pen to increase taxes or fees.

“No governor should have the power to raise your taxes with the stroke of a pen,” Tiffany said in a statement. “David Crowley opposes this referendum because he wants the authority to raise taxes on Wisconsin families statewide, and that should scare every taxpayer who has paid attention to his record in Milwaukee County. Crowley has never met a tax hike he didn’t like, and now he wants a veto pen to make it even easier to take more of your money. We’ve already seen the damage this kind of unchecked power can do. It’s how Wisconsin got stuck with a 400-year property tax increase.”

Crowley said Tiffany has “done absolutely nothing to lower costs here in the state of Wisconsin.” 

“[Tiffany] has not grown a backbone. He has not stood up to this particular president, and he hasn’t authored one particular bill that’s actually helping out Wisconsinites. Unfortunately, he has been carrying the water of Donald Trump,” Crowley said. 

Crowley also said he would use the partial veto power as governor to ensure that “there’s no harm being placed or forced on Wisconsinites.” 

If passed, this would not be the first time the Wisconsin executive veto power has been restricted. During his first term in office, the state Supreme Court limited  the governor’s veto power after a lawsuit challenging his vetoes on the 2019 state budget.

The executive partial veto power has also been previously been restricted through constitutional amendments. In 1990, voters approved prohibiting the “Vanna White” veto, eliminating single letters within words, and in 2008, voters approved eliminating the “Frankenstein veto” — the ability for governors to create new sentences by combining parts of two or more sentences. 

Voters will see the question on their ballots on Nov. 3: “Shall section 10 (1) (c) of article V of the constitution 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?”

UPDATE: This story has been updated to include comment from U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany.