Policy items don’t belong in state budget

It is almost as if they can’t help themselves. Wisconsin governors have a long history of using their budget proposal for things other than outlining the state’s spending plans. A state budget proposal is designed to be a spending document, not a policy document. But like his predecessors, Governor Tony Evers has inserted lots of policy items in the budget proposal he has submitted to legislators. But these things don’t belong in a budget. That didn’t stop Evers from calling for the decriminalization of marijuana as well as the legalization of medical marijuana in his budget document. It is fine that lawmakers debate the ideas Evers is proposing, but that should be done separately from the budget. Often governors insert policy items into the budget, because it makes it more likely they will become law. It is harder to debate the merits of any single policy item when it is part of a huge budget proposal, which lawmakers must give an up or down vote. In addition to his marijuana proposals, Evers also used his budget proposal to call for raising the state’s minimum wage. And he wants to raise the minimum age for charging people accused of criminal offenses as an adult from 17 to 18. And he wants to create a bipartisan commission to change the way legislative districts are drawn. These may all be fine ideas, but they should get their own hearings, separate from the budget process.