MADISON, Wis. (AP) - Republican leaders of the state Senate and Assembly disagreed Thursday on whether there is an appetite to override a potential Gov. Scott Walker veto of a gas tax increase.
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos said Assembly Republicans would override, but Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald said the Senate would never vote to do so.
The state roads fund is projected to have a $1 billion shortfall. Fitzgerald has been trying to work with GOP senators to find a compromise that does not include a gas increase, which Walker has promised to veto. Vos said Senate Republicans have no identifiable plan and Walker’s position seems to change “by the day.”
Vos and other GOP leaders in the Assembly, and some Republican senators, have been outspoken in saying the Legislature and Walker should be open to higher taxes and vehicle fees to keep road projects on track and reduce the $500 million in borrowing the governor is proposing.
“I’m not going to let the threat of a veto stop the discussion from even happening when our caucus actually has a position, and the Senate is still muddled with their own ideas,” Vos said.
But Fitzgerald all but slammed the door on the possibility of the Senate overriding a veto on Thursday.
“We’re not going to override Governor Walker on a veto,” Fitzgerald told reporters. “It’s just not part of the dynamic that exists for a Republican-controlled Legislature to override Governor Walker. It’s just not going to happen. Work with him up front, try and get some concessions or changes that make sense for us, and that’s where we need to negotiate from.”
Walker initially said he would be open to gas tax and fee increases to pay for roads if there were corresponding cuts elsewhere in the budget. But he shifted in his position in February, saying he outright opposed any gas tax hike. And on Wednesday night, while Republicans on the budget-writing committee were voicing support for higher taxes, he tweeted a veto threat if they did that.
Even though budget committee member Sen. Luther Olsen, R-Ripon, said he thought Republicans were willing to “bite the bullet” and raise taxes, both he and Fitzgerald said later that was not the position of all Senate Republicans.
Walker hasn’t been as explicit in his position on higher vehicle-related fees that could help pay for roads, if other taxes or fees are reduced by an equal amount. Vos said the Assembly Republicans have a plan to reduce taxes and fees by $300 million to offset increases. But said he won’t share any details until Walker and others show they’re open to negotiating.
“I’m waiting for an actual rock-hard position that I can trust people will stick with and I haven’t seen that yet,” Vos said Thursday. “We have some people who are delusional, that believe we don’t have a problem of funding transportation.”
When asked if he considered Department of Transportation Secretary Dave Ross to be delusional, Vos said: “Yes. If he thinks the only problem is spending, that’s crazy. The problem is both spending and revenue.”
Fitzgerald said Republican senators were still discussing funding options for roads but he would not say what they were.
“I don’t want to announce anything that’s outside the box,” he said.
The Legislature, which has been under GOP control since Walker took office in 2011, has never overridden one of his vetoes.
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