Patrick Marley and Molly Beck

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

MADISON - Less than 24 hours after Tony Evers was elected governor, the Republican leader of the state Assembly threatened to take power away from him even before he is sworn in.

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) said Wednesday he would discuss whether to look at limiting Evers' power with Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald (R-Juneau). FItzgerald is open to the idea, according to an aide.

"If there are areas where we could look and say, 'Geez — have we made mistakes where we granted too much power to the executive,' I'd be open to taking a look to say what can we do to change that to try to re-balance it," Vos told reporters.

"Maybe we made some mistakes giving too much power to Gov. (Scott) Walker and I'd be open to looking at that to see if there are areas we should change that, but it's far too early to do that before I talk to Scott Fitzgerald."

UPDATE:Republican lawmakers consider limiting incoming Gov. Tony Evers' power over state rules

Evers spokeswoman Britt Cudaback said it's "unfortunate Vos is doubling down on division" after Evers asked to set aside differences and work together.

"These are the same desperate antics of politicians hell-bent on staying in power after eight years," Cudaback said in a statement. "The people of Wisconsin deserve better from our government, and that’s why they voted for a change yesterday.”

Fitzgerald is willing to consider taking away some of the governor’s powers before Evers is seated, said his chief of staff, Dan Romportl.

“He has said previously that he is open to it, and plans to discuss the topic with Senate Republican caucus members (Thursday),” Romportl said by email.

Vos and Fitzgerald did not say what kind of limits they were considering placing on the governor’s power. Any change would need to be passed before Jan. 7, when Evers is sworn in, and signed into law by Walker.

Aides to Walker did not say if the governor would be willing to curtail the powers he enjoyed for eight years.

Even if the Republican-controlled Legislature does not pass legislation limiting the governor's power, Evers will almost certainly face a common feature of split government — gridlock.

Evers, who has been state schools superintendent since 2009, will face a Legislature that is firmly in the hands of Republicans.

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Democrats expressed relief Wednesday that Walker was conceding the race rather than pursuing a recount, but they acknowledged Evers will face challenges in getting much done with Republicans in control of the Legislature — even if lawmakers don't strip the governor's office of power.

Vos underscored that Wednesday by pouring cold water on plans Evers' campaigned on, including adding $1.4 billion in new funding for schools over two years.

"That's not possible unless you have a massive tax increase," Vos said. "It literally cannot be accomplished without either taking from some to give to another or a massive tax increase."

Vos also said he wouldn't support "putting a bunch of money into empty buses," referring to mass transit solutions to transportation woes, but would consider a plan that puts money into fixing roads and bridges.

While Evers likely won't get help from GOP lawmakers, Democrats see his victory as a major achievement after Republicans controlled all of state government for most of the past eight years. Democrats stood on the sidelines while Republicans approved policy after policy they opposed, including limits on unions, looser gun laws and tax cuts that they believed were tilted too heavily to businesses and the wealthy.

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As governor, Evers will be able to veto any legislation Democrats don't like. That power is granted in the state constitution, and Republican lawmakers can't take it away from him before he is sworn in.

Republicans don't have the two-thirds majority needed to override vetoes.

The win by Evers will create the first sustained period of divided government in Wisconsin in a decade.

Before the 2008 election, Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle led the state with a Republican Assembly and Democratic Senate. That year, his party gained complete control of state government only to lose it all in the 2010 election to Republicans.

Other than a brief period in 2012, Republicans have had complete control of state government since Walker began his first term in 2011.

Evers and his running mate, Mandela Barnes, won on a night that saw Democrats capture all other partisan state constitutional offices — attorney general (Josh Kaul), secretary of state (Doug La Follette) and state treasurer (Sarah Godlewski).

It is the first time since 1982 that one party — the Democrats — won elections to all those offices.

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While Evers will be able to block policies he does not like, he will face difficulties in getting much of his agenda done.

One of his goals is to take hundreds of millions of dollars in additional federal aid under the Affordable Care Act to expand BagderCare, the state's Medicaid program that provides health care to low-income people. Under such an arrangement, the state could cover more people and free up state taxpayer funds for other purposes.

Vos said last month he would never go along with such a plan.

"Not going to happen. No way. Never," Vos told reporters Oct. 2 after a forum hosted by Wispolitics.com.

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He said he wouldn't be willing to accept the money even if Evers included it in a package to cut taxes, a top Republican goal.

"Medicaid right now does not pay the cost of your provider," Vos said. "So the more people we put into Medicaid, the more the private sector will have to pay to subsidize those who are on Medicaid. So all it does is make the private system less stable."

John Matthews, former executive director of the Madison teachers union, fought a lengthy court battle with Walker over Act 10, the legislation curtailing collective bargaining abilities for public employees.

On Wednesday, he was realistic about an Evers administration's ability to reverse those measures with a Republican-controlled Legislature.

"That's a big question — I tell you," Matthews said. "I think all working people will benefit from his administration and I say that because he understands the value of the employer-employee relationship. ... What I have discussed with him is promoting the value of employers working with their employees and we will move down that road somewhat gradually."

Sen. Jon Erpenbach (D-Middleton), who sits on the Legislature's budget committee, said he believed Democrats and Republicans could reach an agreement to fund the state's roads. Walker had blocked efforts to increase the gas tax or find new sources of funds for highways, despite support for the idea from many Republican lawmakers.

Evers has said he wants to cut a deal with Republicans on the issue and would be willing to consider raising the gas tax or implementing tolls.

The state budget was stalled for three months last year because Republicans couldn't agree among themselves on transportation.

Evers and Republican lawmakers will have to put together a new two-year budget starting early next year.

Republicans will determine what gets to Evers' desk — and when — but Evers will be able to reshape the budget using some of the vastest veto powers in the country. Wisconsin governors are able to trim out individual words in fiscal legislation, allowing them to rewrite how budgets are crafted.

Evers has said repeatedly he wants to compromise with Republican lawmakers and has not always held traditionally liberal opinions on public policy matters. He recently told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that catering to "the edges" of the political spectrum won't produce results.

Vos said if that approach changes, gridlock is all but certain.

"If he chooses to poke Republicans in the eye, he will end up getting very little of what he wants," Vos told reporters. "So that’s a choice I can’t make for Tony Evers. He’s got to make it for himself."

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