Molly Beck

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

MAPLE BLUFF - Gov. Scott Walker on Monday downplayed the significance of a sweeping plan Republicans plan to vote on as early as Tuesday that would shrink the power of the Democrat who defeated Walker one month ago.

Walker signaled he supports the plan offered by Republican legislative leaders that provides more power to the Legislature over spending and legal decisions, among other things, and removes authority from Gov.-elect Tony Evers and incoming Democratic Attorney General Josh Kaul.

"I actually think if you look at much of what they're talking about is codifying practice," Walker told reporters after a menorah lighting ceremony at the Executive Residence.

"Much of what we did over the last eight years is work with the Legislature, not at odds with the Legislature," he said. "For all the talk about reining in power, it really doesn't."

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Walker said legislative leaders initially floated the idea of changing some of Evers' veto authority — "even vetoes to the administrative process and I said I would never sign it."

"To me, that would be taking powers away," he said.

But Evers in testimony to the Legislature's Joint Finance Committee — which would absorb some of his powers should the plan be successful — urged the lawmakers to abandon the plan that he characterized as a political fight.

"On November 6th, Wisconsinites said they agree that we are more than the sum of our differences, and they said it is time for a change from divide-and-conquer politics," Evers said in submitted testimony. "Yet, the legislation before you today and the spirit of this extraordinary session are unfettered attempts to override and ignore what the people of Wisconsin asked for this November. This is rancor and politics as usual. It flies in the face of democratic institutions and the checks and balances that are intended to prevent power-hungry politicians from clinging to control when they do not get their way."

Walker did not directly answer whether he would consider signing the same proposals had he won re-election on Nov. 6, only saying, "From our standpoint, those are things we've done."

Walker downplayed the timing of lawmakers taking up the sweeping plan, despite demanding that Democrats halt any action on state contracts during the weeks between his November 2010 election and inauguration day.

Facing a $3.3 billion budget shortfall, Walker in late 2010 demanded that former Gov. Jim Doyle stop work on the contracts in order to avoid hurting the work he would do to erase the shortfall, which he said at the time could require more staff concessions than Democrats would approve.

But on Monday, Walker said the legislative action currently being taken was simply a function of lawmakers' terms ending in January and not on election day.

"These are debates that you could have had a year ago. They're happening today —- that's because members of the Legislature were elected not on a term that ended on Election Day, they were elected in a term that ends in January just like my term ends in January," Walker said. "And so we are going to look at things just like people expect us to serve a full four-year term."

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