Wisconsin Gov. Evers vetoes $3B tax cut, DEI crackdowns, other

• Democratic Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers vetoed 41 bills Friday, including a $3 billion tax cut, political loyalty pledges in higher education, and a proposed wolf hunt plan.
• Evers, a second-term Democrat governing alongside a Republican-dominated Legislature, has vetoed the most bills of any governor in Wisconsin history.
• Evers did sign off on $400,000 in Holocaust education spending, as well as an increase in mental health crisis center prevalence across the Badger State.

Wisconsin’s Democratic Gov. Tony Evers vetoed 41 bills passed by the Republican-led Legislature on Friday — rejecting a $3 billion Republican tax cut, political loyalty pledges for higher education employees, and a plan setting how many wolves can be hunted each year.

Evers signed a bipartisan bill to provide $400,000 supporting Holocaust education in Wisconsin schools. A 2021 law requires teaching about the Holocaust in grades 5 through 12 statewide. The money approved by Evers will go to the Nathan and Esther Pelz Holocaust Education Resource Center to support that education.

He also signed a bipartisan bill designed to increase the number of mental health crisis centers across the state.

EVERS SIGNS NEW LAWS DESIGNED TO BOLSTER SAFETY OF JUDGES, COMBAT HUMAN TRAFFICKING

During more than five years as governor with a Republican-controlled Legislature, Evers has vetoed more bills than any governor in Wisconsin history.

Evers vetoed a bill that would have prohibited the Universities of Wisconsin and other higher education institutions from conditioning employment and admission decisions on diversity statements. Right now, UW doesn’t have any such spoken loyalty pledges in higher education, making the bill unnecessary, Evers said.

Republicans passed the measure as part of their effort both in Wisconsin and across the country to restrict diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives on university campuses.