Uppity Wisconsin

As was expected, Governor Doyle this afternoon vetoed the Independent DNR Secretary Bill.  This is a bitter disappointment to the coalition of hunters, fishers, environmentalists and others who fought for the bill and successfully had it passed by the legislature.

The bill would have made the DNR secretary appointed by the DNR board, rather than the Governor.  This would make the DNR Secretary appointment the same as it was until the Tommy Thompson administration, when it was changed to be a governor-appointed position.  Although Doyle said repeatedly during his campaign that he supported an independent secretary, he changed his mind once it appeared the bill would become a reality.  It's expected that there will be an attempt to override the veto, bt it is not at all clear that there are enough votes to override.

Being one of the people who spent time on the phone drumming up support for this bill, I'm very disappointed that the lame-duck governor has chosen to keep control of the DNR secretary directly under the governor, despite the apparent will of the legislature and the citizens of the state.  According to  a press release from the Wisconsin League of Conservation Voters, their Executive Director Kerry Schumann has said

“I am disappointed that I will now have to deliver the news to the thousands of conservationists who contacted Governor Doyle this week, that he did not keep his promise to sign theNatural Resources Board appointed Secretary bill into law. With this veto, he has forever undermined his legacy in Wisconsin history as a champion for natural resources.   I encourage Wisconsin legislators to stand firm in their commitment to our state and its citizens by overriding the Governor, thereby ensuring once and for all, that science and not politics will determine natural resource decisions in Wisconsin.”