Amendments would delay funding during crises

The Republicans are once again trying to slip one past us. Unable to win with ideas voters like, they game the system to maintain — or in this case, steal — power.

The latest is their two odious constitutional amendments on the Aug. 13 primary ballot. Never mind they are attempting to alter the state constitution during what is a certain low-voter turnout that will draw mostly Republican voters thanks to an election that will feature mostly GOP primaries. That’s bad — and sneaky — enough.

What’s worse is the impact that these amendments will have on our state, which will be to put emergency federal funding during natural disasters, pandemics and the like into the hands of the legislature. At a time when money is critical in addressing urgent needs during an emergency, things could easily grind to a halt by sending it through an arduous legislative process. And given that our state legislature has been ranked the least productive in the country, we know how much citizens stand to suffer.

By contrast, the governor can apply the money immediately to deal with impending or ongoing crises. Gov. Evers astutely and non-politically used ARPA funds during the pandemic to address the most pressing needs, including shoring up small businesses across the state suffering from the shutdown.

The bottom line? This shouldn’t be political. A Republican governor might just as easily be hamstrung by this. Whichever party holds the governor’s seat, the citizens will suffer. Vote 'no' on both amendments.