Zac Schultz:
Well, Governor Evers, thanks for your time today.

Gov. Tony Evers:
You bet.

Zac Schultz:
In terms of the lawsuit that you are filing, many of the issues you've used as examples there have been going on for years, so why file it now?

Gov. Tony Evers:
Well, the other issues were irritating and we were hoping to deal with it in a good way, but when you say to 35,000 state employees, that is, University of Wisconsin employees and say, we're not sure about that 4% for you, or you're not gonna get it now, that pushed me over the ledge, frankly. I mean, first of all, I do believe it's illegal. That's part of what our lawsuit is about, is that there's nothing in law or the budget that was passed, which is law, to say that the Speaker or the Republicans in general leadership can say, well, that 4%, you're not gonna get it, or you might get it if you do X, Y, and Z. None of that's in law. So that is an illegal act, and so that pushed me over the edge. I mean, the other issues, you know, I do believe it's just, you know, further effort that started before I became governor with the lame duck law and all the things that they've done about not approving my appointees or not, you know, all of that. It's all part of it, but when you mess with 35,000 people at one time, that's enough.

Zac Schultz:
The suit is broad because of the different committees you're referring to and the different actions, that those are all the same actions those committees are taking. Are you looking for the Supreme Court, if they take this case, to make a broad ruling? Or would you be satisfied if they issued a narrow ruling specifically on UW employees, JCRAR or any of the other committees?

Gov. Tony Evers:
I think the Legislature would be, it'd be helpful for the Legislature to have a broad idea of what their authority is and what's mine. That would be the best of all alternatives. But we have to, you know, at the end of the day, we have to make sure that we pay people what they should be paid. So I think the best alternative would be a broad sweeping thing saying, this is what your job is, this is what the governor's job is, start behaving.

Zac Schultz:
You mentioned the lame duck laws, and some of these actions you're referring to came out of the lame duck laws, so is this, in effect, another lawsuit attempt to relitigate some of those issues that were passed into law under the previous administration?

Gov. Tony Evers:
Yeah, I mean, because of that action, we've always felt that they're wrongheaded, and so if we have to make some changes, that's fine. I think, broadly speaking, the way the Republicans have essentially taken more and more power over time from the executive branch, we have to stop that and we have to understand that they're co-equal parts of government, the judicial executive and the legislative, and that's the way it's supposed to work. It's not working that way now.

Zac Schultz:
Would you have filed this lawsuit under a different makeup of the Supreme Court?

Gov. Tony Evers:
Yes, oh gosh, yes. Oh gosh, yes. I think we're gonna get more than four votes on this one. I mean, people should be able to understand that there is broad, there is authority in all three branches, so at court, absolutely. This recent thing, whether a new judge is there or not, that's irrelevant to this. We would've filed that regardless.

Zac Schultz:
You have dealt with the Legislature rules even as your time as Superintendent, it was in Public Instruction. How long standing are some of these issues when it comes to the balance of power between the executive and the Legislature?

Gov. Tony Evers:
I'd say it accelerated with my election. I think it's always a little bit of an issue going forward, but because it's just kept getting bigger and bigger and bigger, it became a thing and we have to deal with it, so I'm glad we filed this suit, and we anticipate winning this suit.

Zac Schultz:
A year ago, you were talking about a reset with Republicans in the Legislature. Since then, they have voted down your appointees and you filed this lawsuit. Was a reset ever realistic? Was it always going to be limited? Or is it just the current state of politics?

Gov. Tony Evers:
It's the current state of politics, but we, you know, we passed a budget, I signed a budget, where we brought shared revenue to Milwaukee and other places across the state, every municipality. So we've had some successes, but what we can't stand for is people not following the law and following what we've agreed to, and we did not agree to what the speaker is doing now.

Zac Schultz:
All right, Governor Evers, thanks for your time.

Gov. Tony Evers:
Thank you. Appreciate it.