Fixing the damage wreaked by the Wisconsin Supreme Court when it stripped the Legislature of its power to halt bureaucrats’ regulations will take a constitutional amendment, say legal experts — though reforms in statute can help in the interim.

That damage so far includes a rush of new regulations, including a 1,700 percent increase in state fees on livestock auctions and a complex, expensive wholesale revision of the state’s commercial building code.

Lawmakers on the Joint Committee for Review of Administrative Rules had the ability to delay or block such regulations until the Supreme Court ruled 4-3 in July to strip JCRAR of its authority. The bureaucracy may now propose, promulgate and enforce a regulation with only the governor’s say-so.

“Fixing this is going to require a constitutional amendment, because the Supreme Court declared the current procedure to be unconstitutional,” said Dan Kelly, a former state Supreme Court justice who has done legal policy analysis on the issue for the Badger Institute.

Wisconsin taxpayers ought to be rooting hard for conservatives to hold the line during this current federal government shutdown and let the pandemic-era super-subsidies for the Affordable Care Act run out at the end of the year.

Despite some conservative hardline opposition to the extension of the ACA, or Obamacare, subsidies that will cost an estimated $450 billion over the next decade, a surprising number of Republicans have indicated support for extending them, paired with minor program reforms.

Democrats in Washington, meanwhile, have fallen back on old defenses of Obamacare, telling horror stories that aren’t tethered to fact. And Gov. Tony Evers last week said he “absolutely” supported his party’s pressing Republicans to agree to extending the subsidies in trade for Democrats agreeing to call off the government shutdown.

Lawmakers advanced a bill this week to buy time for construction projects blindsided by a state agency’s abrupt implementation of a new commercial building code.

The Assembly on Tuesday passed, on a party-line 54-41 vote, AB450, pushing the launch of the massive code revision to April 1.

The Evers administration in September delayed the launch, originally set for Oct. 1, by a month, but developers said that wasn’t long enough to allow architects to read the code and make the substantial revisions the new code demands.

The Wisconsin Assembly voted largely along party lines this week in support of a crucial housing bill, AB453, that will rein in NIMBYism — the “not in my back yard” outcry that greets developers trying to increase housing supply in communities where elected officials want the same thing.

Just one of several housing bills considered this week, the legislation authored by Rep. David Armstrong (R-Rice Lake) essentially states that a local government must approve rezoning requests when they are in accord with the comprehensive plan that the community already has drawn up.

Wisconsin counties together spent $616 million on the construction and maintenance of state and county highways in 2023, Department of Revenue records show. On a per-resident basis, Washburn and Price counties spent the most maintaining them.

Washburn County spent about $666 per resident. Price County paid $476 per person. Bayfield County ranked third at $394.

Racine County spent the least per capita, $28 per person.

In August 2025, home prices in Wisconsin were up 4.8% compared to last year, selling for a median price of $342,400, according to Redfin.

The Badger Institute has long been at the forefront of the fight for school choice, right to work, welfare reform, tax restructuring, limited government, civil society and so much more. If you appreciate the Institute’s legacy and want to support free markets, opportunity and prosperity, please consider donating today. Your support will help the Institute continue to advocate for conservative principles now and in generations to come.

The Institute never has, and never will, accept government funding. We gratefully welcome your online donation or email Mike Nichols, President.

The Badger Institute is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit organization funded solely by the generosity of foundations, companies and individuals.

Badger Institute
700 W. Virginia St., Suite 301
Milwaukee, WI 53204