Today, the Wisconsin State Senate voted to pass AJR6, a politically-motivated constitutional amendment proposal that would severely restrict the allocation of all federal funding in the state, including funds from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). The proposal, passed by the House last September, is now slated to appear as a question on the ballot in November to determine whether it becomes law. 

In response, Evergreen Action Midwest Senior Policy and Advocacy Manager Courtney Bourgoin released the following statement:

“Today, Wisconsin Republicans made it abundantly clear that they’re willing to undermine Wisconsin jobs and regional economic competitiveness to try to score cheap political points. This constitutional amendment would kill Wisconsin jobs and ship them to other states. Wisconsin Republicans in the legislature have proven that they’d rather see clean energy jobs in Michigan and Minnesota than in the Badger State. 

“This amendment would also leave Wisconsin’s grid overly dependent on volatile fossil fuels, leading to higher energy bills. This proposed constitutional amendment aims to bottleneck the allocation of federal funds so severely that in some cases, essential aid could be unreachable for the state’s historically disadvantaged and most vulnerable communities. It’s absurd that Republicans are willing to sacrifice economic growth at the altar of fossil fuel interests. Make no mistake: If successful, this ideologically-motivated, job-killing move will disadvantage Wisconsin for generations to come.” 

The allocation and use of federal funding from programs like the IRA are extremely popular in Wisconsin. In 2022, polling from Evergreen Action and Data For Progress found that 65 percent of Wisconsin voters support the IRA, including wide majorities of Democrats and Independents and 41 percent of Republicans. Additionally, 72 percent of voters want Gov. Evers to pursue clean energy funding from the law.