Governor again vetoes legislative control bill

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Wednesday, March 19, 2003 | 9:52 a.m.

MADISON, Wis. -- For the second time in three weeks, Gov. Jim Doyle vetoed a bill Tuesday that would have given the state Legislature final say over some tribal gaming compacts.

The veto means Doyle again has preserved his power to negotiate tribal compacts, at least for now.

But Republican lawmakers in the Senate nearly overturned Doyle's first veto, and state Assembly Speaker John Gard, R-Peshtigo, said he would try to get the votes to override this one.

The bill would have given lawmakers final say over gaming compacts that last longer than 15 years and extend gaming to off-reservation sites. The governor currently has the sole power to negotiate compacts.

Doyle, a Democrat, and Republicans in the Legislature have been locked in a political feud since the Oneida Nation announced last month it had reached a tentative compact with Doyle's administration. That agreement calls for expanding games and hours at the tribe's casinos with no expiration date in exchange for higher payments to the state. Current tribal compacts expire every five years.