Democratic Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers sued the Republican-controlled Legislature on Tuesday, arguing it is hampering basic government functions, including signing off on previously approved pay raises for university workers.

Evers is asking the liberal-controlled Wisconsin Supreme Court to hear the case directly, bypassing the lower courts.

Evers said it was a bridge too far and that it was just bulls who Republican state lawmakers told 35,000 University of Wisconsin employees who were expecting raises to comply.

You can’t do that, Evers told reporters at a news conference. That’s why we filed a lawsuit and that’s why we were going to win.

Evers argues in the lawsuit that committees controlled by a few Republican lawmakers are used by the Legislature to overreach far beyond its own constitutional legislative authority.

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Republican legislative leaders, Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu and Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, did not immediately return emails seeking comment. Sen. Howard Marklein, chairman of the Legislature’s budget committee, said after a hearing Tuesday that he had not seen the lawsuit and declined to comment.

In addition to not approving the University of Wisconsin pay increases, Evers says the Legislature is blocking state conservation programs, updates to state commercial construction standards and ethical standards for licensed professionals.

Small groups of lawmakers exercise executive power over large parts of government activities, the lawsuit alleges. The powers to create and implement the law must be separated again.

The Legislature included a 6% pay increase for UW employees over two years in the state budget that was passed earlier this year and that Evers signed. But wage increases must also be approved by a Republican Party-controlled committee of legislative leaders. That panel on Oct. 10. 17 approved pay increases for state employees, but not for UW employees, because Vos opposes spending at the university for diversity, equity and inclusion efforts and positions.

Evers cites the Legislature’s budget committees’ rejection of dozens of conservation projects proposed by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources under the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program. Republicans have long been critics of the program, which protects land from development.

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The lawsuit also cites the Legislature’s Joint Committee for Review of Administrative Rules, which has blocked rules developed by a state agency and board to update Wisconsin’s commercial building standards and ethical standards for social workers, marriage and family therapists and professional counselors .

The lawsuit is the latest salvo in the contentious relationship between Evers and the Republican Legislature.

Evers and the Republican Party-controlled Legislature have been at odds since Evers was elected in November 2018. He has vetoed more than any other Wisconsin governor, including blocking numerous bills that would change the way elections would be conducted in the key presidential state.

The Legislature convened a lame duck session just weeks before Evers took office to weaken the new governor’s powers. They have repeatedly rejected appointments Evers made to boards and commissions, including the resignation of a majority of the Natural Resources Board in October.

Another sign of their strained relationship is that Evers has rarely met with Republican legislative leaders. Evers is in the first year of his second term.

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Republicans have done their best to increase the number of seats they hold to nearly veto-proof supermajorities. They have the necessary two-thirds majority in the Senate and are two votes short in the General Assembly.

Evers and other Democrats are backing a lawsuit at the state Supreme Court seeking to have the Republican-drafted legislative map rejected in favor of one that would likely reduce the Republican majority. Oral arguments in that case are scheduled for November 21.

Evers’ new lawsuit argues that the Legislature is essentially trying to change state law without passing a bill and sending it to the governor for approval or veto. The lawsuit claims that similar efforts by lawmakers have been rejected by courts in Alaska, Kentucky, Michigan, New Jersey, Mississippi and West Virginia.

The lawsuit argues that the state Supreme Court should hear the case directly because of its significant statewide impact and harm from blocking wage increases, delaying programs and failing to meet modern building standards. Four of the seven judges elected are liberals, giving them a majority.

If the court agrees to accept the case, it will set deadlines for oral arguments within a few weeks. Otherwise, the case would have to go through the lower courts first, which would likely take months or more.

Associated Press writer Harm Venhuizen contributed to this report.