Renovation and Expansion of the Art Museum in the Kartause Ittingen

Facts

The Canton of Thurgau operates an art museum in the Kartause Ittingen. The museum rooms were constructed in 1983 and financed with contributions from the canton. In 2011, the Cantonal Council commissioned the Kartause Ittingen Foundation to develop a preliminary project for an expansion building. The canton also wanted to renovate the existing exhibition rooms. The Grand Council approved an object credit of CHF 4.6 million for the renovation. Some citizens filed a complaint against this decision, as they believed it was a new and not a fixed expenditure that should have been subject to the financial referendum.

Considerations

The Federal Supreme Court examines freely whether the Grand Council has correctly classified the object credit as a fixed expenditure. According to the case law of the Federal Supreme Court, expenditures are considered fixed if they are in principle and in terms of scope prescribed by a legal provision or are absolutely necessary for the fulfilment of the legally regulated administrative tasks. In the case of building maintenance, it depends on the extent of the scope of discretion in the "whether" and "how".

In the present case, the object credit serves the comprehensive climatic renovation and thermal insulation of the existing exhibition rooms of the Thurgau Art Museum. However, the…