By State Representative Leon D. Young
Leon D. Young
There appears to be no limit or degree to which Republicans will stoop in attempting to enact their union-busting bill, which denies public sector workers their right to collective bargain. Just last week, the subversive actions of Scott Walker and his GOP cohorts hit a speed bump, when a Dane County Circuit Judge, Maryann Sumi, issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) to prevent the Secretary of State from publishing this draconian legislation.
In predictable fashion, Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen, a Republican, issued a public statement that asserted “circuit court judges cannot interfere with the enactment of laws, which is the constitutional duty of the Legislature and the government. Past Supreme Court decisions make clear that courts cannot stop laws from taking effect based solely on a claim that the Legislature didn’t follow proper procedures, even one as important as the open meetings law. Mr. Van Hollen also indicated that that his office would seek an immediate appeal, in order to have the TRO vacated.
Van Hollen’s cabal to move this repugnant legislation forward hit, yet another, snag last Thursday (March 24th). An appeals court judge refused to overturn the temporary restraining order, referring the issue to the Wisconsin State Supreme Court.
This, in turn, prompted the GOP to engage in other nefarious tactics. Responding to direct political pressure from the Senate Majority leader, Scott Fitzgerald, the Legislative Reference Bureau (LRB) was coerced into “publishing” the union-busting bill (Wisconsin Act 10).
Wisconsin Statute, section 35.09 (3)(a), requires the Legislative Reference Bureau to “administratively publish” every act within 10 working days after its date of enactment. This “published document” is then sent to the Wisconsin Secretary of State, who then has the responsibility of “officially publishing” the act (that carries the weight of law) by noticing it in the appropriate state newspaper (Wisconsin State Journal).
This begs the question: since, there is a TRO in place that prevents the Secretary of State from “officially publishing” this legislation; and coupled with the fact that the LRB does not have legal authority to officially publish ANY act, is this union- busting bill now law?
Ultimately, this is a legal question that the courts must decide, but in this layperson’s opinion — this legislation does not pass the legal smell test for being law!
Shout-out:
Please remember to vote Tuesday, April 5th. There is too much at stake to stay home!