The last step before Scott Walker's union-busting bill becomes law is for Wisconsin's secretary of state, Doug La Follette, to publish it. He has 10 business days to do so--the latest date he can publish it is March 25. And he intends to use every one.
La Follette said his office generally waits the full 10 business days to publish new legislation because there are often multiple acts in the pipeline. In this case, he said he planned to wait "a few days" pending legal challenges.
"Most pieces of legislation are not controversial," he said Friday.
One factor giving La Follette pause about publishing the bill--there's already legal action underway to stop it from taking effect.
Early on Friday, La Follette got notice that Dane County (Madison) Executive Kathleen Falk was trying to get an injunction to stop the bill's publication. Falk says that there were still fiscal items in the bill that required a quorum to be present before any vote can even take place. As Erik the Liberal pointed out on Thursday, the bill contains at least two items that could have a fiscal impact on the state. Also, Dane County attorney Marcia McKenzie filed a suit of her own, alleging that the law would result in missed paychecks for county employees.
All of this, plus allegations of open-meetings violations, make La Follette unwilling to publish the law just yet. Hopefully in that time some judge will strike it down.