Wisc. Assembly Min. Leader Peter Barca discusses violation of open meetings law on March 9
The Cap Times of Madison, Wisconsin
reports:
Dane County District Attorney Ismael Ozanne charged state Senate Republicans Wednesday with open meetings law violations in connection with a controversial move they made to pass legislation to curtail public sector union bargaining rights.
"Our investigation has found merit in the verified complaints, which allows us to commence this litigation," says Ozanne in a statement. "This litigation does not address the merits or the wisdom of the legislation."
Senate Republicans had been stymied by 14 Democrats who fled the state last month to deprive the GOP-controlled Senate of the 20-member quorum needed to pass Gov. Scott Walker's budget repair bill, which included a measure to effectively end collective bargaining for public employees. A week ago, Republicans hastily called a joint conference committee, including members of both legislative houses, to consider a bill that was stripped of fiscal elements, allowing the legislation to be passed by a simple majority.
State law requires 24 hours notice for such meetings unless "good cause" exists. The Republicans' notice was short of two hours.
According to the article, resolving the complaint could take quite some time, as civil complaints are not allowed against the legislators while the legislature is in session. However, if the complaint is upheld, it raises the possibility that Scott Walker's stealthy vote could be overtuned because among other things, the complaint requests relief in the form of voiding all actions taken at the meeting. Of course, even if that were to happen, the legislature could probably simply call another meeting and repass the law, but anything that keeps Walker's abuse of power in the public's eye is a net positive for opponents of his union-busting measure.