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REDISTRICTING BILLS SIGNED
Wednesday, August 10th, 2011 -- 11:36 am
Posted by Riley Hebert-News Director
From WRN:
Governor Scott Walker has signed new congressional and legislative redistricting maps.
Governor Walker signed the bills late Tuesday afternoon, less than an hour before he was required to act on the plans creating new district lines for state and federal lawmakers. The Governor signed the bills in private, releasing only a statement noting the maps meet the objective criteria laid out by the courts.
The last three times Wisconsin has drawn new maps, they were decided in the courts because of split control of the Legislature. Republicans hold majorities in both houses right now, so they were able to advance their own proposals through the normal process.
Assembly Minority Leader Peter Barca (D-Kenosha) called the Governor's action a blatant partisan power grab, and says it shows Walker has zero interest in uniting Wisconsin. Democrats had been calling on Walker to veto the maps, arguing that they are designed to help Republicans hold on to the majority for the next decade.
If Governor Walker had failed to sign the bills, they would have still taken effect without his signature. The last time a Wisconsin governor allowed a law to be enacted that way was in 1993, when former Governor Tommy Thompson did not sign a bill creating tougher OWI penalties.
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