Second Dane County Judge Rules Against Lame Duck Laws
Wednesday, March 27th, 2019 -- 11:54 AM
(WRN) -A ruling by a Dane County judge invalidates portions of Republican "lame duck" session laws that limit the powers Democratic Governor Tony Evers and Attorney General Josh Kaul.Tuesday's ruling by Judge Frank Remington is the second which overrides Republican lawmakers who enacted the laws just before Evers and Kaul took office. Republican leaders plan to appeal the initial rulings. Remington's halts enforcement of a key provision of one of the laws that prevents the A-G from ending state participation in a lawsuit. It also suspends measures that hamper the governor's ability to advance administrative rules and other documents. The ruling rejects the plaintiffs' request to halt other provisions of the laws. The suit was brought by several public employee unions and state Senator Janet Bewley, and argued that portions of the lame duck laws violate the constitutional separation of powers between the legislative and executive branches.
A seperate ruling last week temporarily put the laws on hold. Republican leaders asked a state appeals court Friday to put the lame-duck laws back in place, and court filings were due Monday afternoon in response to that request.
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