When two legislators from opposite sides of the aisle agree something is a bad idea, it may well be. In this case, it's reaction to combining a budget repair bill and ratification of the Great Lakes Compact into a single legislative package. “The Great Lakes Compact has broad bipartisan support, it's taken long time to put together, and it should stand on its own.” That's the view of Assembly Minority Leader Jim Kreuser, reacting to a published report that the two bills might be merged. “It shouldn't be used as leverage for a budget repair deal.”
And Kreuser's not alone: Whitewater Republican Steve Nass is also opposed, because the details are still largely a mystery. “We presently have no idea what either one is going to contain,” said Nass. “It's all guesswork right now, because everything has been done behind closed doors.” Nass wants Assembly Speaker Mike Huebsch to reject the idea. “Just short of coercion,” was how Kreuser characterized the proposal to merge the bills: “just think how awful this really is, when Representative Nass and I totally agree on something.”
AUDIO: Bob Hague reports (:60 MP3)
