Much of that money will help the Government Accountability Board cover the cost of recall elections, which Representative Tamera Grigsby (D-Milwaukee) says didn’t have to happen, making reference to disagreements over the collective bargaining law. “Where we have generated a cost to the state of Wisconsin and to the taxpayers of Wisconsin that didn’t have to be.”
The GAB had originally asked the Joint Finance Committee for about $88,000. The panel rejects that proposal 4-10 along party lines, but unanimously approves about half that — approximately $40,000. JFC Co-chair Robin Vos (R-Rochester) defends that decisions, saying the GAB’s final costs ended up being less than expected.
“We waited to see what the final costs were and they have now come to us saying that they could accomplish all of that and, because they have savings in other areas, they only need $40,000 to able to be whole.”
Vos says it’s at the point where everything is so hyper political. He adds, he’s “100 percent confident” that if the GAB later requests more money, JFC will revisit the situation.
The panel also approves motions to match federal funds for Help America Vote Act (HAVA), to reimburse local governments for voting expenses, and to upgrade the GAB’s online database for lobbying activities.
