What’s next for collective bargaining? Legislative leaders could decide to pass the bill again after giving ample notice.
A Dane County judge ruled on Thursday that legislators violated the state Open Meetings Law on March 9 when they voted to approve the collective bargaining bill with less than two hours notice. Another option is to include the measure in the state budget.
Democrat Bob Jauch (Poplar) is one of 14 senators who fled Wisconsin for three weeks to prevent a quorum needed to vote on the so-called union rights bill. Would that happen again? “Certainly I’m not interested in doing that again. There’s no reason to, to tell you the truth…”
Senator Tim Cullen (D-Janesville) was also part of the political standoff. He later said that he would not do that again, saying “It was extraordinary action to take over an extraordinarily important bill.”
Governor Scott Walker says the measure needs to be in place soon, because it’s crucial to balancing the next state budget. Joint Finance Committee Co-Chair Alberta Darling (R-River Hills) agrees, criticizing Judge Maryann Sumi as a “very activist judge making a very bias decision.” Darling says, “The repair bill and the budget bill are a team … they go hand-in-hand. We need both of them.”
What next? Jauch says, “Anything is possible…” He continues, referring to Republican lawmakers, “This is like the gang who couldn’t shoot straight.”
The Wisconsin Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments regarding the law on June 6th.