Governor Scott Walker reacted Thursday to a Dane County judge’s decision on collective bargaining. During a stop in Neenah, the governor wouldn’t comment on whether he thinks legislative leaders broke the open meetings law, but said his staff is evaluating the available options. “It’s going to take us some time to have legal counsel look at it” said Walker. Dane County Judge Maryann Sumi ruled that Republican lawmakers violated the Open Meetings Law when they scheduled a conference committee meeting to advance a stripped down version of the Governor’s collective bargaining bill with less than two hours notice.
Walker said legislative leaders could notice another vote on the collective bargaining bill and pass it again, or they could include it in the state budget. He said the issue could also be decided by the state’s Supreme Court as soon as next month. “They’re looking for the first week in June to possibly hear the case,” said Walker. “Much will depend on whether or not they’re willing to act quickly or not.” Regardless, Walker said the measure needs to be in place soon, because it’s crucial to balancing the next state budget.
Rick Schuh, WHBY