The Department of Administration agreed to cease implementation of the governor’s union bill Thursday after a Dane County circuit court judge declared in an amended order the bill’s publication did not make it a law.
DOA Secretary Mike Huebsch said the newly amended order contained language that would require his agency to cease implementing the provisions within the bill.
“While I believe the budget repair bill was legally published and is indeed law, given the most recent court action we will suspend the implementation of it at this time,” Huebsch said in a statement. “DOA will continue to abide by the court orders, like the department has done all throughout this process.”
The DOA had begun implementing provisions within the bill since the weekend. They had finished updating the payroll system to subtract increased employee contributions to health premiums and pensions from paychecks and were in the process of testing the changes when Huebsch decided to stop putting the bill into effect, DOA spokesperson Carla Vigue said.
Dane County Circuit Court Judge Maryann Sumi first ordered a temporary restraining order barring publication of the governor’s bill limiting collective bargaining by the secretary of state on March 18. The order also prohibited further implementation of the bill, but after the Legislative Reference Bureau published the bill online March 25 some agencies believed the bill had been moved into law.
Sumi had chosen not to rule on whether the LRB publication made the bill into law in her previous two orders, from which the DOA concluded the bill was in fact law and justified their continued implementation of it.
Republican leadership did not welcome Sumi’s third amended version of the temporary restraining order.
“Once again, one Dane County judge is doing everything she can to stand in the way of our efforts to improve the economy and create jobs,” Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, said in a statement. “The fact that the prosecution didn’t even request an amended TRO makes it clear: this is judicial activism at its worst.”
He added it was ridiculous to think a circuit court had more say over legislation than the actual Legislature.
The Department of Justice, who had been in contact with the DOA over the matter, believed the LRB’s publication did move the bill into law and objected to Sumi’s newest order.
The DOJ said the order is issued over their objections and they did not believe it is proper, but would respect the court’s decision, according to a statement from Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen’s office.
The statement went on to say the DOJ believes the case filed by Dane County District Attorney Ismael Ozanne and the TRO that came out of that case needs to be looked at further.
“Ultimately, we expect a higher court will need to weigh in on the fundamental issues of constitutional law and judicial power that these proceedings have put to the test,” the statement read.
The DOJ filed an appeal March 21 to the original ruling, which the court then referred to the Supreme Court because of the importance and impact of such a case.
The Supreme Court has not decided whether they would hear the case.
The Dane County circuit court case is scheduled to reconvene Friday.
