The criteria for recalling an elected official in future elections would become narrower under a state constitutional amendment approved by an Assembly committee on Tuesday.

According to the amendment’s analysis by legislative council, the Legislature would establish a code of ethics to be used as a criteria for determining if a politician faced with a serious crime or ethics problem could be eligible for recall, and recall petitioners would be required to demonstrate sufficient grounds for a recall.

The Election and Campaign Reform committee voted along party lines to send the bill to the Assembly floor for debate. Before the approval, the constitutional amendment would have to pass the Legislature in the current session and the next, before eventually going to a statewide voter referendum. 

Rep. Kelda Roys, D-Madison, said she would not vote for the resolution and expressed her concerns with the constitutional restrictions the bill would create.

“During the public hearing I asked a number of questions to the author of the bill over what conduct would allow the recall to happen, and he couldn’t give me any answers,” Roys said. “If we’re going to impair someone’s right to hold elected officials accountable, I’d like some certainty around that.”

Rep. Gary Tauchen, R-Bonduel, shared Roys’ concerns over the details of the bill, but said they would be hashed out in the near future. He said this was because of the lengthy process an amendment has to go through to be finalized, and was less concerned that the bill would have insufficient details and certainty.

Rep. Jeff Stone, R-Greendale, also shared concerns about the specifics of the bill and wanted to make sure the structuring of ethics code was handled properly. Stone, along with others on the committee, questioned how the new ethics code created by the bill would relate the current ethics code to state statutes. 

Analysis by the legislative council said the current ethics law on the books would overrule the amendment’s ethics code until a potential recall was proposed.

Rep. JoCasta Zamarripa, D-Milwaukee, voted against the bill, saying she strongly believes the amendment would be a mistake.

“Former Gov. La Follete would be turning over in his grave,” Zamarripa said.

The committee also unanimously passed a second bill related to recalls, which would provide a penalty for anyone who used “anything of value” to induce someone to sign or not sign a recall petition.

Roys said she would support the bill because the signing of a recall petition should be treated the same as an election.

“Last year I offered an amendment to do just this and almost all the Republican members of Assembly voted to table the amendment,” Roys said. “I’m delighted to see you guys coming around.”

According to the legislative council there is very little evidence in previous case law for what constitutes “anything of value” that would trigger the penalty.

The council’s analysis cited paying $5 dollars in exchange for voting in an election or offering free child care for parents who wanted to vote on election day as past examples of violations that would potentially be enough to trigger the penalty.