Did Wisconsin Secretary of State Doug La Follette lie to the Associated Press, the MacIver Institute, the public, or some combination of the three?
On February 11, Wisconsin Scott Walker introduced his budget repair bill, which aimed to close a $137 million gap in state finances for the current fiscal year. One component of the plan included provisions that would alter the powers of government employee unions, effectively eliminating their ability to collectively bargain for anything other than wages.
You kn0w the chaos that ensued.
After much gnashing of the teeth, a three week impromptu vacation by Wisconsin Senate Democrats, the actual occupation of the State Capitol Building in Madison and endless protests organized by the Democratic Party, their union allies and other liberal interest groups, the bill passed both houses of the Wisconsin legislature and was signed into law by Walker on March 11th. The bill was thertofore to be known as 2011 Wisconsin Act 10.
Walker then requested that La Follette, who by law had 10 business days by which he needed to publish the bill, to do so on Monday, March 14.
On March 14th the Associated Press reported: “La Follette said he heard from many schools, cities and counties urging him to delay enactment of the law as long as possible.”
That day, La Follette announced he would wait the full 10 business days and not publish the Act until March 25th.
During the delay, a liberal Dane County Judge granted a temporary restraining order on the bill’s publication and the legislation has been in legal limbo ever since.
Again, La Follette said he heard from “many” local officials and that’s why he delayed publication of Act 10.
The morning of March 18th, the MacIver Institute filed an open records request with La Follette’s office for :
“Copies of all correspondence you have received, including, but not limited to, letters, emails, voice mails, records of phone calls, and logs of in-person meetings regarding the subject of changes to Wisconsin’s collective bargaining laws for public employees.
“Included in this request are communications specifically pertaining to SSSB11, SSAB11, and 2011 Wis. Act 10 as well as the issue generally.”
We wanted to know which local officials were among the ‘many’ who contacted the Secretary of State; and, what other individual or groups wrote to him about the subject.
We received our answer on Monday–seven weeks after we made the public records request.