The so-called Jobs Creation Act was not created in the sunshine, and its backers are doing everything they can to keep the light off.
Dark deal
By
Peg Lautenschlager
As I reflect on my first year as Wisconsin's attorney general, one of my proudest accomplishments has been the concerted effort by the Department of Justice to take measures aimed at restoring the faith of the state's citizens in the process of government at the state and local levels.
To that end, we have established a public integrity unit to investigate and prosecute official misconduct. We have held seminars throughout the state to educate the public and government officials about their obligations under the state open meetings and public records laws. We have also demonstrated a firm commitment to enforcing those laws.
These measures are not the end products of my goal to achieve clean and open government, but are first steps in an unfinished mission to ensure that government officials are accountable for their actions and that the process of government is accessible to all who wish to participate in it.
It was with this commitment in mind that I voiced an objection to the process used by the state Legislature to re-craft and reintroduce an extensive piece of legislation known as the Jobs Creation Act. As did many other groups and citizens, our department expressed a litany of concerns about the original bill when it was introduced last fall. The prospect of a gubernatorial veto sent the bill's architects, specifically lobbyists and a handful of legislators, back to the drawing board and into closed negotiations with members of the governor's staff to work out a compromise which legislative leaders promised would address the concerns of the many who found fault with the original draft.
The much-anticipated amended bill was released on January 7, approximately 24 hours before the Legislature scheduled it for a vote in executive session, the minimum process available. The new bill was 79 pages long and replete with numerical cross references to existing statutes it would revise or delete, in whole or in part. Not only did those interested in the bill have but one working day to digest and study its multitudinous provisions, but legislative leaders refused to allow an opportunity for further public comment and testimony in regard to the changes that had been made. Apparently, they expected all concerned to blindly accept their representation that the bill would not adversely impact the environment, that there were no hidden treasures to advantage certain special interests, and that the bill was fixed to the satisfaction of all.
Sadly, some have accepted those representations at face value and decry the need for any meaningful scrutiny of this important piece of legislation. The reality is that the new bill falls far short of correcting the ills of its predecessor. The governor himself stated that the amended bill is not what was agreed to during the closed negotiations. Most importantly, the Legislature has demonstrated its intent to pass the bill without any opportunity for those who wish to have input to study it and participate in the process of government.
Since when do we not have time to conduct a democracy? State laws impact on all of us, and all of us deserve a meaningful chance to evaluate and comment on potential legislation, particularly an encompassing bill such as this, before it becomes the law of our state.
(A version of this article originally appeared in the Wisconsin State Journal.)
January 18, 2004
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Peg Lautenschlager is an attorney in Madison and a former Wisconsin Attorney General.
