Wisconsin Republicans rush agenda before recalls

[Modbert]

The Associated Press: Wisconsin Republicans rush agenda before recalls

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin Republican Gov. Scott Walker and GOP leaders have launched a push to ram several years' worth of conservative agenda items through the Legislature this spring before recall elections threaten to end the party's control of state government.

Republicans, in a rapid sequence of votes over the next eight weeks, plan to legalize concealed weapons, deregulate the telephone industry, require voters to show photo identification at the polls, expand school vouchers and undo an early release for prisoners.

Lawmakers may also act again on Walker's controversial plan stripping public employee unions of their collective bargaining rights. An earlier version, which led to massive protest demonstrations at the Capitol, has been left in limbo by legal challenges.

"Everything's been accelerated," said Republican Rep. Gary Tauchen, who is working on the photo ID bill. "We've got a lot of big bills we're trying to get done."

At least publically, Wisconsin Republicans deny they're rushing legislation for fear of losing their majority.

But Rep. Robin Vos, co-chairman of the Legislature's budget-writing committee, which will attempt to handle two months of budget legislation in half the usual time, acknowledged, "It's a factor. For the budget, yeah, I want to get it done by June 30."

Major bills, like the one to legalize concealed weapons, were introduced just days before public hearings. A major revision to the photo ID proposal was released late on a Friday afternoon, just four days before a committee passed it, prompting complaints from the nonpartisan board that oversees elections.

"There has been no time for the careful evaluation and vetting needed to ensure the best options for voters and election officials is enacted," wrote Kevin Kennedy, head of the nonpartisan Government Accountability Board.

Republican leaders scheduled a full Assembly vote on a bill deregulating the telecommunications industry only a week after a hearing, leaving little opportunity for public comment.

Desperation in the face of massive losses. In the long run, this is likely going to backfire on the GOP in Wisconsin.