Doug La Follette Delays Bill

UPDATE, June 15, 2011: Doug La Follette: 'I will publish' the law on June 28
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UPDATE, March 18, 2011: La Follette's legal representation challenged
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UPDATE, March 14, 2011: Wisconsin unions rush to get deals in place

School boards and local governments across Wisconsin are rushing to reach agreements with unions before a new law takes effect that will remove their ability to collectively bargain over nearly all issues other than minimal salary increases.

Secretary of State Doug La Follette said Monday he decided to delay publication of the law until the latest day possible, March 25, to give those local governments as much time as possible to reach agreements. The law doesn't take effect until the day after La Follette publishes it.

Gov. Scott Walker had asked La Follette to publish the law on Monday, but the Democratic secretary of state, who called the new law the biggest change in labor management history in 50 years, said he didn't see any emergency that warranted him doing that.

La Follette said he heard from many schools, cities and counties urging him to delay enactment of the law as long as possible.

...The Wisconsin Association of School Boards is telling districts to be cautious about approving contracts that will make it more difficult for them to handle the cuts in aid Walker is seeking. The association had estimated earlier this month that up to a fourth of the state's 424 districts have approved new contract extensions since Walker unveiled the bill on Feb. 11.

La Follette is doing the unions' bidding. The unions pull the strings.
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UPDATE, March 14, 2011: La Follette: Collective bargaining bill will be law March 25

"It's the best thing for the state of Wisconsin," La Follette said.

No, it's not.

It's clear that Democrats like La Follette care about unions, special interest groups, more than they care about Wisconsin taxpayers and the state's fiscal health.
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Wisconsin DEMOCRAT Secretary of State Doug La Follette has made it official. He's going to drag his feet on the budget repair bill.

Although Governor Scott Walker officially signed the bill into law around 9:30 on Friday morning, he held a ceremonial signing and press conference on Friday afternoon.

Video here.

Transcript

GOVERNOR SCOTT WALKER: We just had a ceremonial signing. I officially signed Act 11 into law, excuse me, Act 10 into law this morning at approximately 9:30. That measure was taken over to the Secretary of State's office. He has signed it, and we're awaiting publication of that, which routinely, when requested, is done in the next working day. He has up to 10 working days to do it, but routinely in the past it has been done upon request within one working day. And it is our hope that tradition in state government will continue.

Naturally, La Follette does not intend to uphold tradition.

From the Wisconsin State Journal:

State senators left the state for three weeks. Assembly members forced a marathon, 61-hour debate in their chamber. Now, Secretary of State Doug La Follette will join the list of Democrats delaying Gov. Scott Walker's controversial bill to limit collective bargaining for public employees.

Walker signed the bill early Friday, but it doesn't take effect until the secretary of state publishes the proposal, and La Follette said he would not publish the law until March 25 to allow time for legal challenges to move through the courts. Laws don't take effect until one day after they are published with the Legislative Reference Bureau.

...La Follette, a Democrat, said in an interview that it's normal procedure to publish laws 10 business days after the governor signs them, although he said it is sometimes necessary speed up the process.

"The governor wants to publish this on Monday, but that seems a mad rush to conclusion when there are so many questions," La Follette said. "This is one of the biggest changes in Wisconsin I can remember, and I've been around for 30 years."

From the Duluth News Tribune:

The law can’t take effect until Secretary of State Doug La Follette, a Democrat who opposes the law, sends official notice to the Wisconsin State Journal in Madison to publish the language, the Associated Press reported.

Did La Follete ever deny a request from Jim Doyle?

Did he ever wait to publish a law in the past when there were "so many questions"?

The fact is La Follette is obstructing, just like his Democrat cohorts.

I'm concerned about what will happen on March 25, after the 10 business day window has passed.

I don't trust him. The Democrats have shown they can't be trusted to perform the duties they were elected to do.

I hope someone is monitoring La Follette's moves. Maybe he'll make a run for the border before the end of the day on March 25. It's what Dems do.

Will Obama's political machine or the union bosses put La Follette up in a hotel for a couple of months or a couple of years if necessary?

I wonder if La Follette is already booked to appear on MSNBC the night of March 25.

Does that seem outlandish?

At one time in Wisconsin, it would seem utterly goofy to suggest such a scenario.

Not anymore.