State officials have not stopped putting in place changes to collective bargaining rules for public employees despite a judge's order barring the law's implementation -- and a threat of sanctions against anyone who violates it.
Department of Administration Secretary Mike Huebsch said Wednesday he has a legal obligation to implement all laws passed by the Legislature, signed by Gov. Scott Walker and published into law. Huebsch said the Department of Justice and his own legal counsel, a team of DOA attorneys, agree the measure has met those requirements "and is now effective law."
"It is my duty to administer that law," he said.
Huebsch's latest comments raise questions about whether he or others could face sanctions following a hearing Tuesday, when Dane County Circuit Judge Maryann Sumi said any further implementation of the law is prohibited under a temporary court order.
"Now that I've made my earlier order as clear as it possibly can be, I must state that those who act in open and willful defiance of the court order place not only themselves at peril of sanctions, they also jeopardize the financial and the governmental stability of the state of Wisconsin," Sumi said Tuesday.
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Sumi was referring to a March 18 ruling that a legislative committee likely violated the state's open meetings law when it rushed passage of the bill earlier this month. That order also barred Secretary of State Doug La Follette from publishing the law.
But the nonpartisan Legislative Reference Bureau, which was not a party to the case, published the law on the Legislature's website Friday citing a separate statutory obligation to publish laws within 10 days of being signed by the governor. That has prompted the administration to declare the law is in effect.
A Democratic leader who has repeatedly raised questions about violations linked to the law slammed Huebsch's comments.
"My advice to him is to follow the judge's order," said Assembly Minority Leader Peter Barca, D-Kenosha.
But Huebsch said the legal effect of Sumi's order on his ability to implement the law is "unclear." Changes under the law were being implemented this week, but public employees won't see them until their April 21 paychecks, with increases in health insurance premiums and retirement contributions, as well as a stop to automatic collection of union dues, Huebsch said Monday.
Huebsch pointed out that the DOA is not a party to the lawsuit and said Sumi's order fails to state the law is not in effect. "It is unclear how she can issue an order binding non-parties to a case who have not had their day in court," he said.
A Department of Justice official echoed his statements. Steven Means, executive assistant to Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen, said the DOJ continues to believe that Sumi's order does not apply to state agencies that are not parties in the lawsuit, which was brought by Dane County District Attorney Ismael Ozanne.
Means said the DOJ continues to be in contact with affected state agencies but would not comment on what advice it is providing.
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The DOA will "continue to monitor court proceedings," Huebsch added, and will continue to work with legal counsel and the Department of Justice to determine an appropriate course of action.
State Journal reporter Ed Treleven contributed to this report.
Copyright (c) 2011, The Wisconsin State Journal/Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
