In a surprise move late Wednesday, Senate Republicans used a series of parliamentary maneuvers to overcome a three-week stalemate with Democrats and pass the governor’s controversial budget repair bill.
With a crowd of protesters chanting outside their chambers, Senators approved an amended version of Gov. Scott Walker’s bill, which would strip most collective bargaining rights from public employees.
The new bill removes all fiscal elements of the proposal, but still curbs collective bargaining and increases employee payments for pension and health benefits.
After the session, Senate Republicans scattered, answering no questions. But Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald said in a release, “Enough is enough.”
But no one could explain Wednesday how the Senate managed to pass components of the original bill that seemed to have fiscal elements, including changes in pensions and benefits.
Fitzgerald’s spokesman, Andrew Welhouse, said Republicans were following the advice of their legal counsel, who advised them which parts of the bill could be passed.
The move ended a bizarre two-and-a-half hour stretch of state government in which the Senate surprised everyone by gaveling in quickly and passing the governor’s bill into a conference committee, scheduled for less than two hours later.
The word quickly spread that the Republicans were planning to ram the measure through in committee, by stripping the fiscal elements of the bill. Within an hour, the rotunda began to fill with angry protesters, while an even larger crowd gathered outside the building.
The conference committee lasted less than 15 minutes, and featured an angry speech by State Rep. Peter Barca, D-Kenosha, who accused the Republicans of violating the state’s open meeting law.
Moments later, the Senate adopted the bill, 18-1, with only Sen. Dale Schultz, R-Richland Center, voting no. The Assembly is expected to take up the measure at 11 a.m. Thursday.
