Much to the chagrin of some Republican lawmakers, the newly modified Taxpayer Protection Amendment narrowly passed through an Assembly committee Wednesday afternoon.
Just a day before Wednesday's vote, TPA author state Rep. Jeff Wood, R-Chippewa Falls, added an amendment that, among other things, altered the proposal by not requiring municipal government arbitration if benefits and salaries exceed spending limits. The Assembly Ways and Means Committee approved this change in a seven to six vote, with state Rep. Steve Nass, R-Whitewater, joining five Assembly democrats.
In a statement, Nass said the new TPA version contained too many loopholes and quick voting did not allow for adequate analysis.
The vote was rushed and committee rules prevented the introduction of changes to make the proposal more conservative,\ Nass said.
Lance Burri, legislative aide to state Rep. Frank Lasee, R-Bellevue, said Lasee was also very critical of the hurried voting schedule.
""[The] substitute amendment released yesterday is very different from the original bill. There are several big differences, big changes and new things that we hadn't seen before,"" Burri said. ""That was released 25 hours ago. It doesn't do anyone service to release it one day and vote on it the very next day.""
Tim Fiocchi, Wood's spokesperson, said Wednesday's passage was not one made in haste.
""We've had over 20 hours of hearings on the proposed constitutional amendment,"" Fiocchi said. ""The changes made today were all based on testimony and readings we've had with other legislators and with different citizens around the state.""
Fiocchi added more time could not be afforded to TPA deliberation.
""We're just trying to move this thing forward,"" he said. ""The clock is ticking on the legislative session, and I don't think there was a lot new [information] here that people hadn't had any discussions about.""
However, UW-Madison public affairs and applied economics professor Andrew Reshovsky said the amended TPA may have detrimental effects for municipal governments.
""Eventually, over time, if there's a cap on how much you can pay workers, you're not going to get workers or good quality workers,"" Reshovsky said. ""So either cities and towns will have to pay more or just continuously cut services.""
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