State representatives Mark Pocan, D-Madison, Joe Parisi, D-Madison, and Sondy Pope-Roberts, D-Verona, threatened to filibuster during the legislative session this week in order to bring up the Ethics Reform bill for debate and a vote.
Introduced by state Sen. Michael Ellis, R-Neenah, Senate Bill 1 would merge the state Ethics and Elections Board into one entity. This would allow for independent oversight to investigate and prosecute wrongdoings.
Although SB 1 was passed in the Senate with a 28-5 vote, it is not scheduled for discussion this week while the Assembly is in session. Both Pocan and Parisi cited Republican leadership\ as the reason why the bill was not scheduled.
""The bill sailed inbipartisan way through the state senate, it has the support of the governor and suddenly the only roadblock seems to be the Republican leadership,"" Pocan said.
Parisi said part of the reason SB 1 is having a hard time getting scheduled is because there are legislators who do not want to go on record and vote against a bill supporting ethical government provisions.
""This protects a lot of incumbents right before election time from having to take a vote that could hurt them in their reelection campaign,"" Parisi said.
This is the last week the state Assembly is in session and Parisi and Pocan said they along with other representatives plan to filibuster in order to force a vote on the issue.
""We're trying to let them know that we aren't going to go quietly, that were going to do everything we can to force them to allow a vote on the ethics bill so that Republicans don't kill ethics reform in Wisconsin,"" Pocan said.
UW-Madison political science professor Dennis Dresang, said a filibuster scheduled this week could be effective because of the short time span left in the legislative session. The delays brought by the filibuster would prevent action on a number of bills legislators wanted to vote on.
Assembly lead author of the Campaign and Ethics Board Reform and state Rep. Terri McCormick, R-Appleton, said she has ""personally phoned"" her assembly colleagues and has ""garnered a majority of votes to pass it,"" in a statement.
McCormick called on the Assembly to schedule SB 1 and cited the recent convictions of former Assembly speaker Scott Jensen, R-Brookfield, and former majority leader Chuck Chuvala, D-Madison, as reasons for the Assembly to take action.
If the filibuster is unsuccessful, both Parisi and Pocan said the ethics reform bill would die, forcing legislators who want to bring it up again to start from square one next year.
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