As a hot-button issue in the November elections, ethics reform once again took center stage last week in the Wisconsin state Legislature. In a bipartisan effort, the Ethics Reform Bill advanced through the state Assembly and Senate and now awaits approval from the Joint Finance Committee. However, there are still a few issues that must be addressed.
Last week state lawmakers had two gripes with the bill. First, the non-severability clause—which would throw out the entire bill if a court found any part of it to be unconstitutional—and second, the provision allowing lawmakers to be tried in their home counties instead of in the county where the crime took place.
Fortunately, last week the Senate Committee on Campaign Finance and Ethics voted down the non-severability clause, which means the bill can no longer be thrown out on a technicality. If this clause had stayed in, the bill would have certainly failed if examined by the courts, meaning no more Government Accountability Board and no chance at reform this legislative cycle.
With one concern wiped away, it is now in the hands of the Joint Finance Committee to strike the provision allowing lawmakers to be tried in their home counties, which, as Dane County District Attorney Brian Blanchard pointed out, is unconstitutional.
Article 1, Section 7 of the Wisconsin State Constitution states ""the accused shall enjoy the right ... to a speedy public trial by an impartial jury of the county or district wherein the offense shall have been committed."" This also appears in the federal constitution, and to include a provision in the Ethics Reform Bill stating otherwise is implausible.
Another concern is the inordinate amount of paperwork the provision would cause as prosecutors from counties across the state would have to send information back and forth during the litigation process. Supporters claim it would protect lawmakers from the ultra-liberal prosecutors in Dane County; however, Blanchard has proven over the past few years he is willing to prosecute Republicans and Democrats alike.
It is likely the Senate Committee on Campaign Finance and Ethics decided to let the Joint Finance Committee tackle this issue because it wanted to assure the bill's eventual passage. Also, we applaud state Sen. Mike Ellis, R-Neenah, for introducing an amendment to strike it down.
Now it is time for action, and our state lawmakers must prove they are serious about ethics reform.
