Three Republican state legislators introduced a bill Monday that would place more stringent rules on starting recall proceedings against state and local officials.
Legislators designed the bill in response to both political parties in the state using the recall provision as a “campaign tool,” according to Todd Allbaugh, the chief of staff for state Sen. Dale Schultz, R-Richland Center, who was one of three state senators to introduce the legislation.
The new bill would only allow a recall if an elected official violates a criminal or civil law, according to the bill.
Allbaugh said Schultz signed on to the legislation after constituents repeatedly said they were “sick” of all the recalls in the state. The state held 15 recalls over the past two years, starting with petitions circulated in late 2011 to recall Gov. Scott Walker and Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch.
“[The constituents] felt that recalls should rise to the level of high crimes and misdemeanors,” Allbaugh said. “It should be a crime that has been committed, not just because [the official] took one bad vote or one vote that you disagree with.”
Current recall rules do not require the petitioners to have a specific reason for the recall, according to the Government Accountability Board’s recall manual. However, petitioners must wait until the elected official has served a full year before any petitions can be filed.
Once a petition is created, it must be circulated to get a certain number of signatures. The actual number required depends on how many votes the elected official received in the most recent election.
