Members of the Joint Finance Committee met last week for an abnormal, closed-door session.
Controlling Republicans on the committee refused to sign a non-disclosure agreement Attorney General Josh Kaul presented them.
Under the specific lame duck bill, Kaul is required to receive finance committee approval prior to settling certain state suits. Kaul claims that he cannot discuss the ongoing legal matter with the committee unless they sign the agreement.
The rift resulted in Republicans leaving the closed-door sessions with a lack of a signed agreement and a resurgence of bipartisan animosity over lame duck policy and foresight.
Republican members cite both what they believe to be a mutual understanding that closed-door sessions are confidential and a desire to have legal representation prior to signing a legal document as reasons for the disagreement. Sen. Alberta Darling, R-River Hills, and Rep. John Nygren, R-Marinette, sent a letter to Kaul last month voicing said concerns.
However, according to the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council, there is no law prohibiting members from discussing matters after the session is over. Citizens can also submit open records requests for the closed-door meetings.
Democrats such as Jon Erpenback, D-West Point, also declined to sign the agreement for different reasons.
“I’m not going to personally sign a nondisclosure because the attorney general was elected to do the job,” Erpenbach said. “The law Republicans passed to do the job isn’t working.”
Sen. Chris Taylor, D-Madison, spoke out on Twitter today against the lame duck bills and hinted at a proposed bill to solve this issue.
“The simplest way to fix this problem is to let @WisDOJ do the job the people elected him to do,” Taylor said.
Republicans have responded by hiring attorney Andrew Phillips to represent them in committee. According to the Associated Press, Phillips signed the confidentiality agreement on behalf of the committee, but Kaul’s office still had confidentiality concerns.
Committee leaders such as Nygren are seemingly growing frustrated with the lack of movement and stagnation at this time.
“We tried to find an alternative,” Nygren said. “He’s kind of the one throwing up roadblocks. We’ve shown a willingness to meet regularly. The ball’s kind of in his court now.”
Kaul and the Department of Justice remain uncertain until one side flinches. Meanwhile, six cases with millions of dollars at stake are in limbo as a result of the lame duck law.
