RHINELANDER – Prior to Dane County Circuit Court Judge Maryann Sumi’s ruling that the state put Governor Walker’s Collective Bargaining Law on hold, the Department of Administration was moving forward as if it was official.
That meant the DOA would start deducting money from state workers’ paychecks.
On April 21st, state workers would have noticed healthcare and pension contributions removed from their paychecks.
They would also notice their union dues added back in.
The Department of Administration says Department Secretary Mike Huebsch could have done this because the law required him to after a bill is published, and because the DOA wasn’t part of the pending lawsuit regarding Judge Sumi’s injunction.
If Act 10 becomes an official law, the DOA can legally deduct health care and pension contributions from workers’ paychecks because the law says so on page 40, under section 9115.
The Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission acts as the middle man between state and local workers, and the government.
And Peter Davis from the Commission says there are still loose ends that need tying. “One is whether the open meetings law was complied with, and if not, what the consequences are for the law. The second issue is whether the law is fiscal in nature, so that a quorum larger than was present would be needed.”
But Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald says the contributions in the law didn’t require the quorum becuase they’re not appropriations.
Appropriations are “acts of a legislature authorizing money to be paid from the treasury for a specified use,” according to dictionary.com.
And Senator Fitzgerald says the contributions are payroll deductions, and have nothing to do with the Treasury.
That’s how he says the attorneys and Fiscal Bureau analysts made their determinations.
“It’s simply taking dollars that are already allocated, to an employee through their payroll check and benefits, and simply keeping it. It’s something that’s not determined by myself or any of the legislators,” says Senator Fitzgerald.
Fitzgerald also says the Legislature will be taking up other issues on the table when they go into session on April 5th.