◼ Republicans might not need Democrats after all to pass some of the most controversial elements of Gov. Scott Walker’s controversial budget repair bill, Marquette University law assistant professor Richard Esenberg said.
The Senate convened Thursday morning to vote on the legislation that, among other provisions, strips 175,000 state employees of most of their collective bargaining rights.
But when roll call was held, Democratic senators were nowhere to be found. Because the legislation is deemed a fiscal bill, three-fifths of the Senate needed to be in attendance before a vote could be taken.
With 19 GOP senators, the Republican majority was one senator shy of the 20-senator requirement...
if Republicans included non-fiscal, but still controversial provisions, in a separate bill — including, potentially, the provisions regarding collective bargaining — legally they’d only need 17 senators for a vote to be held, Esenberg said. That means Republicans could vote without a single Democrat being present, he said.
◼ "What the Democrats don't like isn't dictatorship, it is democracy." - althouse
