Judge Declines to Sign Injunction on GAB Rule

Looks like this is a little setback.

A federal judge declined to sign an injunction Wednesday barring the state from enforcing new disclosure rules on campaign-style ads, but the state is sticking by an agreement not to implement them.

U.S. District Court William M. Conley in Madison ordered the state and two groups that sued over the rules to file briefs next week saying whether federal court is the correct venue to decide the case.

Two other cases are pending over the rules - in federal court in Milwaukee and before the state Supreme Court. The state court hasn’t yet ruled on whether it will take the case.

Conley asked the state and groups to file briefs by Aug. 19 that addressed whether he should abstain from ruling in the case in light of the state Supreme Court case. He also asked them to weigh in on whether others should be allowed to be heard on the matter because the case involves just two groups but the rules affect many others.