Tuesday, August 10, 2010

GAB Backs Down

Outstanding!

The state capitulated Tuesday in a lawsuit over new rules regulating campaign-style ads, agreeing they should not be enforced.

The Government Accountability Board - a panel of six retired judges in charge of running state elections - has been the subject of three lawsuits in the 10 days since the rules took effect.

The lawsuits were brought by nearly a dozen groups from across the political spectrum in two federal courts and the state Supreme Court.

The board and the groups that brought one of the lawsuits filed a joint stipulation Tuesday with the federal court in Madison in which the board agreed to a permanent injunction preventing the enforcement of the rules regarding issue advocacy. The state also agreed to pay the legal costs for those groups, the liberal One Wisconsin Now and the conservative Wisconsin Club for Growth.

Those rules applied to ads and other communications that praised or criticized candidates without telling people specifically to vote for or against them. The rules would require for the first time the disclosure of who funded those communications.

The groups said those rules violated their First Amendment right to free speech.

U.S. District Judge William M. Conley will consider the proposed settlement Wednesday.

Let’s hope the judge accepts the settlement.  In the end, I’d like to see the case litigated and a formal ruling in support of the 1st Amendment handed down, but we’re too close to the election to wait it out.  Hopefully the other two cases proceed.

(1) Comments
Posted by Owen at 1830 hrs
Law + Politics + Politics - Wisconsin

  1. Actually it would seem that the GAB has a back-up plan—GAB 1.91 is essentially the same as 1.28.
    Public Hearing on GAB 1.91
    Posted in Public Hearing
    Time:
    08/30/2010 - 9:45am - 10:45am
    Location:
    G.A.B. Board Room, 212 East Washington Ave., Madison
    NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to ss. 5.05(1)(f), 227.11(2)(a), 227.16, and
    227.24(4) Stats., and interpreting generally Chapter 11, Stats., the Government
    Accountability Board will hold a public hearing to consider adoption of an emergency
    and permanent rule to create GAB ยง1.91, Wis. Adm. Code, relating to organizations
    making independent disbursements.

    Hearing Information

    The public hearing will be held at the time and location shown below.

    Date and Time Location
    August 30, 2010 Government Accountability Board Office
    at 9:45 a.m. 212 E. Washington Avenue, 3rd Floor
    Madison, Wisconsin 53703

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on August 11, 2010 at 2125 hrs


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