Judge issues restraining order on Republicans in Wisconsin

The recall efforts in Wisconsin continue with television ads against four GOP senators. 

A Wisconsin judge issued a temporary restraining order Friday, preventing enactment of the law stripping public sector workers of collective bargaining rights that was passed by the Wisconsin Senate last week.  The order was in response to a lawsuit filed against Republicans violating the state’s open meetings law when they passed the bill in the dead of night without Democratic senators who had left the state to prevent passage of the law.

In other news, the day after Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker got punked by a prank caller pretending to be right-wing billionaire David Koch, he met with prominent GOP pollster Frank Luntz in his Capitol office. The Feb. 23 meeting with Luntz was a secret to the public and press until this week, after a Milwaukee newspaper obtained Walker's calendars and revealed the meeting.

Today, the Wisconsin Democratic Party will announce that it believes Walker broke the law by meeting with Luntz. The party plans to file a complaint today with the Wisconsin Government Accountability Board alleging that the advice Walker got from Luntz, the right's political messaging guru, amounted to something of value as defined by Wisconsin state statute and thus violated state ethics and political contributions laws.

The Democrats point to state law that prohibits requesting political contributions in state-owned buildings, and bans any state officials from obtaining "financial gain or anything of substantial value" for their private benefit, their immediate family's benefit, or for an organization with which they're associated.
And finally on this Friday, a quote of the day, from Walker: “Ordinary people did an extraordinary thing. They stood up and took their government back.”  This is from a 2002 youtube.com video in which the governor praises community organizer types working to collecting signatures for recall.

Indiana
GOP senators in Indiana raised fines to $350 per day against Democrats who are now in their fourth week of exile, denying the quorum needed to pass anti-worker legislation. Senate Republicans decided to take up the budget without Dems present and to garnish the wages of legislators until fines are paid.

Michigan
Gov. Rick Snyder signed the Emergency Financial Managers (EFM) measure this week. Rachel Maddow explains the legislation here (fast forward to 4 minute mark for EFM story). Snyder was booed by UAW members at a press event at the launch of the 2012 Focus at Ford’s Michigan Assembly Plant (MAP) in Wayne, Mich.  UAW members at MAP also wore red in solidarity with workers in Wisconsin.  Snyder is not popular anywhere in the state, including his home town, Ann Arbor, where University of Michigan students are protesting plans to have Snyder speak at graduation.

Michigan State House and Senate Minority Leaders called for a state constitutional amendment protecting collective bargaining rights this week, but according to the progressive policy organization, Think Progress, Michigan voters can bypass the legislature altogether and call for a constitutional amendment by petition and referendum as specified by the state constitution. 

Slightly more than 300,000 signatures are required to place an amendment protecting workers’ rights on the ballot. Once the proposed amendment is on the ballot, a simple majority of the electorate can turn it into law.  Michigan also has a recall procedure that is similar to the one currently being invoked against eight GOP state senators in Wisconsin.

Other States
In Idaho, Gov. Butch Otter signed into law today two anti-teacher bills: one that establishes a pay for performance system for teachers by 2013; the other eliminates most collective bargaining rights for teachers.

In  Oklahoma, HB 1576 – a bill that would have ended binding arbitration for firefighters and police officers – was defeated in the House on March 16.