A Wisconsin judge has issued a temporary restraining order barring publication of the Wisconsin law restricting collective bargaining rights for public employees. Here’s a news report. The basis for the judge’s decision is the legislature’s alleged violation of the state’s open meetings law. A representative from the state Attorney General’s office says his office disagrees with the ruling and may appeal. In the alternative, if there was in fact a legal violation, the legislature may need to reenact the measure.
I would be curious if any readers know more about the law in question and the precedent for applying it to legislative actions. At the federal level, a court challenge to a law alleging that one house of Congress failed to follow its own rules would have tremendous difficulty, even if there were a strong case on the merits. (See, e.g, here.) States may adopt different standards and practices, however, and I’d be interested in hearing how Wisconsin (or other states) have handled such questions historically.