Since the supporters of a mayoral takeover of MPS weren’t able to finish drafting a bill during the regular session, which ended on Nov. 5, it appears that the governor will have to call a special session of the state Legislature if he wants MPS reform to pass before the end of the year.
But must the Legislature obey the governor and debate the bill that he favors?
Nope!
That’s the funny thing about checks and balances. It means that the governor and the state Legislature, as two separate branches of government, don’t have to play nice with each other.
Messy, perhaps, but that’s democracy.
So here’s how a special session works.
The governor “shall have the power to convene the legislature on extraordinary occasions,” the state Constitution declares. The governor has the power to determine the dates and scope of the session. In this case, the Gov. Doyle would likely call a special session to deal with education reform in Milwaukee.
Although the governor may have the power to call a session, the Legislature doesn’t have to follow his orders. It doesn’t have to consider the bill or bills favored by the governor. It doesn’t have to take any action, really.
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Here’s how the state Legislative Reference Bureau put it:
“The governor’s call can specify the objectives of the legislation which the legislature is to consider and recommend means to accomplish them, but the legislature has considerable latitude to determine to what extent and in what form it responds too the advisory instructions. It is even free to produce legislation at cross-purposes to the governor’s intentions, provided it stays within the subject area restrictions.”
Why is that so important? Because the pro-takeover bill--which eradicates the power of the elected board--likely won’t be the only piece of legislation dealing with education reform. Expect an announcement next week from Milwaukee legislators who support a democratically elected MPS board that has strong partnerships with other stakeholders in the city. I haven’t seen the draft of it yet, but from what I hear it’s something that’s based on solid research and democratic ideals, unlike the Doyle-favored bill.
So while Doyle is likely to call a special session--but will he before Thanksgiving?there's no reason why the Legislature would have to take up the bill he supports.
One more thing about the special session. Any bill would have to be introduced through a committee. The JS has reported that Senate Majority Leader Russ Decker isn’t wild about the Doyle/Taylor proposal so he would be in no rush to take it up and send it to a committee.
In the Assembly, Speaker Mike Sheridan has said any MPS bill would go to the committee on education reform, which is chaired by Rep. Annette (Polly) Williams. Williams is a staunch opponent of the takeover, and she won’t back down from a fight.
Perhaps if Doyle had tried to work with legislators on important issues--especially Milwaukee legislators--this wouldn't be such a battle. Then again, if he'd done more to help MPS--instead of pump up the choice program, approve a very weak fix to the funding flaw, and ignore the problems created by the current statewide funding formula--we wouldn't be debating a takeover at all.
