Governor Walker Signals Support for Lame-Duck Bills

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker on Tuesday shared a list of criteria he said he will use to evaluate a set of proposals passed quickly in a lame-duck session last week, weighing in publicly for the first time since the legislation was approved by the Republican-led Legislature.

Walker said he will evaluate the bills based on a set of “reasonable” and “straightforward” criteria. He said he will look to determine whether the legislation improves transparency, increases accountability, affirms stability and protects the taxpayers.

Walker did not share a timeline for when he will make a decision, but his comments indicated support for several measures contained in the extraordinary session bills. If the governor does not call for the bills beforehand, they will arrive on his desk Dec. 20. He would then have six days, not including Sunday, to act on them. He could sign them or veto them in whole or in part. If he takes no action, they will become law as if he had signed them.