......”On the other hand, there is no way Sensenbrenner, Ryan and Petri would’ve (or could’ve) played any role in this.”
Your point is taken – the list should have included state legislators or whomever appointed the board.
The procedural process enables the BOARD TO CREATE the legislation, and if the house doesn’t challenge it, it becomes law. That’s what was sort of described on the GAO website.
So what this means is that the WI senate passed it, and the WI house failed to act on it and their inaction made it law... which is why the house is to blame as well. Don’t forget that it’s possible the house didn’t act on it because they WANTED it to be passed into law.
Why is a board given this kind of power? That is what needs to be questioned.
Laws should begin in the legislature and this could also apply to the stimulus and health care bill which were created by someone other than lawmakers.
This should be something on the “to do” list along with term limits, etc. but not just at the federal level, also the (appointed) boards in these state legislatures need to be reviewed.
In this document dated March 23 2010, it refers to the supreme court case regarding campaign finance and stated that a review of the SCOTUS case was requested before continuing. This process began in 2009 and this document shows the original wording with changes noted using a strike-through.
http://gab.wi.gov/sites/default/files/news/rule_gab_1_28_memo_to_board_march_2010_pdf_91828.pdf
There is something going on in WI with elections – check out this article – not exactly related, but I bet there is more to this story.
Federal court rejects Wisconsin legislative candidate’s lawsuit over expletive
Excellent point.
California defines the "Appointed Board" Problem. As I recall, there are several hundred -- charged with enforcing regulations (that they write), some even with taxing authority.
But not a single elected official among them. Thus, no accountable official.
Government's gotten too big for its britches, not only in Washington, but in many of the state capitols, as well.