Last month, in ruling on Gov. Scott Walker's collective bargaining bill, the state Supreme Court essentially said it did not have the authority to decide whether the Legislature had broken its own rules regarding open meetings.

 

Because of the separation of powers, the court said, the Legislature can't be held accountable on this issue by another equal branch of government. And that holds true even if the intent of the Legislature when it passed the open meetings law was that it be held accountable.

 

In response to that ruling, Assembly Minority Leader Peter Barca (D-Kenosha) and Rep. Jon Richards (D-Milwaukee) have introduced a constitutional amendment that would ensure the Legislature can't escape the requirements of open government and the scrutiny of citizens. The

 

Legislature should never be above the rules it sets or out of sight of the public. This amendment deserves the full support of the Legislature.

 

The open meetings law still applies to local governments and can be enforced against them by the courts. Right now, though, it cannot be enforced against the Legislature because of the court's ruling.

 

The only way to change that is to put the rules into the state constitution, which the courts then could enforce. Hence the need for the amendment.

P

ublic access to government is so critical that it should be enshrined in the constitution.