Madison – Today State Senator Tim Carpenter (D-Milwaukee) announced that he will be introducing a bill that would require a supermajority two-thirds vote of the legislature to pass bills overturning local government policies, ordinances, and regulations.
“I believe that government functions best at a local level with more public input by those who are directly affected by laws or ordinances. However, these past few years have seen extraordinary actions on the part of the state legislature to wrest governance from local units of government, and violate the generally acknowledged conservative principle of local control,” said Carpenter.
“We have seen, for example, laws pass that end that residency requirements for public employees by local governments, restrict the ability of municipalities to regulate rental property landlords, and to restrict the ability of local governments to regulate mining activities,” said Carpenter.
Carpenter noted that the legislature is now reviewing bills to violate local control of land use, water use, local government ID cards, and how local elected school districts may raise money by referendum.
On February 8, 2011, the legislature passed 2011 AB 5, which required a supermajority vote of the legislature to pass tax increases.
“The continued assault of the voters’ right to govern their own local affairs is important enough that such bills should also require a two-thirds vote to enact,” said Carpenter.
