Delafield, Wis. – The Institute for Reforming Government (IRG) released the following statement following the Wisconsin Supreme Court’s ruling in Evers v. Marklein. The majority’s decision effectively strips away legislative powers used by the Joint Committee on Review of Administrative Rules (JCRAR) to check executive agencies.
Overruling decades of precedent, the decision limits JCRAR’s ability to pause, object to, or suspend administrative rules pushed by bureaucrats. Agencies can now finalize rules without the longstanding oversight role performed by the Legislature.
In dissent, Justice Ziegler criticized the majority for steamrolling decades of precedent to transfer more power to the Executive, stating, “The majority’s delivery of results for one branch of government and one political party is where the majority’s consistency begins and ends.”
THE QUOTE:
“The Wisconsin Supreme Court has once again significantly expanded the authority of the executive branch at the expense of the co-equal legislative branch,” said Jake Curtis, Director of IRG Court Watch. “The Court’s decision empowers Governor Evers’ unelected Madison bureaucrats buried deep in state agencies to make laws that govern our lives, free from democratic accountability and transparency.”
WHY IT MATTERS:
The Court’s ruling in Evers v. Marklein concentrates power in the executive branch by removing a crucial step of legislative oversight designed to protect the people from the power of unchecked and unelected bureaucrats.
WHAT’S NEXT:
Executive branch agencies won major victories from the Wisconsin Supreme Court this term (in addition to this case, see IRG’s analysis of WMC v. DNR), and with a progressive majority on the Court for the foreseeable future, agencies are emboldened to further test the limits of their authority.
