What the legislature tried to do

Today's Wisconsin State Journal has an article about the bills passed by the legislature and the new laws created. It does mention a few of the bills passed that were vetoed by Governor Doyle, like concealed carry, but the article didn't list some of the really bad bills that would have been law had the legislature been left to its own devices.

Governor Doyle had to veto:

SB 58 which would have inhibited consumers' ability to seek retribution for negligence by requiring a consumer to provide an example of a safer design when seeking action against a defective one. Really. Yes, you have to do the work for the negligent company and give them a better design if a product injures you. What's that? You lost two fingers by using our product? Tough, come up with a better one then.

SB 138 which would have required doctors to make statements not backed up by science simply because the legislature believes them to be true. Ask yourself if you were sick, would you be ok with being diagnosed by the group running the legislature right now? So why should we let them tell doctors what to say to us.

AB 56 which would grant immunity from civil liability to the entire gun industry, virtually eliminating all incentive for safety innovations in the industry. Would you want a car manufacturer to have immunity from being sued for a defective product? Then why give it to a product design to kill things?

SB 207 which would have allowed a health care provider to refuse treatment and did not require the health care professional to advise patients of their treatment options, provide a referral for the patient, transfer certain patients, or render care even if the patient's health or life is in danger. That's right, a doctor could have refused to treat you even if you might die, because their political beliefs don't agree with the treatment if the GOP legislature had their way.

SB 68 which would have put children in a cynical fight for education dollars. This bill would have let schools take SAGE money to reduce class sizes but not reduce class sizes. It would have allowed the schools to use the money for special education. Why figure out a way to properly fund education when we could force first graders that would do better in a smaller classroom to fight it out with the children that need specialized education?

These bills are the tip of the iceberg too. If the GOP-led legislature didn't have a veto pen between them and the law books, our state would be in serious trouble.