Monday, June 19, 2006

Pulling it off single-handedly

With all of his hang ringing on pulling bills from committee, (see earlier posts) you would think Rep. Dean Kaufert (R-Neenah) would almost never help pull a bill from committee. In a few earlier posts it was revealed that he did, but that is not the most outrageous thing about his statement that pulling bills is a violation of the democratic process. Rather, it's that Kaufert single-handedly pulls more bills out of committee in one year than most members of the Assembly ever vote to pull during their tenure.

It’s called “dipping”. Certain bills are required to be ordered to the Joint Committee on Finance. So when identified, Kaufert, as Assembly Chair of JFC, rises, and asks unanimous consent for suspension of the rules and referral to the Joint Committee on Finance. A few seconds later, he seeks recognition, and asks unanimous consent to suspend the rules and remove or “pull” the bill from the Joint Committee on Finance. Hence, the bill has been before the committee, and Kaufert has single-handedly placed the bill in committee and pulled the bill from the committee.

Since he is getting up and down during this process, would that be a moving violation?

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