Legal Commentary

Wis. Senate Clerk: Only Notice Required for Committee Meeting Was Posting on Bulletin Board

By Jim Lindgren

Questions have been raised whether the 2-hour notice given of the Wisconsin Senate committee meeting was adequate. Rob Marchant, the Clerk of the Senate issued this statement (tip to Wheeler Report):

There was some discussion today about the notice provided for the legislature?s conference committee. In special session, under Senate Rule 93, no advance notice is required other than posting on the legislative bulletin board. Despite this rule, it was decided to provide a 2 hour notice by posting on the bulletin board. My staff, as a courtesy, emailed a copy of the notice to all legislative offices at 4:10, which gave the impression that the notice may have been slightly less than 2 hours. Either way, the notice appears to have satisfied the requirements of the rules and statutes.

Since the Clerk is relying on Senate Rule 93, it?s worth a look. The provision is a special rule for special sessions, which tend to be more focused in topics and more time pressured in duration. Rule 93 in part provides:

Senate Rule 93 (2)
(2) A notice of a committee meeting is not required other than posting on the legislative bulletin board, and a bulletin of committee hearings may not be published.

Senate Rule 93 (3)
(3) The daily calendar is in effect immediately upon posting on the legislative bulletin boards. The calendar need not be distributed.

Senate Rule 93 (4)
(4) Any point of order shall be decided within one hour.

On its face, this rule would seem not to require even a 2-hour notice, just posting on the bulletin board, which is how the Clerk interprets it. This is consistent with the emphasis on speed implicit in several parts of Rule 93. Yet it is possible one could instead read the rule as merely covering the method of notice, not the timing of it, but I think that reading is neither the literal one nor the intended one.

The Wisconsin Open Meetings Law [see 2D update below] has an exception for inconsistent legislative rules so that is unlikely to come into play.

BTW, the best place to follow the legislative news in Wisconsin is The Wheeler Report.

UPDATE: Barry Pump raises another issue.

2D UPDATE: Here is the relevant provision of the Wisconsin Open Meetings Law:

19.87 Legislative meetings.
This subchapter shall apply to all meetings of the senate and assembly and the committees, subcommittees and other subunits thereof, except that:

(1) Section 19.84 shall not apply to any meeting of the legislature or a subunit thereof called solely for the purpose of scheduling business before the legislative body; or adopting resolutions of which the sole purpose is scheduling business before the senate or the assembly.

(2) No provision of this subchapter which conflicts with a rule of the senate or assembly or joint rule of the legislature shall apply to a meeting conducted in compliance with such rule.

Full post as published by The Volokh Conspiracy on March 10, 2011 (boomark / email).