One of the leaders of the Senate is weighing in on a possible move by the Legislature to hire private attorneys to defend against a lawsuit that challenges last month’s lame-duck session.
A committee is voting on the issue of the taxpayer-funded lawyers today.
Senate President Roger Roth is a Republican from Appleton. He says groups like Disability Rights Wisconsin and the League of Women Voters are challenging whether lawmakers can call a specific type of special session, called an extraordinary session.
Roth says the Legislature has to be able to defend itself, so lawmakers can return when necessary to take up bills. He says Democrats and Republicans have been calling extraordinary sessions for years.
Roth and Assembly Speaker Robin Vos would have the authority to decide what attorneys to hire, and how much they would be paid.
