Walker signs into law lame-duck bills

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP)–Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker has signed a sweeping package of Republican-authored lame-duck legislation that restricts early voting and weakens the incoming Democratic governor and attorney general.

The measures restrict early in-person voting to two weeks before an election. The legislation gives Republicans control of the state jobs creation agency, blocks Democratic Gov.-elect Tony Evers from withdrawing Wisconsin from a multistate lawsuit challenging the Affordable Care Act.

The bills also eliminate the state Justice Department’s solicitor general’s office and allow legislators to intervene in state lawsuits, ensuring they can defend Republican policies if Democratic Attorney General-elect Josh Kaul won’t.

Walker ignored pleas from Democrats and some Republicans to veto the measures, saying enacting them tarnishes his legacy.