No reason for another special session until rules change

An attempt by Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers to force a special session of the legislature to take up two gun control bills didn’t exactly go as planned. Evers used an executive order to force the legislature to meet in session to discuss the bills. But while Wisconsin’s Governor has the authority to force the body to meet, he does not have the authority to take any action. Legislative leaders in the Assembly and Senate called their respective meetings to order, then adjourned just seconds later, with no vote and not a second of debate. All it did was cost taxpayers money for lawmakers from all corners of the state to meet in Madison and get nothing done. So it is surprising that Governor Evers admits he is considering calling members of the legislature back into another special session, again to take up the same two gun control bills lawmakers refused to even discuss last week. Evers hasn’t decided if he will, but says if he does, the session would likely be between now and Christmas. What is the point? Does he expect different results? No doubt, legislative leaders would pull the same stunt, with the same results. No action on gun control. There is no reason to try this again. Instead, Wisconsin Governors should have the authority to not only call a special session, but also to force them to have a debate and ultimately a vote. Otherwise, Evers could call 100 special sessions, but still nothing will get done.