Wisconsin Supreme Court Ends Legislature Power to Suspend Administrative Rules

The Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled 4-3 that the state legislature’s Joint Committee for Review of Administrative Rules (JCRAR) cannot suspend administrative rules, ending a long-standing practice that allowed lawmakers to temporarily block agency regulations. The court found that the statutes allowing JCRAR to act violated the Wisconsin Constitution’s bicameralism and presentment requirements, which mandate that laws pass both legislative houses and be presented to the governor. This decision arose from challenges filed by Governor Tony Evers against JCRAR’s blocking of rules including a commercial building code and a ban on conversion therapy for LGBT individuals. Chief Justice Jill Karofsky, writing for the liberal majority, emphasized that a small group of lawmakers should not have unilateral power to obstruct state agencies, while conservative Justice Brian Hagedorn dissented, criticizing the ruling as lacking legal analysis and arguing the court should have limited its focus. The ruling now allows the conversion therapy ban to be enacted and was hailed by Evers as a protection of constitutional checks and balances. The Republican-controlled JCRAR had previously halted various agency rules on vaccines, environmental protections, and professional conduct, prompting the legal challenge.