Story originally printed in the La Crosse Tribune or online at www.lacrossetribune.com
Published - Monday, September 18, 2006
Is it time to overhaul state’s constitution?
Three years ago, Rich Eggleston wrote in a magazine column that Wisconsin’s constitution was “patched with duct tape and held together with baling wire.”
Eggleston is spokesman for the Wisconsin Alliance of Cities, which at the time, called for a constitutional convention to revamp the 158-year-old document.
Eggleston hasn’t changed his mind. But the Alliance has had to back off in approaching the idea, which some people consider radical.
Next month, the group is co-sponsoring a Marquette University Law School conference that dares to ask: “Is the Wisconsin Constitution Obsolete?”
“The problem is, you can’t just reach the conclusion without asking the question first,” Eggleston said during an interview last week.
Four former Wisconsin governors are scheduled for a roundtable discussion on the topic, and more than a dozen legal experts and scholars will make presentations at the law school Oct. 5-6.
Many Alliance members and local government officials are concerned the constitution inhibits regional planning and cooperation, and that Wisconsin is less competitive as a result.
Many of the “key issues” for the conference are outlined in terms of economic competitiveness. But Joseph “Jay” Ranney, a Madison-based constitutional lawyer, said he intends to prepare a paper on whether social policy belongs in the constitution. The discussion is particularly timely because voters will decide Nov. 7 if they want to ban same-sex marriages and civil unions in the constitution, Ranney said.
The constitution has been amended more than 130 times since 1848, but Ranney’s not yet convinced rewriting the document is the best approach, he said.
Other contentious topics to be addressed at the conference include gubernatorial veto power and legislative redistricting. The conference idea was hatched by Marquette University Law School professor Michael McChrystal and Alliance Executive Director Ed Huck. The La Follette School of Public Affairs also is a co-sponsor.
The conference may lead to any number of conclusions, including that Wisconsin is doing well in key measures of governmental performance, McChrystal said. If performance is lackluster, experts will consider whether the structure of the constitution is a contributing factor, McChrystal said.
“I see this conference less in terms of advancing a particular reform agenda and more in terms of evaluating the performance of Wisconsin government at the state and local (level),” McChrystal said.
A constitutional convention, which could open the document up for a total overhaul, must be approved by the Legislature and voters.
The conference should prove interesting in exploring whether the constitution is obsolete. But maybe the question for voters Nov. 7 should have been whether duct tape and baling wire is good enough, or if it’s time for the Vice-Grips.
Tribune Capitol reporter Tom Sheehan can be reached at tsheehan@madison.com.
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