MADISON, Wis. (UPI) -- Republican Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker is ready to sign his bill ending bargaining rights for most government workers as soon as possible, his spokesman said.
The signing could be as early as Friday, the Wisconsin State Journal said.
Walker's signature on the bill -- which passed the state Assembly by a mostly party-line 53-42 vote Thursday afternoon following a raucous morning debate -- will mean Wisconsin won't have to lay off public employees, spokesman Cullen Werwie said.
The bill takes away the ability of unions to bargain over pensions and healthcare. It limits pay raises to inflation. It ends automatic dues collection by the state and requires each public union to get recertified every year by vote.
The measure requires public employees to pay more for pensions and health insurance, gives Walker broad authority over healthcare programs for the poor and turns 37 civil service jobs into political appointments.
Unlike an earlier version, the bill does not authorize the sale of state power plants or a $165 million refinancing of state debt.
Democratic state senators challenged the law's legality, claiming a committee meeting that cleared the way for Wednesday night's Senate passage violated the state's open-meetings law by not giving the amount of notice required by law for any government meeting.
Copyright 2011 by United Press International
The signing could be as early as Friday, the Wisconsin State Journal said.
Walker's signature on the bill -- which passed the state Assembly by a mostly party-line 53-42 vote Thursday afternoon following a raucous morning debate -- will mean Wisconsin won't have to lay off public employees, spokesman Cullen Werwie said.
The bill takes away the ability of unions to bargain over pensions and healthcare. It limits pay raises to inflation. It ends automatic dues collection by the state and requires each public union to get recertified every year by vote.
The measure requires public employees to pay more for pensions and health insurance, gives Walker broad authority over healthcare programs for the poor and turns 37 civil service jobs into political appointments.
Unlike an earlier version, the bill does not authorize the sale of state power plants or a $165 million refinancing of state debt.
Democratic state senators challenged the law's legality, claiming a committee meeting that cleared the way for Wednesday night's Senate passage violated the state's open-meetings law by not giving the amount of notice required by law for any government meeting.
Copyright 2011 by United Press International
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