MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin’s Democratic attorney general says he won’t defend a lame-duck law that Republicans passed to limit his powers in a lawsuit that labor unions filed this month challenging the measure.
Attorney General Josh Kaul’s assistants filed court documents Feb. 15 saying his office has a substantial interest in the case’s outcome and that this creates a conflict. The documents say Kaul’s office believes the law is unconstitutional.
Republicans have already selected a private attorney.
The law prohibits Gov. Tony Evers from ordering Kaul to withdraw from lawsuits without the Legislature’s permission and requires Kaul to get the Legislature’s budget-writing committee’s permission before agreeing settlements.
A coalition of labor unions filed a lawsuit this month challenging the law, naming Evers and Kaul as defendants. Evers filed an affidavit Wednesday saying he agrees with the unions.
