People's Legislature logs first victory with passage of ethics enforcement reform legislation
A reform priority of the People's Legislature and reform allies was achieved when the governor signed into law an ethics bill that was passed in a special legislative session in January 2007. This reform creates new tools for fighting government corruption and helps revive meaningful enforcement of ethical standards and accountability in state government. The new law replaces the weak, ineffective state Ethics Board and the partisan and dysfunctional Elections Board with a politically independent enforcement agency under the direction of a nonpartisan Government Accountability Board with an unlimited budget for investigations.
At the first People's Legislature assembly in January 2005, participants approved a reform agenda that included support for "independent ethics enforcement through reform that combines the state Elections Board and Ethics Board into one enforcement agency under the direction of a politically independent board." The goal was accomplished with passage of the ethics reform bill that was signed into law as 2007 Wisconsin Act 1.
