The “missing” Wisconsin Democratic state senators could be charged with class 1 felonies, but state Republican Sen. Glenn Grothman tells The Daily Caller that he and his colleagues most likely won’t push for the Democrats to be charged.
“All we want is to get a vote on the bill,” Grothman said in a phone interview. “They have to come back sooner or later, whether that be tomorrow or early next week.”
Part 946.12, Section 1, of Wisconsin state law says that a class 1 felony is committed when a public official “intentionally fails or refuses to perform a known mandatory, nondiscretionary, ministerial duty of the officer’s or employee’s office or employment within the time or in the manner required by law.”
The Democrats told CNN that the reason they fled the state and aren’t doing their jobs is because they think that Wisconsin Republican Gov. Scott Walker has moved too quickly on the bill that would force public sector employees to pay more into their own pension and health care plans and strip them of collective bargaining privileges when it comes to pension and health care issues.
Walker’s plan would not stop public sector employees from collectively bargaining on their salaries, but raises would be limited to inflation rates.
Union bosses like AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka have bussed folks in from around the country to protest Walker’s plan because the issue is seen as one that will shape similar debates in other states around the country.
Tea Partiers are responding to the union bosses on Saturday with a rally of their own, with notables including possible 2012 presidential candidate Herman Cain and conservative media guru Andrew Breitbart en route to Madison, Wisconsin.