Democratic Secretary of State delays publishing public sector union reform bill

From WSJ's Political Diary by John Fund today:

Last Friday, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker was set to sign a bill rolling back collective bargaining for state employees in a public ceremony that afternoon. Instead, he privately signed the bill at 9:30 a.m. while continuing to hold the public signing later that day. Why the hurry? Apparently, several cities and counties are rushing to conclude union contracts under the old rules, something the governor feels will only trigger local job layoffs or property tax hikes.

But it looks as if his efforts will be unavailing. Democratic Secretary of State Doug La Follette has announced that rather than promptly publish the law he will wait the maximum 10 days he is allowed, thus delaying its implementation. "We'll just automatically do it on the tenth day," Mr. LaFollette told reporters. "I see no reason to divert from it."

During his signing remarks, Mr. Walker went out of his way to say that the tradition in which a law is published one business day after the state's chief executive makes such a request should be honored. But Mr. La Follette has ignored the governor, even as he conceded that he can "recall no occasion" in which he similarly denied such a request in the 30 years he has served in his office. . . .