Wisconsin Legislature Files Suit Against AG Kaul

On August 1, the Wisconsin Legislature filed suit against Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul to enforce compliance with 2017 Act 369, the lame duck session laws. Passed in December, Act 369 limited the power of the attorney general by requiring settlements for any action involving injunctive relief or a proposed consent decree to first get approval from the the Joint Finance Committee. The Act further required settlement money go into the state’s general fund.

But, according to the complaint, AG Kaul has sought to undermine both these requirements: first, by interpreting narrowly when settlements require review and, second, by refusing to put settlement money in the general fund.

This is the fifth suit filed concerning Act 369, though the first one brought by the legislature.