MADISON, Wis. (WTAQ) - The toll-free hotline for Wisconsinites to get in touch with their legislators is temporarily disconnected.
It’s been shut down since Friday, due to the crush of calls from people weighing in on the proposed public union cutbacks.
The Assembly Chief Clerk’s office said an outside group forwarded all of its calls to the hotline – and it triggered a charge of 10 cents a minute to the state. Officials say the hotline will be re-connected sometime soon. And for now, people can call their legislators’ offices directly.
Democrats slammed the hotline’s shutdown. Milwaukee Representative Tamara Grigsby called it, “another example of the GOP attempting to silence the public.” She also scolded Republican lawmakers for cutting off public hearings. And she accused Assembly leaders of trying to vote on the budget repair bill last Friday just moments before the house was scheduled to go into session.
Monday, Democratic Assembly Leader Peter Barca accused the GOP of breaking the state Open Meetings Law by starting the meeting before its scheduled 5 p.m. time on Friday.
John Jagler, a spokesman for Majority Leader Jeff Fitzgerald, called that claim “laughable.” Media attorney Bob Dreps said Barca has a case – but it’s not worth pursuing, since the GOP agreed to start the debate over from scratch Tuesday morning.
