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Under legislation he signed into law earlier today, Republican Gov. Scott Walker will gain the power to block administrative rules written by state agencies and other elected state officials. Previously, administrative rules were written by state agencies and reviewed by the Legislature, but Republicans in the State Senate and Assembly were all too willing to cede that power to Gov. Walker, in the process weakening the ability of their branch of state government to act as a check and balance against the power of the governor.

In justifying the need for the change, Gov. Walker and legislative Republicans said the changes made the process of writing administrative rules more accountable to the public, ignoring the obvious fact that legislators in the State Senate and Assembly were elected by the public to enact laws and serve as a balance against the executive branch. I’m not entirely sure how concentrating the ability to block administrative rules in the hands of one person – in this case the governor – makes the process more accountable than if that authority was instead in the hands of the very legislators the public elected to serve their interests.

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