MacIver News Service | October 13, 2015
[Madison, Wisc…] Wisconsin’s Government Accountability Board argued for its continued existence at a joint public hearing on Tuesday.A pair of bills (SB294 and AB388) would eliminate the GAB and replace it with two bipartisan commissions. One would be in charge of elections and the other in charge of ethics.
The Co-Authors, Sen. Leah Vukmir (R-Wauwatosa) and Rep. Dean Knudson (R-Hudson) presented a lengthy list of the agency’s failings over the years. These included: failing to mail out postcards to inactive voters within 90 days of an election, taking five years to audit the electronic voting machines, and failing to checking the voter rolls for felons. Over a dozen examples were provided throughout the hearing.
GAB Executive Director Kevin Kennedy dismissed these claims.
“The reasons given for doing away with the G.A.B. are based on inaccurate, incomplete and, in many cases, completely false assertions by the proponents of this legislations,” Kennedy read from his testimony.
Kennedy remained on the defensive for most of the hearing. He said the GAB will have a report out on Thursday highlighting its accomplishments from the past two years.