Much confusion has surrounded the recent enactment of 2011 Wisconsin Act 10, the so-called “budget repair bill” here in Wisconsin. This has proved problematic for public employees and family law attorneys alike in planning budgets looking into the future.
Until Thursday, March 31, this writer had been preparing budgets for state employees as if the Act were in effect and preparing budgets for other public employees, such as local, municipal, and school district employees, without taking the Act into account. This was due to the fact that the state government had taken the position that the Act was in effect as of March 26, while most other public entities had taken the opposite approach.
With Dane County Circuit Court Judge Maryann Sumi’s March 31 ruling that the Act is not in effect, we are now safe, at least for the foreseeable future, in preparing our divorce clients’ budgets without factoring in the impact of the Act and will continue to do so until further judicial ruling.