Evers Wins Another Battle Over Agency Rulemaking
Republican legislators had stalled new rules for years. Dane County judge rules for governor.
Gov. Tony Evers speaks to the press Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, at the Wisconsin State Capitol in Madison, Wis. Angela Major/WPR
Gov. Tony Evers has won another legal battle with Republican lawmakers over when and how state agencies can publish rules carrying the weight of law.
The ruling from Dane County Circuit Court says agencies can publish new rules regardless of whether GOP-led committees have finished reviewing them.
Evers and Republicans have been in court for years arguing over the state’s administrative rulemaking process, which has led to big changes in the balance of power between the executive and legislative branches.
In July 2024, the Wisconsin Supreme Court’s liberal majority struck down a change to the rulemaking process passed by Republicans before Evers took office allowing lawmakers to indefinitely suspend rule changes sought by state agencies. In August, Evers told his agency heads that meant they didn’t have to wait for what are known as “standing committees” of lawmakers, focusing on specific subjects like agriculture or natural resources, to review them before submitting for publication.
Evers’ message was received, and agencies sent a slate of 27 proposed rules to be published — some of which were stalled for years by Republicans.
The Legislature’s Joint Committee on Legislative Organization, headed by Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, and state Senate President Mary Felzkowski, R-Tomahawk, rebuked Evers’ directive by voting to order the Legislative Reference Bureau not to publish any rules that hadn’t been fully reviewed by the “standing committees.”
Evers sued the joint committee two months later in Dane County Circuit Court, and on Thursday, Dane County Circuit Court Judge Nia Trammell sided with the governor. Trammell wrote that the Supreme Court’s 2024 ruling applied to all legislative committees.
“For the same reason, if the Court found that the standing committee had an ability to pause promulgation for up to sixty days, if not possibly months, it would also be unconstitutional,” said Trammell.
Trammell also said there are no other state laws that prohibit rules from being published before the committees finish their reviews, and any that did would be unconstitutional.
A spokesperson for Vos did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether he’ll appeal the case. Vos announced in February he’s stepping away from the Legislature after serving as speaker for 13 years, the longest period in Wisconsin history. A staff member with Felzkowski’s office said she was unavailable for comment.
Rule banning LGBTQ+ conversion therapy appears headed back to court
One of the proposed rules long delayed by Republicans until the Supreme Court ruled against them in 2024 bans the widely discredited practice of conversion therapy, which seeks to use counseling and other measures to change a person’s gender identity or sexual orientation. The ban is currently in effect, but the conservative Wisconsin Institute For Law & Liberty wants Evers to lift it, citing the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent 8-1 ruling that a Colorado conversion therapy ban violated a therapists’ right to free speech.
On Tuesday, Evers sent a letter responding to the demand from WILL and the anti-abortion group Wisconsin Family Action. Evers accused the organizations of “enthusiastically taking up the mantle to restore a long-disavowed and outdated practice” that the scientific and medical community has demonstrated is, “at best, ineffective and, at worst, dangerous” for increasing risks of depression and suicide.
“On the other hand, this should come as no surprise,” said Evers. “After all, bullying LGBTQ kids and Wisconsinites seems to be an important goal for Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty and Wisconsin Family Action.”
Evers claims the U.S. Supreme Court ruling is narrow and doesn’t apply to all of the practices outlined in Wisconsin’s conversion therapy ban. He said the ban will continue to be enforced.
In a post to social media, Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty attorney Dan Lennington called the response a shocking “emotional outburst” from the governor.
“Instead of responding in public, we will respond next week in court,” said Lennington.
Evers wins another battle over agency rulemaking was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.
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