Anderson, Vos clash on calling in to meetings
Speaker calls criticism ‘political grandstanding’
MADISON - Assembly Speaker Robin Vos accused a lawmaker who uses a wheelchair of “political grandstanding” Thursday for criticizing legislative rules that prevent him from participating in committee meetings by phone.
The Rochester Republican said he would make some accommodations for Rep. Jimmy Anderson, D-Fitchburg — but not the accommodation Anderson is seeking.
Anderson, who is paralyzed from the chest down, wants to be able to call in to committee meetings when he has difficulty attending them for health reasons.
Vos opposes allowing that and said Thursday he would have committee
meetings videotaped for Anderson.
In an interview, Anderson said Vos’ proposal fell short and he thought he would have to sue the state to get the accommodations he says he needs.
“This doesn’t allow me to participate in the legislative process,” Anderson said of Vos’ proposal.
“It seems like Speaker Vos is going to take every opportunity to denigrate me and act as if I’m acting inappropriately when I’m simply asking for accommodations related to my disability. And so at this point I can’t trust him to do the right thing and that’s really frustrating. It really feels like we’re moving toward having to file a lawsuit.”
Vos spelled out his criticisms in a Thursday letter to Anderson that Vos released to reporters. In it, Vos wrote that Anderson had not told him or human resources officials about his desire to be able to participate in some committee meetings by phone.
Anderson raised the issue in interviews with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
“This is an unfortunate way to communicate,” Vos wrote. “It calls into question your seriousness. Instead of resorting to political grandstanding, you could have called my personal cellphone at any time to discuss the matter.”
But Anderson and Rep. Mark Spreitzer, D-Beloit, said Anderson’s concerns were made known to Vos early this year as leaders from the two parties discussed Assembly rules.
Allowing Anderson or anyone else to call in to a meeting would require a rule change that the full Assembly must vote on, Vos noted in his letter.
Vos did not explain how his plan to videotape meetings would work and his spokeswoman, Kit Beyer, said details were being worked out. Many committee meetings are already live-streamed by the WisconsinEye Public Affairs Network.
Anderson said to be accommodated, he needed to be able to offer comments and ask questions at committee meetings.
Anderson was paralyzed in 2010 when a drunk driver smashed into the vehicle he was in. The accident killed Anderson’s parents and brother.
Anderson said if the rules were changed, he would try to attend as many meetings as possible in person. But he said he can’t always do so because it can be difficult for him to get to meetings that start early and it is not healthy for him to be in his wheelchair for extended periods.
Vos wrote in his letter that he would also explore allowing committee members to vote by ballots that would be submitted after meetings instead of having them vote at meetings in person.
Vos’ letter detailed accommodations the Assembly has made for Anderson, including spending $3,700 on a wireless microphone at Anderson’s desk in the Assembly chamber. In addition, an aide to Anderson has been reimbursed for cab fare when he has driven Anderson home, according to Vos.
Vos wrote in his letter that having lawmakers call in to meetings is disrespectful to members of the public who attend the meetings.
While the Assembly bars members from phoning in to meetings, the Senate allows the practice for its committees.
“This tends to lend itself to disruptive, ineffective meetings,” Vos wrote of allowing lawmakers to dial in to meetings. “I have always been disappointed to walk into a Senate hearing to see a chairperson surrounded by only phones because the members did not show up in person to listen to testimony.”
But in some cases, Assembly members get to phone in to meetings. That happened Wednesday, when Republican Rep. Jim Ott of Mequon and Democratic Rep. Lisa Subeck of Madison dialed in to the Joint Committee for Review of Administrative Rules.
Because that committee consists of both senators and representatives, leaders established a different set of rules that allow committee members to phone in to its meetings.
Rep. Joan Ballweg, R-Markesan, is the co-chairwoman of that committee. She said she believed lawmakers should be physically present at committee meetings, but said she was open to discussing how to handle the issue for people with disabilities.
“I support the theory that members should be here if at all possible and maybe this is an extenuating circumstance that has to be fleshed out a little bit and negotiated,” she said.
Anderson said he believes his colleagues must allow him to phone in to meetings under the federal Americans with Disabilities Act that requires employers to make accommodations for workers with disabilities. But he has acknowledged the issue is unclear because he is an elected official, not a traditional employee.
Employment attorney Jeff Hynes recently told the Journal Sentinel he believes the law requires the Legislature to provide accommodations for Anderson. If it doesn’t, taxpayers could be forced to pay hefty legal fees, he said.
Vos discounted those concerns, noting courts have found the Legislature has broad authority to make its own rules.
Anderson joined the Assembly in 2017 and soon afterward voted for rules that eliminated a provision that allowed Assembly members in some cases to participate in committee meetings through web cameras. Anderson said he voted for those rules before he was fully aware of what his needs would be.
In January, Anderson raised concerns Assembly leaders did not accommodate his needs when they held an overnight session in December on legislation to curb the power of incoming Democratic Gov. Tony Evers.
The bills were stalled for much of the night and Anderson went home so he could get out of his wheelchair. Votes were held with little notice starting about 4:30 a.m. Anderson could not make it to the Capitol by the time they were held.
Anderson asked Dane County District Attorney Ismael Ozanne to review whether legislators violated the open meetings law by not accommodating his needs.
Ozanne has not responded to Anderson’s request and has since asked Attorney General Josh Kaul to review the matter. An aide to Kaul said the attorney general is looking into the matter.