Gov. Scott Walker said Wednesday that a Government Accountability Board report that says it would cost the state $5.2 million to end the state’s same-day registration law convinced him that he would not sign such a bill. “There is no way I’m signing a bill that costs that kind of money,” Walker told reporters. Walker cited a report by the state’s Government Accountability Board that concluded it would cost $5.2 million, and would do nothing to end the administrative work of clerks around the state. Walker said that, in light of the GAB report, he didn’t think members of the Legislature would even try to approve a bill to end the same-day registration law.
Walker had said in November in a speech in California that he was considering backing efforts to end same-day registration, which has been credited with giving Wisconsin one of the highest voter turnout percentages in the country.
The governor, appearing at a workforce development summit held by the Waukesha County Business Alliance, also threw cold water on talk of a right-to-work law in Wisconsin. On Tuesday, Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder signed two bills that bar both public and private-sector workers from being required to pay fees as a condition of their employment.
Walker, who was a supporter of right-to-work as a state legislator, said his priority in the upcoming legislative session and in the next budget was to improve the state’s business climate. A right-to-work debate in the Legislature, he said, would be a distraction.
“I recognize the last thing that I need if I want accelerated job growth over the next two or three years is any sort of battle that takes attention away from it,” Walker said.
Full Article: Walker says ending same-day registration too costly – JSOnline.