Tony Evers now says he’ll ask for approval to withdraw from Affordable Care Act lawsuit

Wisconsin State Journal (Madison, WI)

Jan. 24--In another change of course, Democratic Gov. Tony Evers says the Department of Justice will request approval from the Legislature to remove the state from the multi-state Affordable Care Act lawsuit.

"In response to the governor's letter indicating his intent to remove Wisconsin from this lawsuit, the DOJ has told us that, consistent with current law, it will now seek final approval from the Joint Committee on Finance to do so," Evers spokeswoman Melissa Baldauff said in a statement.

The new strategy announced Thursday comes a day after the governor reversed course on a vow to withdraw the state from the litigation less than 24 hours after making the commitment in his first State of the State speech.

In a letter to Kaul before the speech, Evers wrote he had withdrawn the authority for the state to participate in the suit. But under Wisconsin's new lame duck law passed by Republicans, Evers no longer has that authority.

Kaul in a letter to the governor Wednesday affirmed that he doesn't.

"My view is that, notwithstanding your letter, DOJ does not have statutory authority to withdraw the State from the ACA litigation absent approval from the Joint Committee on Finance," Attorney General Josh Kaul wrote in a letter to Evers.

Evers spokeswoman Melissa Baldauff said in a statement the Department of Justice will now ask for approval from the Republican-controlled Joint Finance Committee to withdraw the state from the ACA suit. Kaul in the letter, however, did not detail any action the department would or would not take.

Kaul after Evers' State of the State Address said any action he takes will be consistent with the law.

A spokesman for Rep. John Nygren, R-Marinette, who is co-chair of the Joint Finance Committee, did not immediately return a request seeking comment.

Baldauff in her statement chastised Republicans for what she described as a diversion from Evers' plans to protect the health care of Wisconsinites who could lose coverage if the Affordable Care Act were invalidated.

A federal judge in Texas struck down the law, however, the case is currently on appeal.

"This conversation about how exactly the DOJ will comply with a law intended to strip the governor's authority and undermine the will of the people is frankly a distraction that Republicans clearly wanted," Baldauff said.

Evers multiple changes in direction over the past week came after a Legislative Reference Bureau report requested by Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, showed Evers does not have the legal authority to drop the state's involvement in the case on his own.

"There is thus no provision ... allowing the governor to request, require or approve the attorney general to compromise or discontinue an action," LRB Sarah Walkenhorst wrote. "It is only the Joint Committee on Finance that has the authority to approve any compromise or discontinuance of an action in which the attorney general's participation was requested."

In response, Evers spokeswoman Melissa Baldauff walked back the vow Evers made in his State of the State Address Tuesday to direct the attorney general to withdraw from the litigation.

This story will be updated.

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