Walker's office had indicated he'd sign the bill that lifts a moratorium on sulfide mining in Wisconsin,
- - and information emailed to me at my request on November 30th by Donnie LeBarre, a communications assistant in the Governor's office, indicates that Wednesday, December 13 is the deadline for signing such recently-passed bills.
 |
| Land along the Menominee River sacred to the Menominee tribe along the WI-MI border is targeted for mining by a Canadian firm |
I did some research on your question regarding why recent bills did not automatically become law after six days of being passed. According to information from the Wisconsin Legislature’s “How a Bill Becomes Law” guide, the six day window applies to the date the Governor receives the bill, and not when the bill passes the legislature. Here’s the relevant passage from the guide:
“The Legislature informally furnishes the Governor’s staff with copies of the enrolled bill for analysis. When the research is completed, the Chief Clerk’s office delivers an official copy of the bill. If the Governor does not request a bill, the session schedule joint resolution sets a deadline when all bills must be sent to the Governor.”
This final deadline for the Governor receiving bills is December 7, meaning all bills must be signed/vetoed by December 13 or else they become law. However, the Governor can request bills individually and sign them earlier.
So, essentially, the bills haven’t automatically become law because the Governor has not received them yet, and he can specifically request ones he plans to sign.