{"id":319,"date":"2025-07-08T18:11:55","date_gmt":"2025-07-08T18:11:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wakeupknotts.com\/?p=319"},"modified":"2025-07-10T13:50:25","modified_gmt":"2025-07-10T13:50:25","slug":"wisconsin-supreme-court-clears-way-for-conversion-therapy-ban","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wakeupknotts.com\/index.php\/2025\/07\/08\/wisconsin-supreme-court-clears-way-for-conversion-therapy-ban\/","title":{"rendered":"Wisconsin Supreme Court clears way for conversion therapy ban"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" id=\"nxs-video-iframe\" data-frame-src=\"10820681\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\" layout=\"responsive\" src=\"https:\/\/redir1.thehill.com\/nxs-video-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\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><br \/>\n\t\t<\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>A Wisconsin legislative committee controlled by Republicans violated the state constitution when it rejected a state agency rule to ban conversion therapy practices, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled Tuesday, clearing the way for the state to enforce the rule\u00a0and blunting the Legislature\u2019s power to block state regulations.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The\u00a0Wisconsin Legislature\u2019s powerful Joint Committee for Review of Administrative Rules (JCRAR), responsible for approving state agency regulations, had twice rejected a Wisconsin state\u00a0licensing board\u2019s rule to ban conversion therapy,\u00a0a discredited practice that aims to change a person\u2019s sexuality or gender identity. \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, who barred state and federal funds from being used for conversion therapy in a 2021 executive order, <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/regulation\/court-battles\/4285382-wisconsin-governor-sues-gop-lawmakers-for-obstructing-basic-government-functions\/\">sued Wisconsin\u2019s GOP-controlled Legislature<\/a> in 2023 for obstructing \u201cbasic government functions.\u201d The lawsuit targets the joint committee\u2019s vote on the conversion therapy rule and a separate rule to update commercial building standards.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Evers argued that JCRAR\u2019s actions amounted to unconstitutional \u201clegislative vetoes,\u201d which he said collapsed the state\u2019s powers \u201cinto a single branch of government\u201d and circumvented \u201cthe constitutional lawmaking procedures of bicameralism,\u201d by which a bill must pass through both the state House and Senate, and presentment to the governor.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>An attorney for the Legislature stated during oral arguments in January that the rules committee\u2019s actions provided lawmakers with a \u201cgrace period\u201d to review the policy within their constitutional role.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Republicans in the state Legislature have said their votes to suspend the rule are based on a belief that the rule limits the freedom of speech and religion of mental health providers, not opposition to the rule itself.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>In <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wicourts.gov\/sc\/opinion\/DisplayDocument.pdf?content=pdf&amp;seqNo=980186\">a 4-3 decision<\/a> on Tuesday, the Wisconsin Supreme Court sided with Evers, ruling that JCRAR cannot pause, object to or suspend a rule\u2019s implementation without legislation.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe challenged statutes empower JCRAR to take action that alters the legal rights and duties of the executive branch and the people of Wisconsin. Yet these statutes do not require bicameralism and presentment,\u201d the court\u2019s liberal majority wrote in its ruling. \u201cTherefore, we hold that each of the challenged statutes &#8230; facially violates the Wisconsin Constitution\u2019s bicameralism and presentment requirements.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The decision clears the way for the state to enact the conversion therapy ban, though it was not immediately clear when the rule would take effect.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor years, a small group of Republican lawmakers overstepped their power, holding rules hostage without explanation or action and causing gridlock across state government,\u201d Evers said <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/GovEvers\/status\/1942594386401058917\">in a statement<\/a> on Tuesday. \u201cIt\u2019s pretty simple \u2014 a handful of Republican lawmakers should not be able to single-handedly and indefinitely obstruct state agencies from doing the people\u2019s work.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEnsuring that the Legislature is held accountable for following the law and our state\u2019s constitution is a victory for the people of Wisconsin,\u201d he said about\u00a0the state Supreme Court\u2019s\u00a0decision.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The high court will maintain its liberal majority when Justice-elect Susan Crawford takes office in August, replacing retiring Justice Ann Walsh Bradley. Crawford <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/homenews\/campaign\/5226259-wisconsin-supreme-court-race-susan-crawford\/\">won a contentious race<\/a> for Bradley\u2019s seat in April, in the most expensive\u00a0judicial election in U.S. history.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>In <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wispolitics.com\/2025\/sen-nass-state-supreme-court-ruling-on-administrative-rulemaking-evers-is-now-a-king\/\">a statement<\/a> issued after Tuesday\u2019s ruling, Republican state Sen. Steve Nass, a JCRAR co-chair, said the court \u201chas in essence given Evers the powers of a King.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cToday, the liberal majority of the Wisconsin Supreme Court ended nearly 7 decades of shared governance between the legislature and executive branch agencies aimed at protecting the rights of individuals, families and businesses from the excessive actions of bureaucrats,\u201d he said. \u201cGovernor Evers asked his liberal allies on the state supreme court to give him unchecked dominion to issue edicts without legislative review that will harm the rights of citizens in order to enact his extreme agenda.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The court\u2019s three conservatives, Justices Rebecca Bradley, Annette Ziegler and Brian Hagedorn, similarly criticized Tuesday\u2019s decision.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Bradley wrote in a dissenting opinion that the court\u2019s majority ruling \u201clets the executive branch exercise lawmaking power unfettered and unchecked.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cProgressives like to protest against \u2018kings,\u2019\u201d she added, \u201cunless it is one of their own making.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A Wisconsin legislative committee controlled by Republicans violated the state constitution when it rejected a state agency rule to ban conversion therapy practices, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled Tuesday, clearing the way for the state to enforce the rule\u00a0and blunting the Legislature\u2019s power to block state regulations.\u00a0 The\u00a0Wisconsin Legislature\u2019s powerful Joint Committee for Review of Administrative Rules (JCRAR), responsible for approving state agency regulations, had twice rejected a Wisconsin state\u00a0licensing&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":321,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-319","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-healthcare"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wakeupknotts.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/319","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wakeupknotts.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wakeupknotts.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wakeupknotts.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wakeupknotts.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=319"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/wakeupknotts.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/319\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":320,"href":"https:\/\/wakeupknotts.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/319\/revisions\/320"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wakeupknotts.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/321"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wakeupknotts.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=319"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wakeupknotts.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=319"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wakeupknotts.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=319"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}