What is YOUR definition of a "technical amendment"?
The St. Croix County, Wisconsin, Public Protection and Judiciary Committee passed a Second Amendment Resolution December 1. During the Committee meeting, a "technical amendment" was made. No one in the audience had the Resolution from November 3 before them to compare the "technical amendment", nor was there time provided for a comparison.
History: On November 3, the Public Protection and Judiciary Committee met with one of the agenda items being "Resolution to Support the U.S. Constitution and the Second Amendment." Cathy Leaf, Supervisor 4, objected to taking action on the Resolution because it hadn't been provided to the Committee in a timely manner. The Committee chose to postpone discussion/action until the December 1 meeting. Click here for meeting video. Hour/Minute 1:06:00.
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Read this e-mail sent by Chair Robert Feidler to the Public Protection and Judiciary Committee the night before the December 1 meeting at 7:37 p.m.* Note: Feidler states in the evening-before-the-meeting e-mail (in part): ..."The final clause is the Therefore clause. Similar to the change in the fourth clause, the more direct word "will" is substituted for "declares its intent to". The words after "therein" are deleted. This change admittedly goes beyond technical in that it eliminates the specific language relating to "bearing arms". ..." He continues to explain in the e-mail his reasoning for eliminating what we believe is the most important part of the Resolution. Is this considered a "technical change"?
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December 1 Committee meeting, the Business portion of the meeting starts Minute 19:45. Click here for meeting video. It is very important for you to watch this portion of the meeting video after reading the Feidler email sent to the Committee the evening before the meeting.
- From beginning to end, the whole of the Resolution agenda item December 1 took about 2 1/2 minutes. Cathy Leaf did not object to receiving the night-before e-mail from Chair Feidler. The Resolution passed unanimously. Why? Do those 2 1/2 minutes appear to be choreographed?
Compare the "old" Resolution presented to the Committee on November 3 and the "new" Resolution presented to the Committee December 1. While the Committee and audience were given a copy of the "new" Resolution, there was no comparative, red-lined or verbal, recitation of the "technical changes" or "technical amendment" to the Resolution provided, which is usual practice for a governmental body. How could we know what the "technical amendment" was? We couldn't--not until we compared the Resolutions after the meeting. The so-called "technical amendment" was a major edit and deletion of the most important sentence in the Resolution, in our opinion.
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November 3, 2022, Second Amendment Resolution, last paragraph. Click here for original (in part)
“…NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the St. Croix County Board of Supervisors declares its intent to uphold its oath to support the Federal and State Constitutions and to preserve rights explicitly provided therein to include the bearing of arms for lawful purposes and opposes actions contrary to these rights.” (bold was deleted at the December 1 meeting--emphasis ours)
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NEW: December 1, 2022, Second Amendment Resolution, last paragraph. Click here for revised Resolution (in part)
“…NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the St. Croix County Board of Supervisors declares its intent to uphold its oath to support the Federal and State Constitutions and to preserve rights explicitly provided therein.”
Share your opinion with the St. Croix County Board on December 6, 8:30 a.m., St. Croix County Government Center. Citizen comments are at the beginning of the meeting or by e-mail (addresses provided below). Click here for the agenda Pages 19-21.
*Note: The original title of the November 30, 2022, Feidler e-mail received via open records is titled: "Slightly Revised Text of Resolution re the Constitution and Explanation of How the Committee Might Proceed." This long title did not translate to Constant Contact.
If you have not yet contacted the St. Croix County Board, it is not too late to do so.
We have a Republic--can we keep it?
Emails of St. Croix County Board of Supervisors
Link to contact information for the St. Croix County Board of Supervisors and District maps: https://www.sccwi.gov/483/Districts-Supervisors
Wisconsin Oath of Office
Wisconsin State Statues 19.01(1m)
I, ...., having been elected to the office of county board supervisor, swear that I will support the constitution of the United States and the constitution of the state of Wisconsin, and will faithfully and impartially discharge the duties of said office, to the best of my ability. So help me God.
