MADISON, Wis. (Legal Newsline) - A Wisconsin Democrat faces the possibility of an ethics investigation, as a complaint has been filed regarding his connection to lobbying firms ahead of what could be an Election Day that leaves the State Assembly looking much different.
New battle lines were drawn this year when the state's Democrat governor, Tony Evers, and Republican-controlled legislature agreed on a redistricting plan. The GOP was wary of passing its own plan then having to defend it in front of the state's liberal Supreme Court.
Though Republicans hold a 64-35 supermajority, many representatives are running in new districts this year. The swing state went red for Donald Trump in 2016 but has voted Democrat in all other Presidential elections since 1988, even though the legislature is currently a heavy Republican majority.
One Democrat in the Assembly - Steve Doyle - is the subject of a recent complaint submitted to the Ethics Commission. He is an attorney at Johns, Flaherty & Collins who has represented two companies involved in lobbying in the state.
State laws prevent legislators from receiving anything of value from a lobbyist or principal, with some exceptions. The complaint cites a 2010 advisory opinion from the Government Accountability Board that said legislators should not "perform any work or services specifically for a principal, so long as [the] pay arrangement with the firm includes payment for your legal services charged to a principal on an hourly or project basis."
Gundersen Health System, a group of hospitals and clinics, lobbied from 2019-22. Doyle is listed as attorney for Gundersen Lutheran Admin Services in a 2021 small claims lawsuit over an unpaid bill by a patient. Gundersen obtained $3,011.
He represented Gundersen in a similar 2022 suit and Black River Memorial Hospital in a 2023 suit.
He also filed litigation on behalf of the convenience store chain Kwik Trip this year - another small claims case. It remains to be seen if representing two companies in relatively low-dollar lawsuits that also lobby at the Capitol will get the attention of the Ethics Commission.
The complaint merely asks the Ethics Commission to investigate whether this representation is in violation of the rules for legislators.
A 1992 opinion from the Ethics Board says a public official receiving indirect compensation from a lobbying principal would be a violation, with the exception of three cases: the lawmaker's compensation is unrelated to the principal's business, the principal's purchase of services is unrelated to the official's employment and the official doesn't provide work customarily charged on an hourly or project basis, the complaint notes.
Doyle has been in the Assembly since his election in 2011 when he replaced a retiring Republican. He's running in District 94, east of La Crosse, against Republican Ryan Huebsch.
Most of Doyle's campaign funds have been provided through the years by Democrat groups. He and his members of his staff did not respond to a request for comment.