14.035 Governor may enter into Indian gaming compacts. The governor may, on behalf of this state, enter into any compact that has been negotiated under 25 USC 2710 (d).

History: 1989 a. 196.

Committing the state to policy choices negotiated in compacts constitutes a legislative function. Because the purpose of this section is ascertainable, and in most situations there are safeguards available to alter the policy choices made by the governor, the delegation of power to the governor is not an unconstitutional violation of the separation of powers doctrine. However, the legislature did not delegate to the governor the authority to agree to a compact of indefinite duration, which circumvents the procedural safeguards that sustain the legislature's ability to delegate that power in the first place: the power to curtail or reclaim the delegated power by future legislative action. Panzer v. Doyle, 2004 WI 52, 271 Wis. 2d 295, 680 N.W.2d 666, 03-0910.

The governor acted contrary to the public policy embodied in state law and therefore acted without authority by agreeing to a compact allowing the conduct of games prohibited by Art. IV, s. 24, and criminal statutes. Panzer v. Doyle, 2004 WI 52, 271 Wis. 2d 295, 680 N.W.2d 666, 03-0910.

The governor exceeded his authority by agreeing in a compact to waive the state's sovereign immunity, an act which he had no inherent or delegated power to undertake. Panzer v. Doyle, 2004 WI 52, 271 Wis. 2d 295, 680 N.W.2d 666, 03-0910.

Panzer v. Doyle: Wisconsin Constitutional Law Deals the Governor a New Hand. Wawrzyn. 89 MLR 221 (2005).