Proposed bills would take away property owners, tax payers, and consumer rights

Oppose: Both bills failed to pass the full legislature.

The Attorney General protects the rights of Wisconsin consumers, property owners and taxpayers by representing the state and citizens in cases— including consumer fraud and environmental pollution—that affect the public interest. The Attorney General is an independently elected public official accountable to Wisconsin citizens, not other elected officials. To protect the interest of Wisconsin citizens, the Attorney General can join multi-state legal actions and file public nuisance suits.

How have Public Nuisance suits been helpful to citizens concerned about lakes?

A public nuisance is as an unreasonable interference with a right common to the general public. Nuisance law plays an important role in protecting the public against threats not yet recognized or invented. Public nuisance cases typically involve private actions that interfere with public property, including parks, highways or waterways.

Individual property owners are also affected by public nuisances. For example, an ongoing case on Lac Court d'Orielles partially alleges that private lakeshore homeowners cannot use their bay because polluted runoff from a cranberry operation has lead to massive algae blooms that may be harmful to humans and hinder musky spawning and navigation. Since cranberry operations are not regulated under Wisconsin's water law, the suit is based on general nuisance law rather than a specific statute or regulation.

Regardless of the outcome of this pending case, public nuisance law allowed each side’s perspective to be heard and judged in a court of law. Without public nuisance law, citizens who feel their lake is being significantly and adversely impacted by the actions of one individual would have no legal recourse.

The Department of Justice estimates there have been fewer than ten public nuisance cases over the last several decades. Even though the number of cases is small, the problems they seek to address are egregious and are not covered by other Wisconsin laws. Local governments and public health departments have also used public nuisance suits to protect public interests.

AB-278 and SB-425 would strip Attorney General’s independent authority

Two bills working their way through the Wisconsin Legislature would dramatically diminish the traditional protections Wisconsin citizens have enjoyed since statehood that the Attorney General is empowered to defend. Provisions within these bills include:

• Prohibiting the Attorney General from filing public nuisance cases
• Prohibiting the Attorney General from joining ongoing cases other state Attorneys General are already pursuing
• Requiring gubernatorial or legislative approval to join multi-state suits (such as the collective state effort that resulted in the tobacco settlement).
• Requiring the Attorney General to obtain legislative or gubernatorial approval before filing proactive cases to protect the interests of Wisconsin citizens.

The Wisconsin Association of Lakes is concerned that preventing the Attorney General from addressing nuisances that have not been specifically regulated will result in a loss of practical ability to protect public lands and waters against activities and uses that are clearly detrimental, but have not been the subject of any specific regulations.

Read our press release on SB-425 and amended AB-278. (PDF 33 KB)

Read our testimony to the legislature on AB-278