The Legislative Hotline for the Wisconsin State Legislature has been temporarily disconnected due to a flood of telephone calls.

The line was disconnected Friday afternoon, according to the Assembly Chief Clerk's office, and will be reconnected at a future date. People can still call their state Senators and state Representatives directly.

For the last week, Wisconsin lawmakers have been flooded with calls, voicemails and e-mails, mostly from people wanting to tell legislators what they think about Gov. Scott Walker's controversial budget repair plan. His plan would dramatically limit the collective bargaining rights of nearly all public workers in the state and bring sweeping changes to Medicaid.

Democratic lawmakers criticized the hotline move.

"This is yet another example of the GOP attempting to silence the public," said Rep. Tamara Grigsby, D-Milwaukee.

She accused Republican lawmakers of shutting down ongoing public hearings and breaking the law by trying to approve the bill before session began Friday evening — and before Democrats arrived in the Assembly chamber.

"Our democracy is being undermined," she said. "Shutting down the legislative hotline is just one small example."