Patrick Marley and Molly Beck

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

MADISON - Some of the lame-duck laws limiting the power of Gov. Tony Evers went back into effect Wednesday when an appeals court overruled a Dane County judge who invalidated them last week.

A three-judge panel in Wausau stayed the ruling by Judge Richard Niess, but the court did not act on a separate ruling in a second case that blocked parts of those laws.

For now, those provisions — including ones taking power from Democratic Attorney General Josh Kaul — remain sidelined. An appeal in the second case is expected soon, and more court action in both cases is expected in the days and weeks ahead.

Wednesday's ruling immediately raised questions about whether 82 appointees of former Gov. Scott Walker continued to hold their jobs. Niess' ruling invalidated their confirmations last week and Evers quickly rescinded their appointments.

After the appeals court ruled, the two sides disagreed on whether Evers' action stood and whether those jobs were vacant.

While the questions swirled, GOP leaders savored their victory at this stage of the legal fight. Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald and Assembly Speaker Robin Vos said Wednesday’s ruling pauses a “constitutional crisis.”

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“Established law says that the court cannot tell the Legislature how to set its rules,” they said in their statement.

Meanwhile, Evers spokeswoman Melissa Baldauff said, "The only victory today is for the $500-per-hour Chicago lawyers getting paid by taxpayers to defend the Republican attack on our constitution."

At issue in the cases are laws Republican lawmakers approved after Evers and Kaul were elected but before they were sworn in.

The laws limited Evers' control of the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp., required Evers to get permission from lawmakers to make changes to public benefits programs and forced Kaul to get approval from lawmakers to settle lawsuits.

The League of Women Voters of Wisconsin and other groups sued, asking the court to vanquish the lame-duck laws because of the method legislators used to bring themselves into session.

Lawmakers held what is known as an extraordinary session, in which they convene at the Capitol when they're not otherwise scheduled to be there. The groups argued state law and the state constitution don't allow such sessions.

Niess agreed and issued a ruling that blocked the laws and revoked the confirmations of 82 Walker appointees approved by the Senate during the lame-duck session.

After that decision, Evers and Kaul immediately took actions that had been blocked by the lame-duck laws.

Kaul sought to withdraw the state from lawsuits challenging federal environmental rules and the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare. Evers revoked the 82 appointments.

RELATED:Tony Evers, Josh Kaul move to exit Obamacare lawsuit after judge blocks GOP lame-duck laws

On Wednesday, the appeals court blocked Niess' ruling while it considers the case. The judges concluded that Wisconsin residents may suffer harm if laws passed by their representatives are prevented from being carried out while the court does its work.

The stay was granted by Mark Seidl, who was elected in 2015; Thomas Hruz, who was appointed by Walker in 2014; and Lisa Stark, who was appointed by Walker in 2013 just before the election. She was the only candidate who was running.

Misha Tseytlin, an attorney for the lawmakers, said the latest decision put the 82 Walker appointees back in their jobs.

"Those people have a statutory right to their jobs because they were duly confirmed by the Senate in December 2018," he said by email. "The governor’s hasty, ill-advised actions last week cannot possibly impact those legal rights."

Baldauff disputed that.

"The stay does not invalidate the withdrawal of the appointees, nor does it affect the governor’s ability to make appointments to those vacant positions," she said by email.

Most of the positions are on low-profile, part-time boards that provide their members nominal pay. But two of them are for full-time positions — on the Public Service Commission, which regulates utilities, and the Labor and Industry Review Commission, which reviews employment law decisions.

Wednesday's decision was the latest in a string of rulings that have come over the last week.

Just before the panel made its decision, Stark issued a separate order that said the appeal would remain with her District 3 Court of Appeals. The League of Women Voters and others had asked to have the appeal heard by the District 4 Court of Appeals in Madison.

In a separate case brought by unions challenging the lame-duck law, Dane County Circuit Judge Frank Remington on Tuesday blocked some of the provisions of the laws while he considers the case. His ruling remains in effect for now, so those parts of the laws continue to be on hold despite the appeals court's ruling.

An appeal in that case is expected to be filed soon.

Contact Patrick Marley and Molly Beck at patrick.marley@jrn.com and molly.beck@jrn.com. Follow them on Twitter at @patrickdmarley and @mollybeck.