Attorney General Josh Kaul has declined to represent Gov. Tony Evers in a suit over lame-duck laws limiting their powers, prompting Evers to spend up to $50,000 of taxpayer money on private attorneys.
The move comes soon after Republican lawmakers approved billing taxpayers for their own private attorneys in the legal fight. They have not said what firm they plan to use.
The Democratic governor selected the Madison firm Pines Bach to represent him last week after Kaul told Evers he couldn't represent him because of a conflict of interest.
Pines Bach senior partner Lester Pines often represented the state when Democrat Jim Doyle was governor, and in recent years has led legal challenges to laws approved by Republicans.
Pines and his colleagues will be paid $275 an hour, according to a copy of the contract released Monday under the state's open records law. The cost is capped at $50,000.
