Gov. Doyle should sign the DNR reform bill

It’s been a long time coming, but on Thursday the Legislature approved a bill that would strip authority of future governors to appoint the secretary of the Department of Natural Resources. The bill gives the authority to appoint the secretary of the DNR to the seven-member Natural Resources Board. The State Senate voted 21-11 in favor of the legislation on Thursday, so now the bill will head to Governor Jim Doyle’s desk for his signature or veto.

Gov. Doyle, who supported efforts to reform the method for appointing the secretary of the DNR during his first campaign for governor, has recently said he is not in favor of taking the power to appoint the secretary of the DNR away from the governor, so it will be interesting to see if the bill is vetoed or signed into law. A refusal by Gov. Doyle to sign this bill into law will be a disappointment to all those constituents of his (including yours truly) who wanted to see the DNR become less politicized and more independent than it has been since governors were given the power to appoint the secretary of the DNR.

Gov. Doyle ought to do what he said he supporting doing during his first campaign for governor by signing this reform legislation into law.