Wisconsin taxpayers to pay half the cost of redistricting consultants hired by Supreme Court

By SCOTT BAUER
Associated Press

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The liberal majority of Wisconsin’s Supreme Court says taxpayers will pay half of the $128,000 bill for redistricting consultants hired by the court to review proposed legislative maps. The court issued the order Monday, putting Gov. Tony Evers, Republican and Democratic legislators and three groups of voters on the hook for the money. Conservative justices dissented, sharply criticizing the majority for hiring the consultants and not divulging more information about the work they did and details of the charges. They said the court’s order brazenly imposed judicial will. The court hired a pair of redistricting consultants to review maps submitted by Republicans and Democrats after it tossed out the existing Republican-drawn maps as unconstitutional.