The Hill News

Wisconsin's state Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled that a controversial law that limits collective bargaining rights for state employees should go into effect.

The high court overturned a county judge's decision to place a stay on the law, arguing that Republican lawmakers did not violate the state's open-meetings law when they held a vote on the measure without many Democratic lawmakers present, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reported.

"Choices about what laws represent wise public policy for the state of Wisconsin are not within the constitutional purview of the courts," wrote the court's majority. "The court's task in the action for original jurisdiction that we have granted is limited to determining whether the Legislature employed a constitutionally violative process in the e! nactment of the act. We conclude that the Legislature did not violate the Wisconsin Constitution by the process it used."

The ruling could clear the way for the law to be implemented, which would be a major victory for first-term GOP Gov. Scott Walker, who championed the law.

Debate over the law triggered massive protests against it earlier this year, and the issue became a symbol for the national debate over fiscal policy and budgets.

The battle isn't over yet: state Democrats still have two other lawsuits pending against the law, which challenge it on its merits instead of the legislative process used to pass it.