Along partisan lines, the state Assembly last month passed a bill with the stated intention of protecting free expression on campus.

Protecting free expression is something everyone can get behind. Unfortunately, this bill will not accomplish that goal, and it very well may have other far-reaching negative consequences.

The goal of Assembly Bill 299 is to stop students from shouting down invited speakers and preventing them from giving their speeches. While I agree that invited individuals should have the opportunity to give their speeches, I do not believe the Legislature should be suppressing Wisconsin students First Amendment right to protest.

That is what this bill does. It effectively prioritizes the rights of a paid speaker over the rights of our university students to protest. More alarmingly, the bill sets mandatory punishments for students who are found to have interfered with anothers free expression, forcing state schools to suspend them for one semester if a student has violated this ban twice and calls for an automatic expulsion on a third infraction.

Punishing students for exercising their First Amendment right to protest is clearly unconstitutional.

The bill also mandates that Wisconsins universities remain neutral on the public policy controversies of the day. This could have a chilling effect on both the institutions abilities to advocate for themselves as well as the everyday lives of students and faculty.

Experts should be able to take positions on public policies that affect them. For years, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has refused to take stances on issues and has testified in committees for information only. As legislators, this practice gives us nothing. We are generalists we cannot be experts in every subject, and we rely on those who are experts to tell us if policy will have a positive or negative effect on their areas of expertise.

We should not allow that to happen to our universities. Their contributions to our state are invaluable and should not be diminished.

I have deep concerns about how this bill will negatively affect the functioning of our great university system. The bills author gave his assurance that this bill would have no effect on professors teaching in classrooms. But one Republican member explicitly stated in committee he was going to vote for this bill because of stories he heard of how conservative students in his district were treated poorly by liberal professors.

It is telling that, though we were told it wouldnt affect professors daily lives, some Republicans seem to be confident that it will, and they voted for it for that reason. The fact that one of Wisconsins elected representatives is ready and willing to pass legislation he believes will regulate academic thought and instruction is disturbing.

I find many issues troubling in this bill. It would allow any two individuals to report to the university that a student interfered with anothers right to free expression. As this bill is written, it doesnt even have to be two students reporting. It could be someone completely unaffiliated with the university.

Assembly Bill 299 could act as a legal magnet for frivolous litigation because it allows those allegedly prevented from exercising free speech to sue the university. Wisconsin taxpayers could be left paying the bill for lawsuits brought by agitators looking to stir up trouble.

This bill, which now heads to the Senate for approval, has good intentions. But the provisions of the bill do not meet the goal of protecting free expression. In fact, they do the opposite.

This bill will crush the free expression of students and professors in and out of classrooms. Silencing First Amendment rights is troubling, unconstitutional, and un-American.

Hebl, D-Sun Prairie, represents the 46th Assembly District, which includes Sun Prairie, Stoughton and Cottage Grove: Rep.Hebl@legis.wisconsin.gov

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Rep. Gary Hebl: Republican 'free speech' bill will squash it on campus - Madison.com