A Wisconsin legislative committee controlled by Republicans violated the state constitution when it rejected a state agency rule to ban conversion therapy practices, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled Tuesday, clearing the way for the state to enforce the rule and blunting the Legislature’s power to block state regulations.

The Wisconsin Legislature’s powerful Joint Committee for Review of Administrative Rules (JCRAR), responsible for approving state agency regulations, had twice rejected a Wisconsin state licensing board’s rule to ban conversion therapy, a discredited practice that aims to change a person’s sexuality or gender identity.

Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, who barred state and federal funds from being used for conversion therapy in a 2021 executive order, sued Wisconsin’s GOP-controlled Legislature in 2023 for obstructing “basic government functions.” The lawsuit targets the joint committee’s vote on the conversion therapy rule and a separate rule to update commercial building standards.

Evers argued that JCRAR’s actions amounted to unconstitutional “legislative vetoes,” which he said........

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