UNDATED (WSAU) Republican state legislative leaders say they might introduce a bill this fall to make it harder to recall public officials.

They spoke to Milwaukee Journal Sentinel editors yesterday about the new state budget that Governor Scott Walker is about to sign. But Assembly Speaker Jeff Fitzgerald says the legislative process has slowed down because senators are in quote, “full campaign mode.”

Six G-O-P senators face recalls because of their votes in favor of the bill to limit public union bargaining. One of those six, Alberta Darling, says people should have time to see how the measure works before deciding whether to kick out the lawmakers who adopted it.

Three Democratic senators also face recalls for skipping out of the Capitol for three weeks to try-and-block the union bill.

Assembly G-O-P Finance chair Robin Vos says Wisconsin is becoming a state where campaigns never end – and Governor Scott Walker says most Wisconsinites just want the recall disputes to go away.

Fitzgerald said he doesn’t support recalls against either party because of a single vote – and he’ll see if Democrats favor restricting them. But Assembly Democratic leader Peter Barca is against limiting recalls. And he accused Republicans of trying to avoid accountability. But it was someone in Barca’s own party who last brought the limiting of recalls. Former Senate Democrat Kevin Shibilski of Stevens Point tried in the late 1990’s to limit them only to their original purpose – to remove politicians who refused to do their jobs, or couldn’t because of bad health. That measure never went anywhere.

Fewer than 20 states allow legislators to be recalled.