After months of debate and protests, the collective bargaining law takes effect in the state of Wisconsin today.

So what does that law mean for the average person, and will it affect your bottom line—Even if you're not unionized?

Some supporters of the law say they're relieved the process is over. While some groups of teachers say they're just trying to look to the future.

Educators and administrators at this conference at Florian Gardens today, say they were focusing on how to improve children's education. But, the collective bargaining law was still in the back of some of their minds.

“It will definitely be impacting teachers, and I think generally people see that as a negative. We're hoping that in collaboration with our teachers, we can turn this into a positive, in ways to implement different ways of compensation packages or benefits,” says Bob Houts, the district administrator of the Owen-Withee School District.

Supporters of the law, which will require public employees to pay their own pension and contribute more to their health care, say this will help turn the economy around.

“I believe people will end up having higher salaries and benefits as result of this because this should allow tax rates to go down,” says Brian Westrate, of the Eau Claire Republican Party.

But one economist we spoke to says it's too early to tell what sort of an impact this law will have on the economy as a whole.

“Some businesses will have lower taxes and so you could say that this is taking money from public workers and giving a tax break to companies, but there is no way to see that this will trickle down to the taxpayer so far,” says David Schaffer, associate professor of economics at UW-Eau Claire.

Schaffer says this collective bargaining battle may not be completely over. The opponents of the law have run out of appeals in the state supreme court, but they are seeking a federal court ruling. However, he says it would be highly unlikely for a federal court to find the law unconstitutional, and a decision like that wouldn't come down for more than a year.