Early this morning, the Senate approved legislation that would ease restrictions on development in or near state wetlands. Senate Bill 368, sponsored by Senator Neal Kedzie (R-Elkhorn), makes significant changes to Wisconsin’s wetlands permitting process. Wisconsin wetlands are currently subject to a myriad of different regulations. For example, some wetlands are subject to both state […]
DHS Accepting Comments on Long Term Care Sustainability Plan
Date Wed, Feb. 15, 2012 - 12:59pm By Hamilton
The Wisconsin Department of Health Services is accepting public comments on its outline of initiatives designed to keep the state’s long term care programs sustainable. DHS developed the proposals after months of studying public long term care programs including Family Care, Include Respect I Self-Direct (IRIS) and PACE and Partnership. Family Care and related programs, […]
Judicial Candidates Square Off in Spring Primary
Date Mon, Feb. 13, 2012 - 1:14pm By Hamilton
On February 21st, voters in 6 circuit court districts will head to the polls to cast their ballots in the Spring Primary. This is not to be confused with the Spring Election and Presidential Preference Primary, which will be held on April 3rd. The two top vote-getters in each Spring Primary race will square off […]
$140 Million Allocated to Wisconsin in $25 Billion Mortgage Settlement
Date Mon, Feb. 13, 2012 - 1:07pm By Hamilton
A national settlement with Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Citigroup and Ally Financial related to loans issued between 2008 and 2011 that were foreclosed on will provide Wisconsin an estimated $140 million over the next three years. Monetary benefits to Wisconsin will include: Up to an estimated $60 million in benefits from loan […]
Court Broadens Towns’ Authority to Regulate Non-Metallic Mining through Police Powers
Date Fri, Feb. 10, 2012 - 12:01pm By Hamilton
By Andrew Cook and Pat Osborne The Wisconsin Supreme Court has issued a decision that is likely to negatively affect not just the aggregate industry, but other related industries. The Court’s decision broadens Wisconsin towns’ authority to regulate certain types of land uses under the guise of its police powers, rather than through a zoning […]
EPA Will Designate Kenosha County as Nonattainment for Ozone
Date Fri, Feb. 3, 2012 - 5:35pm By Hamilton
Citing data from the state of Illinois, the EPA has announced it intends to revise its proposed designation for Kenosha County, and recommend it be designated nonattainment for the 2008 8-hour ozone standard. This decision by the EPA is unwelcome, as nonattainment designations carry with them substantial regulatory and related economic burdens. Background Section 109 […]
The Wisconsin Scorecard: How Wisconsin Compares to Other States
Date Thu, Feb. 2, 2012 - 3:23pm By Hamilton
The Wisconsin Scorecard is a unique new publication from the Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau that provides data on how Wisconsin compares to the other 49 states on a variety of measures. The Scorecard includes 44 rankings organized into four umbrella sections: Demographic and Social, Health and Education, Government Finance and Economic, and Environment and Energy […]
Wall Street Journal Editorial Discusses Unwarranted Political Attacks on Koch Industries
Date Wed, Feb. 1, 2012 - 5:23pm By Hamilton
The Wall Street Journal published an op-ed today written by Theodore Olson, former Solicitor General from 2001 to 2004, which addresses the relentless attacks on Koch Industries and its shareholders throughout the past several years. The op-ed notes that Koch Industries and its shareholders have been singled out because of Koch’s longstanding and firm commitment […]
State Regulation of Frac Sand Mining
Date Wed, Feb. 1, 2012 - 11:03am By Hamilton
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) this week denied a rulemaking petition by opponents of silica sand mining in western and northern Wisconsin. The same day it denied the rulemaking request, the DNR issued a comprehensive Silica Sand Mining Study. Sand mining is becoming increasingly more common in Wisconsin due to a surge in […]
Assembly Passes Mining Bill
Date Tue, Jan. 31, 2012 - 5:21pm By Hamilton
Last week, the Wisconsin Assembly passed the controversial iron ore mining legislation on a party-line vote with all the Republicans voting for AB 426 and all Democrats opposing it. Proponents of the bill argue that the legislation will bring badly needed jobs to northern Wisconsin, where mining company Gogebic Taconite is planning to construct an […]