Mining Bills Headed to Joint Finance Committee

On February 6 the Senate Committee on Workforce Development, Forestry, Mining, and Revenue and the Assembly Committee on Jobs, Economy and Mining both met to amend the mining bill, AB1/SB1, and move it forward in the legislative process.

Numerous amendments were made to the bill in response to concerns raised during hearings on AB1/SB1 and last year’s similar proposal. The amendments, which preserve Wisconsin’s environmental standards and assure the DNR will work with the Army Corps of Engineers, among other things, are thoroughly explained in a memo from the Legislative Council.

The next stop for the bill is the powerful, budget-writing Joint Finance Committee. After going through JFC the bill would head to the floor for debate. Both Assembly Speaker Robin Vos and Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald say they plan on having a bill passed in early March.