This has been a busy week with regard to the proposed mining legislation, Assembly Bill 426/Senate Bill 488. The bills would create new statutes to govern ferrous (iron) mining, which is currently regulated in the same manner as non-ferrous (non-iron minerals like gold or copper) mining under Wisconsin law.

On Monday, February 13th, the Senate Select Committee on Mining Jobs released a draft Senate bill that was similar to Assembly Bill 426. Sen. Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau announced Wednesday he was dissolving the Senate Select Committee on Mining Jobs, and referring AB426, to the Joint Finance Committee.

Senate Bill 488, which is identical to AB 426, was introduced and also referred to the Joint Finance Committee. The Joint Finance Committee is currently holding a public hearing on the mining bills that is expected to last until 5pm this evening. Video of the hearing is available online from Wisconsin Eye.

Hamilton Consulting has prepared a summary of the bills, and a chart detailing the proposed application process.

Additional information about the mining bill is available on the Hamilton Consulting website. Interested persons can contact Hamilton Lobbyists Robert Fassbender, Andy Engel, or Amy Boyer and follow @HCG500 on Twitter.