By the Associated Press
CREATED OCT. 26, 2011
MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- Facing
mounting pressure to deliver on job creation promises, Republicans in the state
Assembly said Tuesday they won't wait for their Senate counterparts to develop
a bill to expedite mining permits and will move ahead on their own.
Assembly Majority Leader Scott
Suder, R-Abbotsford, said at a news conference he wants to have a bill by the
end of the year. His spokesman later clarified that Suder meant he wants to see
Gov. Scott Walker sign the measure into law by then.
"We are moving forward on
mining. ... We can't afford to wait. This is too important for the state of
Wisconsin," Suder said.
A company called Gogebic
Taconite wants to open an iron mine in the Penokee Range just south of Lake
Superior. The proposal is a divisive one -- the company says the mine would
create thousands of jobs, while environmentalists worry the mine could pollute
one of the state's most pristine regions.
Gogebic Taconite has put its
plans on hold until state lawmakers can assure them of a definite end point in
the state's complex mine permitting process, raising fears among
conservationists that Republicans who control the Legislature will sacrifice
environmental standards for speed.
Republican leaders in the state
Senate put together a special committee last month to deal exclusively with
mining regulations, with the understanding that the Senate and Assembly would
work collaboratively on the legislation.
But the panel has yet to
officially release any legislation. Meanwhile, minority Democrats in the
Assembly have been pounding away at Republicans over the state's stagnant
unemployment rate, complaining bitterly every time the chamber convenes about
what they see as a lack of meaningful job creation bills.
Rep. Mary Williams, R-Medford,
chairwoman of the Assembly's jobs committee, said at the news conference she's
tired of listening to the criticism, so she decided to take her committee north
to Hurley on Thursday for an informational hearing on mining. The committee has
invited a number of groups including industry experts, Native American tribes
from the area and conservation organizations to speak in preparation for
drafting a bill.
Asked whether the Assembly
plans to move independently of the Senate, Williams responded, "there's
more than one house in this body, so yes we are. So many people are saying,
you're not talking about jobs. And so finally I decided, doggone it, we are
going to talk about jobs ... so we are going to go forward with this."
But she added that she hopes
the Assembly and the Senate can come together later and advance the best
possible legislation.
The chairman of the Senate
mining committee, Sen. Neal Kedzie, R-Elkhorn, said he hadn't heard what the
Assembly was doing. He said he doesn't have a timetable for any action yet. But
he hopes to have a hearing before the end of the year, saying the mining issue
is a huge one and deserves to be researched thoroughly.
"(The Assembly is) a separate
house," Kedzie said. "We'll chart our course and they'll chart
theirs."
Five environmental groups held
their own news conference Tuesday to complain about a wide-reaching Republican
bill that eases Wisconsin's air and water regulations. They contend the bill
amounts to a backdoor attempt to clear the way for the mine.
Lori Grant of the Wisconsin
River Alliance said the bill doesn't affect the permitting process for opening
a mine, but warned that the legislation would make it much easier for mining
companies to obtain numerous other permits they need and make it more difficult
for the public to have input.
"The first to benefit will
be the mining industry," she said.
Suder denied any connection
between the air-and-water bill and mining.
"Those that are saying the two are attached or a backdoor, it's simply not true," Suder said. "The point is, it's (developing the mining legislation) an open, transparent process that's going to include all the stakeholders. ... We are going to work with everyone involved to get to a compromise that balances the environment and makes certain that we capitalize on the opportunity to create jobs."
------ Associated Press writer Scott Bauer contributed to this report.