Madison: The Sierra Club today announced opposition to SB 632, Senator Tom Tiffany's latest attack on local control to benefit the frac sand industry and a handful of owners of sand deposits over the authority of local governments to regulate and protect the public health, air, water and safety of their residents. SB 632 directly attacks the 2012 Wisconsin Supreme Court decision upholding the right of local governments to regulate and even prohibit a frac sand mine proposal.


SB 632 replaces SB 349, pulled from consideration last year over widespread protests. SB 632 retains the rotten core provisions of SB 349. It still ties the hands of local governments by prohibiting the use of village powers for setting rules on frac sand operations. It prohibits local governments from changing or even enforcing rules for operating frac sand mines even if they're found to be "non-conforming" meaning found in violation of the rules. It establishes that local governments are prohibited from doing anything to stop a frac sand operation on lands registered as having a sand deposit - a boon to owners of sand deposits.


Tiffany introduced the bill on February 26 and has scheduled a hasty public hearing with only two days notice for 12 pm, Monday, March 3 in Room 412 East, State Capitol. (This will be a joint hearing on jobs, economy and mining.) "Senator Tiffany's newest bill proves again that he will sell out local governments and their residents to benefit the mining industry," said, Dave Blouin, JMC Mining Committee Chair, "SB 632 is just as rotten as the bill it replaced and we urge legislators to reject it and instead work to strengthen controls on frac sand mining. There is no evidence regulation has harmed sand mine development and in fact, there is growing evidence that the lack of regulation is causing harm to local air and water resources."


As of June 2013, an estimated 115 frac sand mines were operating.  At least 20 notices of permit violations have been issued by the DNR and 6 cases of violations have been referred to the state Department of Justice for prosecution. Three cases have resulted in $360,000 in settlements so far. 

(PR from John Muir Chapter Sierra Club)

images/486534245_9c9595b922_z.jpgThe Wisconsin Badgers may have retained custody of the Paul Bunyan Axe, however the State as a whole is faring much worse then our Minnesota neighbors. In job creation, schooling, health care, investment in infrastructure, Wisconsin is a big loser. 

The New York Times recently ran an opinion piece highlighting the differences between Wisconsin and Minnesota. Click here to read this excellent article. It is clear that State of Wisconsin needs to put a new team on the field next November.  

RES.     13-14

OPPOSING LIMITATIONS TO LOCAL CONTROL REGARDING NONMETALLIC MINING,

AIR AND WATER QUALITY, AND HIGHWAY DAMAGE AND USE CONTRACTS

The expansion of industrial sand mining and processing in western Wisconsin raises significant local public health, economic, environmental, and quality of life issues.  These are issues that require vigilance and action on the part of local governments, yet a bill pending in the Wisconsin Legislature would limit local control in a number of ways. 

Wisconsin Senate Bill 349 has been introduced in the Wisconsin Legislature to restrict local governmental authority to regulate nonmetallic mining and to limit certain governmental powers.  This bill prohibits local governmental units from 1) imposing restrictions related to water or air quality and water quantity; 2) requiring monitoring of water or air quality and water quantity; 3) establishing or enforcing a standard of air or water quality; or 4) issuing permits related to water or air quality and water quantity.    

Senate Bill 349 also removes the power of a county to administer an air pollution control program with requirements that are consistent with or stricter than those in relevant state law.

The bill prohibits a county from enacting or enforcing a nonmetallic mining reclamation ordinance that requires an operator to obtain a permit other than a reclamation permit, includes a standard of air or water quality, or is more restrictive than Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources standards.

Highway use is also addressed in this bill.  SB 349 prohibits counties from imposing any fee or other charge on a highway user for damage to highways caused by the highway user unless the county has entered into a contract with a highway user to reimburse the municipality or county for the cost of repairs to a highway that meets certain specific requirements, including a requirement that the proportion of damages caused specifically by the highway user must be determined by an engineer selected by the user and the county and paid equally by the user and the county.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Dane County Board of Supervisors supports local control of nonmetallic mining and opposes SB-349 and any state legislation that would preempt the ability of towns and counties to craft their own regulations tailored to their individual circumstances.

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED that a copy of this resolution be sent to Governor Walker, Wisconsin DNR Secretary Stepp, and the Dane County legislative delegation.

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The Government Accountability Board implored the committee to “please slow down” on the omnibus bill which was introduced late Friday afternoon and rushed to the hearing Tuesday. No one knows how much this overhaul would cost because there has not been time to get a fiscal estimate. Yet the committee chair, Rep. Kathy Bernier, initially said the committee would vote on the legislation Thursday. The good news is that apparently enough concerns were raised to postpone that vote until next week. Assembly Speaker Vos said he intends the bill to go to the Assembly Floor this month.The bill:

• •Reinstates voter ID, with an exemption for people who are indigent, have religious objections to photo ID or lack documentation such as a birth certificate needed to obtain an ID. To claim the exemption, you would have to sign an affirmation and also take an oral oath with the chief inspector, in front of your neighbors at the polling place. Your ballot would be marked (compromising privacy of the vote) and may be challenged in a recount. Local election officials then would be charged with investigating and standing in judgment of whether you are poor enough or truly have a religious conviction.
• •Specifies that if poll workers neglect to have electors sign the poll book before receiving a ballot, then one ballot would be removed randomly at the end of the day for each missing signature. This penalizes voters (and likely not the ones who did not sign) for poll worker error.
• •Prohibits local clerks from offering early voting hours in the evening or on weekends to serve their constituents. Voters may seek to make an off-hours appointment, but it has to be with the clerk her/himself, not a staff member. By treating all municipalities equally, the bill does not treat voters equally. Some clerks serve hundreds of voters and others thousands.
• •Bans the use of proof-of-residence documents displayed electronically on a smart phone or pad.
• •Doubles the number of nominees sent to the Governor for appointment to the GAB, upsetting the checks and balances intended to maintain a nonpartisan board and allowing more leeway for political appointments.
• •Makes it more difficult for individual citizens to vote, while removing restrictions on moneyed interests that wish to influence our Wisconsin elections.

To view the hearing on WisconsinEye, click here. Two LWV Milwaukee County members testified in opposition to the bill: Mary Jo McDonald spoke from her individual perspective as a Chief Inspector at a polling place in Shorewood (scroll to the 5 hour mark in the recording), and Tish Minor spoke on behalf of NAACP-Milwaukee Chapter and Voces de la Frontera (see her passionate explanation of the problem with asking people to publicly swear they are too poor to have an ID at hour 5:11).

Forward this email to others, so people will know about this fast-tracked bill!

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(MADISON) Representative Sondy Pope (D-Cross Plains) and Representative Fred Clark (D-Sauk City) released the following statement regarding the rumored budget deal struck by Republican legislative leaders and Governor Walker for Wisconsin’s schools.

“Expanding the unaccountable private school voucher program statewide is an ideologically driven decision that does not help improve the educational outcomes of Wisconsin students,” said Rep. Pope. “As recent peer-reviewed evidence has demonstrated (link), the ‘gold-standard’ studies we have relied upon to make decisions about the voucher program do not even begin to tell the whole story. If we were truly interested in improving student outcomes and helping drive achievement, we would be closing the failing schools already participating in the Milwaukee and Racine voucher programs.” 

“It’s sad to think that for the last four months, while the fourth graders have been visiting the capitol to learn about open government and our citizen legislature, well-paid lobbyists like former speakers John Gard and Jeff Fitzgerald were cutting deals behind closed doors to grease the skids for private, for-profit schools,” Rep. Clark said. “How are Republican legislators going to go back to their districts and explain to their voters that they caved to special interests and private schools instead of increasing support for their community schools?” 

“We have the opportunity to begin to restore the $1.6 billion that was taken from our public schools during the last budget,” continued Rep. Pope. “This decision is about priorities and it is clear that the Republican leadership would rather continue to grow the subsidy the state provides to private schools than the help the public schools that educate all of our children.” 

“This is no deal for Public schools,” said Rep. Clark. “This is the continuation of a downward spiral for public education that is destroying the fabric of Wisconsin communities. And it is especially tragic because it's so reckless, and completely avoidable. Our kids deserve better than to have their own schools essentially sold off to the highest bidders.” 

Contact: 
Rep. Sondy Pope
608-266-3520 

Proponents of the bill complain that, currently, one judge elected by voters in one county is able to block implementation of a statute that was passed by the full legislature and signed by the Governor. They cite the injunctions on voter ID and parts of the collective bargaining law as examples.

Yet that is why we have higher courts. If the state believes a judge has incorrectly blocked a law as unconstitutional, it may appeal the ruling and seek to reverse a preliminary injunction. In the case of voter ID, the state sought a stay of the injunctions from two circuit court judges, two appeals court panels and the state Supreme Court. A total of 15 judges and justices—not just one—declined to stay the injunctions. Thus a process already exists to appeal a preliminary injunction. It is not an easy process, nor should it be. Judges have to be able to block laws they deem to be in violation of the constitution.

This bill could allow the legislature to pass unconstitutional laws without consequences. The Wisconsin Legislative Council, the legislature’s independent nonpartisan legal research service, has concluded that the proposed law may very well violate the state constitution

Contact your state legislators and urge them to reject AB161 and its companion bill SB154. Click here to find your elected official’s contact info

Gov. Walker ran on a promise to create 250,000 jobs in his first four years as Governor.  Many economists argued that this goal was likely to be reached with little lifting from Gov. Walker due to natural upticks in the economy.  Yet, more than halfway through Gov. Walker’s first term, he is spectacularly failing to meet his own job creation standards and his flagship “jobs agency” – the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) – has become a national embarrassment. 

WEDC’s mismanagement and incompetence falls squarely on the Walker Administration because it was the Governor’s brainchild to privatize the Department of Commerce to create the WEDC. 

Where was the necessary accountability and oversight?  A WEDC spokesman was hired despite being on the delinquent taxpayer list and owing tens of thousands of dollars to Wisconsin in back taxes.  A recent audit by the Legislative Audit Bureau found WEDC employees used company credit cards and taxpayer dollars to buy Badger season tickets, alcohol and iTune gift cards.  The audit revealed that WEDC repeatedly broke state law, lost track of millions of dollars in taxpayer funded loans, and did not establish proper reporting mechanisms to track taxpayer dollars. 

By all standards Gov. Walker’s jobs agency is in turmoil and its failures must be addressed in a bi-partisan fashion to ensure adequate oversight of taxpayer dollars and good-job creation for Wisconsinites. 

In Solidarity,

Phil Neuenfeldt, President

On Wednesday May 15, at 7pm, the Southwest Wisconsin Area Progressives will host a seminar on social media. The event will be held at the Mt. Horeb Community Center at 107 North Grove Street. The program will demonstrate how individuals and organizations can harness the power of the new media to better communicate within communities. 

Co-leaders Margarete Worthington and Dan McClain will give an interactive power point presentation, which is sure to stimulate ideas and discussion. Worthington serves as chair of the Marquette County Democrats and formerly ran for State Senate District 12. McClain is currently a student at the University of Wisconsin and an intern for Wisconsin Grassroots Network.

Attendees of this "hands on" seminar are encouraged to bring their laptop computers. Signing up and maintaining social media sites will be covered as well as exploring power of social media within the realm of politics. The public is invited to attend at no charge. Donations will be accepted to help defray the cost of the event.

The National Rifle Association despises gun regulation of any kind and Johnson had over a million reasons to side with the group to kill the gun registration bill, which ended up receiving overwhelming bipartisan approval from his colleagues.

Turns out the NRA reported spending more than any other outside special interest group to support Johnson's 2010 election victory over incumbent Democrat Russ Feingold.

Four dozen SuperPACs and nonprofit groups representing the Democratic and Republican parties and an array of powerful special interests reported spending $4.7 million in the Johnson-Feingold contest.  The NRA was Johnson's biggest benefactor and also spent more than any other outside group on the list - $1.18 million - or 25 percent of the total.

Democracy Convention 2013 Registration

August 7-11, 2013 • Madison, Wisconsin