Wisconsin Legislative Tracker
Welcome! This is your insider’s view on the Wisconsin Legislature. The chart below will tell you how your legislators are voting on conservation issues you care about, from clean energy to water protections, forestry, environmental toxins, recycling and more.
For the full list of bills Sierra Club has registered on, see our lobbying page on the Wisconsin State Ethics Board website, check our 2011-12 Legislative Scorecard to see how your legislators voted on key conservation issues, and check out our presentation on the 2011-12 Legislative Session to find out what happened last session and what to watch out for in 2013. For information on previous sessions, see our 2003-04, 2005-06, 2007-08 or 2009-10 scorecards. Please contact Alexa Edinburgh or Caryl Terrell, Legislative Co-Chairs, with questions: edinburgh@wisc.edu or carylterrell@charter.net
2011-12 Legislative Tracker
Click here for a summary of the 2011-12 Session.
| Name | Bill | Issue | Status | Sierra Club's Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
AB 1 / SB 1 |
Requires decision on iron mining permits within 420 days; eliminates contested case hearings; allows mining waste to be deposited sensitive areas; allows groundwater contamination with minimal public health protections, allows drawdowns of lakes, rivers and streams, short-changes taxpayers and local communities by capping permit fees at $2 million and depositing 40% of tax revenues into the state's general fund. |
After a single public hearing in Madison Jan. 23, SB 1 passed out of the Assembly and Senate Mining and Jobs Committees Feb. 6. The Senate passed SB 1 by a vote of 17-16 on 02/27/13, the Assembly passed it by a vote of 58-39 on 03/07/13. Gov. Walker signed 2013 Act 1 on 03/11/13. |
STRONGLY OPPOSE |
| State Budget | The budget continues to expand highway funding, while failing to restore the 10% cut for transit from the last state budget. Gov. Walker proposed moving transit from the Transportation to the General fund, where it will compete with other basic services. | Introduced by Governor Walker on 02/20/13 then moved to Joint Finance Committee and will move to the Senate/Assembly for votes after public hearings. Stay tuned for public hearings. | SOME CONCERNS | |
| Nuclear towards renewable standards | AB 34 | This bill proposes that nuclear energy is considered among the renewable portfolio standards for the state and the time period is considered for using credits to comply with the standards. According to allies, this bill would not prevent the shutdown of the Kewaunee nuclear plant and it would not apply to Point Beach until their power purchase agreement expires. | Introduced by Representatives Jacque, Tittl, Bies, Brooks, LeMahieu, Murphy, Ott, Schraa, Stone, and Marklein and cosponsored by Senators Lasee, Grothman, and Gudex on 02/18/13. It has been referred to the Committee on Energy and Utilities. | OPPOSE |
| Reduce Public Input on Transmission Line Proposals | SB 35 | This bill would greatly reduce the amount of time that the DNR and the public would have to review proposed transmission lines and provide meaningful input through the EIS and public comments. | Introduced by Senator Farrow and cosponsored by Representative Honadel on 02/20/13. A public hearing was held by the Committee on Government Operations, Public Works, and Telecommunications on 02/26/13. Three amendments have been proposed by Senator Farrow and Shilling. | OPPOSE |
| Freezes Renewable Energy Standards at 2010 levels | SB 47 | This bill does nothing to reduce climate change, clean up our air, create clean energy jobs, or reduce Wisconsin's dependency on fiossil fuels. The bill would freeze renewable energy standards at 2010 levels for Wisconsin, instead of creating new standards to strive towards. | Introduced by Senator Grothman and cosponsored by Representatives LeMahieu, Kestell, Nass, Schraa, Brooks, and Larson on 02/28/13. It was referred to the committee on Energy, Consumer Protection, and Government Reform. | OPPOSE |
| Increases fees charged for public record | AB 26 | This bill increases barriers to citizens who want to access information | This bill was introduced by Representatives Bies, Ballweg, Brooks, Kapenga, T. Larson, Schraa, Tauchen, Tittl, and Zepnick on 02/15/13. It was referred to the Committee on Government Operations and State Licensing, which held a public hearing on 02/27/13. | OPPOSE |
| Undermines Wind Siting | SB 71 | Allows exemption for statewide wind siting rules by allowing a unit of government to get an exemption based on public health. Passing the bill will create a barrier for wind tht doesn't exist for other resources such as coal or nuclear energy that pose health threats. This will encourage wind developers to leave our state for projects in Minnesota, Iowa, Michigan, Indiana, and Illinois. | Introduced 03/08/13
by Senators Lasee, Ellis, Leibham, Grothman and Moulton; cosponsored by Representatives Jacque, Murtha, Bies, Endsley, Kestell, Klenke, Knudson, LeMahieu, Spiros and Thiesfeldt and referred to Committee on Government Operations, Public Works, and Telecommunications. Public hearing held 03/13/13. |
OPPOSE. Click here for a link to our testimony. |