Legislative Tracker

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 and energy conservation and protecting water resources, to forestry, environmental toxins, recycling and more. At the end of each session, the John Muir Chapter evaluates the voting record of all legislators. For information on how legislators voted in previous sessions, see our 2003-04, 2005-06, 2007-08 and the 2009-10 Legislative Scorecards , or link to our webpage on the 2009-10 session. Please contact us with any questions: Caryl Terrell, Legislative Chair, carylterrell@charter.net(608) 833-8828. Visit our lobbying page on the Wisconsin State Ethics Board website.

2011-12 Legislative Tracker

Click here for an interim legislative report from 2011.

Click here for the full chart of the 2011-12 Session. NEW!

Name	Bill	Issue	Status	Sierra Club's Position
MINING DEREGULATION BILL	AB 426 / SB 488	Requires decision on iron mining permits within 360 days; Prohibits DNR from evaluating the quality of permit responses; eliminates contested case hearings; allows for destruction of high quality wetlands, rivers and streams; allows mining waste to be deposited in floodplains and shorelands; short-changes taxpayers and local communities by capping permit application fees at $2 million and depositing 40% of tax revenues into the state's general fund.	AB 426 was passed in the Assembly 59-36, stalled in Senate Committee. Click here for Sierra Club's statement on AB 426	STRONGLY OPPOSE Please contact your Senator today to let them know you oppose this horrible bill!
WETLANDS DEREGULATION BILL	AB 463 / SB 368	Allows for destruction of ASNRI) wetlands (areas with significant ecological, educational or recreational value); requires mitigation too early in the permit process before alternatives to habitat destruction can be fully explored; and sets arbitrary, aggressive time limits for DNR staff to review permit applications.	AB 463 / SB 368 was passed Assembly 61-34; passed Senate 17-15; signed into law as2012 WI Act 118 Click here for Sierra Club's statement on SB 368.	STRONGLY OPPOSE Please contact your legislators today and let them know you value wetlands, which provide flood protection and critical wildlife habitat
BROWN COUNTY WETLAND DEREGULATION BILL	Special Session AB 10/ SB 10	Removes wetland protections from Brown County wetlands	PASSED Passed Assembly 56-35, passed Senate 20-11, and signed into law as 2011 WI Act 6	OPPOSE Click here to read Sierra Club's statement
POLLUTERS OVER PEOPLE	AB 421 / SB 326	This bill was recently amended to remove provisions that allow harmful lake dredging, eliminate requirements for permit application notices to be posted in local newspapers, conflict with the Clean Air Act (by exempting air emissions modeling for pollution sources), and grant presumptive approval for high capacity wells. It still includes an arbitrary, 30-day presumptive approval for shoreland development permits, & requires “significant public interest” before a public hearing is held.	After 100s attended the Oct. 26 public hearing to oppose this bill (when it was SS AB / SB 24), it failed to pass. It was later reintroduced as AB 421 / SB 326, and amended, where it passed the Assembly and Senate Natural Resources Committees on Dec. 14, 2011.	STRONGLY OPPOSE Contact your legislators and let them know that you oppose AB 421 / SB 326. This bill pressures the DNR to approve permits without considering site conditions or staffing & undermines public input on decisions that impact their local natural resources.
CLEAN ENERGY ROLLBACK BILLS	AB 72 / SB 50 SS AB9/SB9 SB 263 AB 146	AB 72/ SB 50 would repeal PSC 128 (wind siting standards) & require the PSC to remake wind siting rules in 90 days. Special Session AB9/SB9 changed the setback limits of PSC 128 SB 263 requires a study on links between wind energy and human health before it can make rules about wind setbacks, despite the fact that no credible science supports alleged health risks from wind turbines. AB 146 extends the shelf life for renewable energy credits from 4 years to infinity.	AB 72/SB 50 died in committee. However, the uncertainty still caused mayhem to the wind industry over the last year. A fiscal estimate from DHS estimates that SB 263 will cost taxpayers $214,800. AB 146 died in the Assembly committee	OPPOSE Click here to read Sierra Club's statement on AB 146. Four wind projects which could have provided hundreds of jobs and 398 MW of clean energy to our state were canceled in 2011 as a result of the current regulatory uncertainty surrounding wind siting.
UNIFORM WIND SITING RULES SUSPENDED	PSC 128	PSC 128 spells out rules needed to implement Wisconsin's uniform wind siting law that supports clean energy development while balancing stakeholder needs.	The JCRAR voted to suspend PSC 128 on 03/01/11. If no bill is passed to repeal the rules they will go into effect at the end of the current session.	SUPPORT The JCRAR's decision to suspend these rules takes Wisconsin backward in the race for wind energy. This move will destroy hundreds of jobs.
ENERGY EFFICIENCY FUNDING & INCENTIVES	LRB 3360	LRB 3360 allows the PSC to require utilities to spend more than 1.2% of utility revenues on Focus on Energy. Energy Star Tax Holiday: Offers sales tax relief for energy star appliances during earth week. Saves energy, stimulates business. Previously introduced late in the session in 2008, did not pass.	LRB 3360 restores the process for funding Focus on Energy that the Joint Finance Committee rolled back in the state budget when they capped program investments at 1.2% of utility revenues. Sen. Lassa and Rep. Taylor plan to reintroduce Energy Star Tax Holiday legislation. Click here for Sierra Club's statement on Energy Star Tax Holiday.	SUPPORT Focus on Energy has saved ratepayers $2 billion dollars and reduced carbon dioxide emissions by 5 billion pounds between 2001-2010. Increased investments would create thousands of Wisconsin jobs. Energy Star Tax Holiday incentives would stimulate retail sales, save energy and reduce our dependance on fossil fuels.
REWARDS FOR WASTED ENERGY BILL	AB 145	Provides temporary reduction in energy rates if increased energy use is projected.	Died in Assembly committee	OPPOSE
DIRTY LAKES BILL	AB 165	AB 165 llows for the retail display of polluting, unnecessary phosphorus-containing turf fertilizer, previously restricted in WI because of it's link to green algal blooms on our lakes.	Passed Assembly 55-41; passed Senate Natural Resources Committee, waiting for a vote	OPPOSE Read Sierra Club's statement on AB 165.
BRIDGE BOONDOGGLE BILL	SB 26	SB 26 allowed for Wisconsin to spend $300 million to build a mega-bridge across the Wild and Scenic St. Croix River from Hudson to Stillwater	PASSED Passed Assembly 71-26, passed Senate 23-10, and signed into law as 2011 Wisconsin Act 30	OPPOSE Read Sierra Club's statement on SB 26
PROTECTING COMMUNITIES FROM SAND MINING IMPACTS	LRB 3710 LRB 3824	LRB 3710 to require local governments to publish a class 1 notice at least 30 days prior to taking action on a frac sand mine application. LRB 3824 would change zoning laws to give local officials an opportunity to negotiate conditions on the operation of a frac sand mine. LRB 3824 would also make frac sand mining a prohibited use in residentially zoned areas.	TBA	SUPPORT
CLEAN WATER	AB 23	AB 23 prevents the DNR from requiring municipalities to disinfect their water. Water disinfection ensures that our drinking water is safe. Viruses and pollution in drinking water can threaten public health, such as the cryptosporidium outbreak in 1993 in Milwaukee that make hundreds of thousands of people sick.	PASSED Passed Assembly 58-35, Passed Senate 21-11, signed into law on May 23, 2011 as 2011 WI Act 19	OPPOSE
	AB 177/ SB 133	Streamlines permits from the DNR on structures in rivers, lakes, and streams and change requirement of burden of proof on applicants to demonstrate that water use wouldn't negatively impact others. Wisconsin's waters belong to the people of the state and arbitrary timelines and changes with the burden of proof do not allow for comprehensive study on permit applicants.	PASSED Passed Assembly 65-32, in Senate Committee on Natural Resources	OPPOSE