When the Legislature returns to the state Capitol next week, mining legislation will be a top priority.
Assembly Speaker-elect Robin Vos (R-Rochester) and Majority Leader Scott Suder (R-Abbotsford) say a mining bill will be one of the first pieces of legislation introduced when the session starts. While the details of the bill have not yet been released, Suder says it will build on legislation that passed the state Assembly last session but failed in the state Senate.
Suder says it will likely be one of the first bills the Assembly will pass in the new year.
Governor Walker made several stops across the state Wednesday to push for action on mining legislation, saying that it would help clear the way for a proposed iron ore mine in northern Wisconsin. Suder says the thousands of jobs that project would create are badly needed. He adds that Wisconsin-based companies that make mining equipment stand to benefit as well, and the bill could have a $2 billion economic impact.
The Abbotsford Republican says lawmakers will get to work on the bill right away next week and the process will be transparent, with hearings held and feedback from Democrats also considered.
Suder says it’s a very important bill for the state of Wisconsin.
AUDIO: Andrew Beckett reports (1:12)
