A new poll from Wisconsin’s largest business lobbying group shows widespread support for iron mining reform. Scott Manley is with Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce, which commissioned the poll by the Republican-leaning Tarrance Group. “The issue of the mining legislation and constructing a mine up north has had very strong and consistent support among voters,” Manley said. “We’ve been polling through the past year.”
Manley said the new polling found that 62 percent of Wisconsin voters support iron mining reform. The latest results come on the heels of a poll from the League of Conservation Voters, which found opposition to a Republican-backed mining bill has grown in the past year. “Their poll was a ‘push poll.’ They put a lot of scary things into their question, like lead and arsenic,” said Manley. “They made a lot of assumptions in their question that are factually wrong.”
Controversial legislation which overhauls the state’s mining regulations remains on the fast track at the Capitol – it cleared the Committee on Joint Finance on Monday and is scheduled for a state Senate vote on Wednesday. Governor Scott Walker has said he wants the bill on his desk by early next month.
