Citizens Voice Major Concerns about Rushed Mining Bill, Lousy Deal for Public. But can't you hear the fat lady singing...

If there were any conservatives in the crowd at the Hurley Inn, they’re probably Democrats now.

According to this account, mining special interests will make out like bandits under the new legislation. And it seems like everybody there understood the hearing was just for show, a listening session forced upon Republicans, who were criticized for holding only one meeting in faraway West Allis.

If conservative voters weren’t so loyal, these Republican con men would be out on their asses for bowing to mining interests, over the concerns of the public.

The Ashland Current: HURLEY — Nearly 300 people crowded into a conference room at the Hurley Inn to participate in a state committee hearing on the proposed mining bill. Lacking seating for everyone, the venue forced many other participants to stand and listen to the hearing from an adjacent room.

Some speakers questioned the legitimacy of the hearing, responding to news reports that the state assembly plans to vote on the bill as early as next week. Theron O'Connor, a Bayfield businessman, told a group of state legislators that they did not have enough time to make substantive changes to the bill. “I see this as being essentially a charade,” O'Connor said. Members of the Committee on Jobs, Economy, and Small Business held the hearing only in response to a “public outcry” after initially failing to schedule a hearing on the bill in Northern Wisconsin, he said. Few speakers fully endorsed the mining bill, even while expressing support.

Get a load of the "grand bargain" for the locals:

Advocates of the proposed mine largely focused on a provision reducing by 50 percent local government's share of tax revenue generated from mining operations … calling for 100 percent of those funds to be distributed to local municipalities. The proposed bill calls for giving 50 percent to the state general fund. Ashland Area Development Corporation Director Dale A. Kupczyk said tax revenue should go toward a variety of local uses, including property tax relief and economic development. Ashland Business Alliance representative Brian Matthys echoed Kupczyk's sentiment. “This area doesn't have a lot of income, a lot of money,” he said. “We need all those resources to come back to this area for roads, for infrastructure, to address any issues that come up with this mine.”

But because Walker Republicans had already made up their minds on the bill:

Both Rep. Klenke (R-Green Bay) and Rep. Mike Kuglitsch (R-New Berlin) repeatedly emphasized “Now you realize that the last mine in the state of Wisconsin was a 60-40 split,” Kuglitsch told Jessica Bolich, a representative from the Hurley Chamber of Commerce. “It wasn't 100 percent.”

State Treasurer Kurt Schuller refused to endorse giving 100 percent of mining tax revenue to local communities when pressed by Rep. Rep. Louis Molepske Jr. (D-Stevens Point). Schuller said, “I think the community would fair very well under a 60-40 (split of tax revenue) or a 70-30.”

Get the feeling that the locals are getting railroaded by these Walker thugs?

The proposed elimination of contested hearings, a legal avenue for the public to challenge the issuance of a mining permit, was addressed repeatedly … The bill's opponents portrayed contested hearings as an important safeguard against environmental degradation, while the bill's proponents argued that contested hearings were unnecessary. The director of environmental and energy policy, said the proposal to eliminate contested hearings would help to streamline the application process. But, he said, people can still file a lawsuit. Rep. Molepske defended the availability of contested hearings and said they provide a framework for allowing people to voice their objections. “Without the contested case there is no record for the court to begin the process of reviewing the case itself,” Molepske said. Molepske also said both Minnesota and Michigan allow for contested hearings.