It turns out that South Milwaukee Rep. Mark Honadel was one of five state lawmakers who led drafting of the controversial mining regulation bill now before the legislature.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t just lawmakers who helped draft the bill. The mining industry also apparently played an advisory (how strong, not sure) role in shaping the wording — which has me further concerned about what this legislation will mean for the environment if enacted in 2012. Honadel’s quote from the Journal Sentinel story:
“Of course we worked with getting ideas from the mining company,” Honadel said. “If a biotech company came here, we would sit down with and get all of their ideas, too.”
Check out the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel story here. And check out these other South Shore headlines:
- Former Alderman Appointed Mayor Of Oak Creek (Oak Creek Patch)
- Man Faces 3rd OWI After March Crash (Oak Creek Patch)
- Front Nine Of Grant Park Golf Course Still Open (Oak Creek Patch)
South Milwaukee Blog 
Makes sense to me to have input from businesses that are going to be impacted by legislation. At least mark liistens to the needs of his constituents. Wish our local officials would listen to their constituents, such as having a no tax increase. But thats ok because elections are coming……..
Rick: I like to think I listen closely to my constituents, and I always take their feedback and input seriously. I think my creation of this blog shows that. Now, after gathering that input, do the decisions I make and actions I take satisfy all of my constituents? Of course not. But I do my best — and I stand by my record.
I also ask: Has the city ever (at least in recent years/decades) ever had a zero percent tax levy increase year to year? Has the levy ever gone down? I would doubt it. But if anyone knows the answer, please reply. Thanks!
For the sake of this comment, I’m leaving aside the arguments in favor of and opposed to the actual mining bill in question.
The question I have is why is there a complaint against involvement in writing a bill? Our elected officials come from all walks of life and may not be experts in the areas they are regulating. In fact, it would be quite unusual to have the experts as our representatives – they are usually just normal people or politicians. They are, however, elected to listen to their constituents and make laws that affect a whole variety of industries. Simply because they are not the experts does not mean that they should not be writing legislation. That said, legislation itself needs to be written very specifically and very accurately since there will probably be a fleet of lawyers second guessing every little point. Therefore, a legislator makes his decision on what to support and then seeks out those experts, constituents and those he has already decide to support in order to make sure that what he writes in the legislation achieves the ends that he is aiming for. This way, due to his lack of intimate knowledge of a particular industry, he does not overlook some hidden point that might throw his whole idea off track.
Eric,
Why would you state “Unfortunately…”? Is it because you come from an anti-business bias? Where do you think jobs come from? I don’t blindly believe elected officials are virtuous and ALWAYS have their constituents’ best interest at heart but, at least Honadel and others got info from someone other than the eco-nuts that have destroyed the business climate in WI and the Dems are beholden to. Contrary to popular lefty belief conservatives don’t want dirty air or water.
Thanks to everyone for their feedback on this. Allow me to clarify my position here. I don’t have a problem with lawmakers seeking third-party (business, etc.) input on legislation. I do all the time on issues before the council. This input is vital. However, my concern is that it appears that only mining interests were consulted on the legislation in question. If you are going to truly seek input on drafting this new law, then seek it from a wide group of impacted parties — not just the mining industry, which will obviously seek to have the legislation written in their favor. Work with environmental groups. Work with tourism organizations. Work with local chambers of commerce. Work with local Indian tribes. Work with others who may have a stake in this. Only then will a truly balanced piece of legislation emerge. I fear that has not happened here … and the bill shows it.
The Journal Sentinel sums up my concerns with the bill pretty well in its recent editorial …
http://www.jsonline.com/news/opinion/yes-to-an-iron-ore-mine-no-to-a-bad-assembly-bill-lb3ffqa-135764693.html
Simply, this bill is stacked in favor of mining companies — and against the environment. This is not a surprise given who was consulted (and who wasn’t) in writing the legislation. And it’s wrong.
Relying on the biased Journal Sentinel to report accurately on anything Republicans do is a lost cause. They are not that farther to the right of the Shepherd Express. I can’t believe that you think that the tourism and environmental consequences of these mining projects weren’t listened to and considered. It has been so skewed against businesses for so long that hardly anyone believes they will do it responsibly.