Uppity Wisconsin

Yesterday's vote to overturn the governor's veto on the DNR secretary bill failed, with the Assembly voting 58-38.  10 Republicans and Independent Jeff Wood voted to override the veto, while 3 Democrats voted to sustain the governor's veto of the bill.  Since one did not vote, and 2 were paired, the vote required 64 votes to pass, so it was not a very close vote.

This is a major disappointment to the conservation groups who had joined together to attempt to override the veto.  So, for the time being, the DNR secretary will continue to be appointed by the governor.

Santa wandered into a yard yelling ‘Have you seen my reindeer?’ But a nine year old girl knew right away it wasn’t really Santa.

“He smelled like alcohol. But I knew it wasn’t the real Santa because the real Santa doesn’t drink alcohol,” said the nine year old told WEAU TV. Her little sister had one word for Santa, “drunk.”

That story captures two issues the Wisconsin State Legislature focused on last week. Lawmakers convened an extraordinary Session and passed the most significant drunk driving legislation since .08 blood alcohol became the legal limit for drinking and driving.

And the very next day, hundreds of hunters streamed into the Capitol to ask lawmakers “where are my deer?”

The hunters pounded the Department of Natural Resources about deer management practices. Many agreed the state’s rules on “Earn a Buck” should have been overturned long before this year. Others were critical of management practices and hunting goals that should have been changed earlier to reflect several years of a declining deer population.

As was expected, Governor Doyle this afternoon vetoed the Independent DNR Secretary Bill.  This is a bitter disappointment to the coalition of hunters, fishers, environmentalists and others who fought for the bill and successfully had it passed by the legislature.

The bill would have made the DNR secretary appointed by the DNR board, rather than the Governor.  This would make the DNR Secretary appointment the same as it was until the Tommy Thompson administration, when it was changed to be a governor-appointed position.  Although Doyle said repeatedly during his campaign that he supported an independent secretary, he changed his mind once it appeared the bill would become a reality.  It's expected that there will be an attempt to override the veto, bt it is not at all clear that there are enough votes to override.

Being one of the people who spent time on the phone drumming up support for this bill, I'm very disappointed that the lame-duck governor has chosen to keep control of the DNR secretary directly under the governor, despite the apparent will of the legislature and the citizens of the state.  According to  a press release from the Wisconsin League of Conservation Voters, their Executive Director Kerry Schumann has said

The Wisconsin State Aseembly has voted 61-32 to return the selection of the DNR secretary to the DNR board, rather than the governor.  This bill would put the selection of the DNR secretary back in the hands of the board, where it was before former Governor Tommy Thompson made it an appointed position. You may see how your assembly person voted at the Wisconsin League of Conservation Voters web site. The governor's appointment of the position has given the impression, real or imaginary, that the DNR secretary is beholden to the governor.  In this particular administration it looks more real than imaginary, particularly because the recent appointees to the position have not been career wildlife experts as they often were in the past, but come from non-wildlife backgrounds.

Governor Doyle has for years supported the idea of an independent DNR secretary.  This system served Wisconsin well for many years, until the Thompson administration, which changed the DNR secretary from being chosen by the DNR board to being chosen by the Governor. Yet, now that for the first time there is a real chance for the bill to move the secretary back to being appointed by the DNR board, Doyle has magically reversed his position.  The position that he has held for most of his term in office.  The position he has campaigned on. The position on which he possibly could now win.  Yet - this week he explained to conservationists around the state that he has changed his mind, and that a governor-appointed secretary serves the state best. 

This is ironic, as it was only last week that I and over 600 other Wisconsinites went to Madison for Conservation Lobby Day - at which one of the primary agenda items was to lobby to pass the bill currently under consideration to put the DNR secretary back under control of the board. Doyle's response to this lobbying effort was to send an email saying that he had changed his mind (letter attached below). 

Once again, factory farms get a pass from a major environmental law 2/27/2008

If you live downwind from a mega-farm, don't put away those gas masks just yet.

The Natural Resources Board voted today to approve a Department of Natural Resources (DNR) rule that grants "sources of hazardous air pollution associated with agricultural waste" (read: manure) yet another exemption from state requirements concerning toxic air emissions. Now, these sources of pollution won't have to meet state requirements until July 31, 2011.

A couple of quibbles, however: It's already cost $17-million, and there no money to put in any benches? And it's porta-potties for a few years until a visitors center and rest rooms will be provided? Those omissions do not make it sound very visitor-friendly, especially for the aging and families with young kids.

A park with no trees and no shade?

No trash barrels?

Those problems are minor quibbles, and relatively easy to fix. But there's a bigger concern, too.

Gould says the park "[laid] the groundwork for resolution of a long-running battle with Summerfest over public access to that stretch of lakefront."