Notes from the West Wing: The State of Tourism in Wisconsin and Legislative Action on Spent Nuclear Fuel, Drunk Driving
Posted on 24. Sep, 2009 by Garey Bies in News, Sustainable Living
Good day to everyone out there in the First Assembly District! A few different items for today’s Notes from the West Wing. First, I’d like to mention that the Assembly Tourism Committee is holding an informational hearing in Wisconsin Dells next week, September 30. The hearing will be open to the public and I hope that some people from the First Assembly District can come down to the hearing and share their insights on tourism in Wisconsin in general and tourism in the First Assembly District in particular. Details on the public hearing are:
Assembly
INFORMATIONAL HEARING
Committee on Tourism, Recreation and State Properties
The committee will hold an informational hearing on the following items at the time specified below:
Wednesday, September 30, 2009 – 10:00 AM
Wisconsin Dells Visitor and Convention Bureau Board Room
115 La Crosse Street
Wisconsin Dells, WI
Testimony will be taken from invited speakers and will then be open to the public.
The Status and State of the Tourism Industry in Wisconsin
Recognizing the importance of the Tourism Industry to Wisconsin’s economy and the challenges faced by Tourism businesses over the past two years due to both a natural disaster and an economic downturn, the Committee is seeking input about the status of the Tourism Industry in Wisconsin and advice about what the state could do to aid the Tourism Industry.
In legislative news, I have a couple of issues I would like to briefly talk about. First, my legislation to require utility companies that operate nuclear power plants to make payments to the communities they are located within if the company stores spent nuclear fuel on the premises in a dry cask storage facility, received a public hearing last week before the Assembly Utilities Committee. I authored and introduced this legislation at the request of the Town of Carlton where the Kewaunee Nuclear Plant is located. The energy company that operates the plant wants to store, for the foreseeable future, spent nuclear fuel on the property, a function that was never anticipated to occur.
The storage of spent nuclear fuel was supposed to occur at the Yucca Mountain Repository not on-site at nuclear plants. However, despite billions of dollars of investment, it is unclear when, if ever, the repository is expected to accept deliveries. It is unacceptable to ask our local communities to take up the role of Yucca Mountain.
Also of note was the passage of legislation by the Assembly aimed to tighten Wisconsin’s drunken driving laws. As a co-author of the legislation, I was happy to see the bill pass the Assembly unanimously. Do I think this legislation will be the answer to Wisconsin’s drunken driving problems? No, but I do think it is a step in the right direction with some increased penalties and additional ignition interlock requirements. The legislation still falls a bit short in that it does not criminalize the first OWI offense or make a third offense a felony. I have another proposal to establish these last two points but it does not appear that my legislation will even receive a public hearing. None the less, it was important that we pass the legislation as anything the legislature can do to combat drunken driving needs to be done.
Well, that is all for this update. As always, I can be reached by e-mail at Rep.Bies@legis.wisconsin.gov or by telephone, toll-free at 888.482.0001. You can also visit my website at http://www.legis.state.wi.us/assembly/asm01/news/.
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