On Wednesday, Assembly Speaker-elect Robin Vos (R-Rochester) and Assembly Majority Leader Scott Suder (R-Abbottsford) announced that the first bill they will introduce in the 2013-2014 session will be legislation to reform Wisconsin's mining laws.

From their joint press release:

"Mining reform is a top priority in the state Assembly," said Speaker-elect Vos. "I'm hopeful all the interested parties can come together to protect our environment and make mining reform happen."

"Our state has a rich history of mining," said Majority Leader Suder. "Democrats and Republicans agree we should update our mining laws to hopefully bring a new mine and thousands of jobs to Wisconsin."

Members of the Wisconsin Assembly Republican caucus joined Governor Scott Walker on Wednesday for a "Mining for Jobs" tour that included stops in Green Bay, Schofield and Milwaukee at businesses that would benefit from increased mining activity in Wisconsin.

Gov. Walker, Majority Leader Suder, Speaker-elect Vos at Phoenix Products in Milwaukee (Gov. Walker's Facebook acct.)

"Today we have the opportunity to show the citizens of Wisconsin that mining reform could have a large economic impact not only in northern Wisconsin but also throughout the state," said Majority Leader Suder.

The Assembly Republican leaders pointed to a study from NorthStar Economics, Inc. in their press release that concluded that "a new iron ore mine in northern Wisconsin could generate a $2 billion economic impact for the state of Wisconsin. This includes $20.6 million state and local tax revenue over the two-year construction process and a $604 million annual economic impact once operational.  The study also found that thousands of new jobs could be created from a new mining operation. More than 2,800 total long-term jobs would be generated with 700 direct mining positions and 2,100 support positions."

"It would irresponsible to ignore this great opportunity for job creation," said Speaker-elect Vos. "I look forward to working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to finally bring mining reform to Wisconsin." The 2013-2014 legislative session officially begins Monday, January 7th.

Assembly Minority Leader Peter Barca (D-Kenosha) released the following statement regarding the potential of mining reform legislation:

"Bipartisan bills that create jobs for Wisconsin workers are precisely what we must focus on this session. A mining bill, crafted with all the stakeholders involved, is important to do right this time around. We need to make sure the bill creates mining jobs and also protects our natural resources, as well as our tourism and agricultural economies that are so vital to Wisconsin.

"More importantly, we must take up bills that will create jobs quickly. A bipartisan mining bill was rejected last session by Republicans and it will be years before mining jobs are a reality so I hope in the spirit of bipartisanship, Republican leaders will also consider measures we have been putting forward to close the skills gap and put people back to work immediately."

 

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US Sen. Tammy Baldwin being sworn in by Vice President Joe Biden (Photo:AP)

On Thursday, Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin (D-Madison) was sworn in to office as a US Senator by Vice President Joe Biden, taking the seat that US Senator Herb Kohl (D-Milwaukee) had held since 1989.

In taking her seat, Senator Baldwin set a couple firsts for Wisconsin and the nation, becoming the first female US Senator from Wisconsin and the first openly gay member of the United States Senate.

"I am proud to have the honor to have been sworn in just ... an hour or so ago as the first woman from the state of Wisconsin and as the first openly gay member to serve in the United States Senate in our nation's history," said Baldwin at her reception, to loud, sustained applause.

Senator Baldwin has been appointed to:

• the Senate Budget Committee
• the Health, Education, Labor and Policy Committee, the Homeland Security and
• Governmental Affairs Committee and the Aging Committee. 

Congressman Mark Pocan (D-Madison), who was elected to the seat that Senator Baldwin formerly held since 1999, was also sworn into office on Thursday, as the only new member of Wisconsin's House of Representatives delegation.

Pocan has been appointed as a minority member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, which exercises oversight over federal government operations and investigates fraud and waste.   The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform has legislative jurisdiction over virtually everything government does - from national security to homeland security grants, from federal workforce policies to regulatory reform, from agency information technology procurement to government-wide data security standards.

Congressman Pocan also previously announced the appointment of key staff, including:  

• Glenn Wavrunek, a long-time aide to Congressman Pocan in the state capitol as his chief of staff.
• Janet Piraino, a former aide to U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold, then-U.S. Rep. Tom Barrett and Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz, will serve as his district director.  

Links:

• Congressman Mark Pocan's House website 
• US Senator Tammy Baldwin's Senate website 

 

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Supreme Court:

Looking ahead to 2014:  

 

Governor Scott Walker, who is now just at the half-way point of his four-year term, on Thursday announced the campaign staff that will be leading his re-election effort:

• Stephan Thompson, Campaign Manager - Currently the Executive Director at the Republican Party of Wisconsin, Stephan will join the Friends of Scott Walker effective March 1, 2013. Previously, Thompson served as Deputy Campaign Manager in Governor Walker's successful 2010 campaign. His experience also includes roles on various political and issue advocacy campaigns at the state and local level.   
• Jonathan Wetzel, Deputy Campaign Manager - Most recently, Jonathan served as Assistant Campaign Manager on Tommy Thompson's campaign for US Senate campaign and as Political Director at the Republican Party of Wisconsin. Wetzel has also held various roles at Friends of Scott Walker, including statewide Field Director in Governor Walker's successful 2012 recall election.   
• Colleen Coyle, Finance Director - Colleen joins the Friends of Scott Walker after spending the last two years as Finance Director at the Republican Party of Wisconsin, where she also served as the Deputy Absentee Ballot Director during the 2010 election cycle.   
• Nicole Tieman, Press Secretary-  Most recently, Nicole worked as the Wisconsin Communications Director for the Republican National Committee during the 2012 Presidential Election. Tieman has also served as Deputy Communications Director at the Republican Party of Wisconsin, and Press Secretary at the Republican Party of Florida.  

Thompson's departure from Republican Party of Wisconsin left a vacancy of the Executive Director position that will be filled by Political Director Joe Fadness.

 

• Joe Fadness, Executive Director of the Republican Party of Wisconsin-  Fadness is currently the Party's Political Director. He has worked in politics at the local, state, and national levels. Fadness was a leader in Scott Walker's 2008 re-election as Milwaukee County executive and later organized an impressive statewide grassroots structure that helped elect Walker as governor in 2010. He served as Director of External Relations in the Governor's Office before managing Eric Hovde's United States Senate campaign. Fadness also spent time working for the White House Office of Presidential Advance and organized visits across the United States and on six continents. He is a graduate of Greenfield High School and Marquette University.

 

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January: 

• Monday Jan. 7th and Thursday Jan.  10th
• Tuesday Jan. 15th, Wed. Jan. 16th and Thurs. Jan. 17th
• Tuesday Jan. 29th, Wed. 30th, and Thurs. Jan. 31st

February:

• Tuesday Feb. 12th, Wed. Feb. 13th, and Thurs. Feb. 14th 
• Tuesday Feb. 26th, Wed. Feb. 27th, and Thurs. Feb. 28th