Assembly approves bill to clear way for more mining

MADISON – Republicans in the Wisconsin Assembly approved a bill Thursday limiting coverage of abortion for state workers ahead of an expected allnight session that would clear the way for more mining in the state.

On a 61-35 vote, the Assembly approved Assembly Bill 128, which would prevent health insurance plans offered to state workers from covering most abortions. All Republicans supported it; all Democrats opposed it.

The bill goes to the Senate, which is also controlled by Republicans.

The measure would tighten restrictions on when plans can cover abortions to cases where they’re needed to preserve the life of the mother or prevent her from suffering serious, long-lasting damage to her health.

The bill also provides an exception for incest and sexual assault, but only if the woman has reported the crime to law enforcement.

Opponents said the change could create terrible situations for women who had something go wrong with a high-risk pregnancy.

“It is taking away access to women’s health care,” said Rep. Lisa Subek (D-Madison).

Rep. André Jacque (R-De Pere) said the restrictions are in line with those who get insurance through BadgerCare Plus or Obamacare exchanges in Wisconsin.

“This is really making sure the state taxpayers are not paying for elective abortions, period,” Jacque said.

The mining bill, which was to be taken up later Thursday, would replace a state law that essentially bars companies from extracting minerals such as copper, gold and silver because of concerns about the pollution the deposits can produce.

The bill does not address iron or sand mining, which aren’t subjected to the same high bar.

If the measure is approved, the law could usher in a new era of mineral mining in Wisconsin. The state is home to known deposits of copper, zinc, gold and silver and companies have already conducted exploration work in northern Wisconsin.

The state law that prohibits such mining was driven by concerns about mining minerals in sulfide deposits, which have a history of leaching acidic material and polluting waterways.

The resulting pollution is known as acid mine drainage.

The state’s mining moratorium was signed into law in 1998 with strong majorities in the Assembly and Senate. It requires a mining company to show that another sulfide mine in the United States or Canada operated for at least 10 years and then was closed for 10 years without acid mine drainage or pollution.

Wisconsin is the only state with such a restriction, which has kept mining companies out of the state since Rio Tinto Kennecott closed the Flambeau mine in Ladysmith in 1997 after four years of mining copper, gold and silver.

Supporters of the bill say that new technology allows for safer, cleaner mining that would bring needed jobs to rural areas.

Environmentalists say opening the door to metallic mining would threaten

state water resources.

If passed by the Assembly, the bill could still face a tough road in the Senate. At least four Republicans — enough to block the proposal there — have raised concerns about the measure, including Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald of Juneau, Rob Cowles of Allouez, Sheila Harsdorf of River Falls and Luther Olsen of Ripon.

Rep. Rob Hutton (R-Brookfield), the chief sponsor in the Assembly, said he hoped an amendment the Assembly plans to adopt would ease those concerns in the Senate.

The measure’s lead Senate sponsor, Sen. Tom Tiffany (R-Hazelhurst), said he’d received suggestions from these senators for amending the bill.

They included a provision dealing with so-called bulk sampling, a process of removing rock that comes after initial exploration but before mining in earnest.

The bill allows a company to collect up to 10,000 tons of rock samples, and Tiffany said some senators want more restrictions on how and when such sampling could occur.

In its marathon session Thursday, the Assembly approved or was poised to take up these bills:

Fentanyl. On a voice vote, the Assembly approved Assembly Bill 335 to close loopholes that allow drug dealers to dodge prosecution when they sell versions of fentanyl, a deadly opioid that has been claiming lives in Milwaukee and across the nation.

The Assembly passed it in June, but took it up again Thursday because the Senate tweaked it Tuesday. It goes to GOP Gov. Scott Walker.

Deadly drivers. Representatives, on a voice vote, signed off on Assembly Bill 201, which would put new penalties on drivers who break certain traffic laws and injure or kill another person. It goes to the Senate.

Young hunters. On a 57-32 vote, the Assembly sent to the Senate a measure that would allow children younger than 10 to hunt if they were accompanied by an adult mentor. It goes to the Senate.

Assembly Bill 455 would also allow both the mentor and child to carry a gun or bow. Currently, children must be at least 10 to hunt in the mentorship program and the mentor and child can carry only one weapon between them.