Conservatively Speaking
State Senator Mary Lazich (R-New Berlin) represents parts of four counties: Milwaukee, Waukesha, Racine, and Walworth. Her Senate District 28 includes New Berlin, Franklin, Greendale, Hales Corners, Muskego, Waterford, Big Bend and parts of Greenfield, East Troy, and Mukwonago. Senator Lazich has been in the Legislature for more than a decade. She considers herself a tireless crusader for lower taxes, reduced spending and smaller government.
Senate Democrats planning to rush the Compact
By Mary Lazich
Tuesday, Mar 4 2008, 01:11 PM
Unbelievably, Senate Democrats scheduled an executive session today in the Senate Committee on Environment and Natural Resources on Great Lakes Compact legislation, less than two weeks after the bill was introduced on February 21, 2008.
There are over 150 pages in the Great Lakes Compact bill, Senate Bill 523. Yesterday afternoon, March 3, 2008, 33 amendments were unreasonably added to the already massive bill. That leaves less than 24 hours to examine close to three dozen amendments.
It is unconscionable to expect the members of the Committee on Environment and Natural Resources, concerned parties and the general public to review and comprehend this complex bill in such a short amount of time.
Last Thursday, February 28, 2008, Senate Majority Leader Russ Decker informed the press there would be an upcoming public hearing on the Great Lakes Compact legislation.Wispolitics.com reported on February 28, 2008, that, “The Great Lakes Compact will get a hearing in the Senate Natural Resources Committee on Wednesday (March 5), and it could come to the Senate floor next Thursday (March 6) or March 11, Decker said.”
Instead of scheduling a public hearing, an executive session of the Senate Committee on Environment and Natural Resources has been scheduled today to begin at 4:00 p.m. If the state Senate is still in session at 4:00, the executive session is scheduled to begin immediately following the end of the Senate floor session. The public has been all but locked out of the process, deprived of an opportunity to address the many issues involved in legislation of this magnitude. The public is denied a chance to speak to the 33 amendments added to the bill late yesterday afternoon.
I served with seven other legislators and 11 citizen members for over a year on a special Legislative Council Study Committee on the Great Lakes Water Compact. Senate Democrats are now attempting to rush a product through the Legislature before the current legislative session ends in less than two weeks. I continue to maintain that due diligence is necessary to produce the strongest Compact possible rather than abrupt approval of a Compact just for approval’s sake.
