Elections news seemingly never ends, as groups continue to seek signatures to recall Gov. Scott Walker and four Republican senators. The state Democratic Party plans to turn in recall petitions to the Government Accountability Board on Tuesday, January 17, 2012.
The Wisconsin Supreme Court continues to hear oral arguments in a number of cases. Below, Hamilton's Andrew Cook writes about a case pending before the Court that received oral arguments last week.
Visit Hamilton Consulting Group's Blog for timely news updates. Read more Political Tidbits on our website.
Recall Update
By Andrew Cook
Recall proponents will finish gathering signatures that must be turned into the Government Accountability Board (GAB) this week. It is expected that there will be enough signatures to place the Governor and four Republican senators on the ballot. When the actual elections will take place, however, remains to be seen.
The Republican Party is already in court seeking to force GAB officials to take more affirmative steps when vetting recall signatures. Previously, GAB officials caused a bit of controversy when they announced that they would not actively challenge questionable recall signatures, but instead said the onus would fall on the public to challenge those signatures.
Read more...
Assembly to Vote on Mining Bill
By Andrew Cook A second public hearing for Assembly Bill 426, relating to the regulation of ferrous metallic mining and related activities was held on January 11 in Hurley, Wisconsin, by the Assembly Committee on Jobs, Economy and Small Business. The Assembly is expected to debate and pass Assembly Bill 426 on January 26th. Supporters of the bill argue that the bill is needed due to the uncertainty of current permitting laws and rules implemented by the Department of Natural Resources, which they say discourage investment in mining. Moreover, proponents argue that the new law will provide jobs without harming the environment. Environmental groups oppose the legislation claiming that it will harm the environment. Read more...
Wetlands Bill Would Provide Certainty in Permitting Process
By Emily Kelchen
One of several bills targeted at reducing uncertainty and increasing flexibility in Wisconsin's regulatory system is Assembly Bill 463/Senate Bill 368, known as "the wetlands bill." The bill, sponsored by Sen. Neal Kedzie (R-Elkhorn) and Rep. Jeff Mursau (R-Crivitz), makes significant changes to Wisconsin's wetlands permitting process.
Wisconsin wetlands are currently subject to a myriad of different regulations. Read more...
Court Hears Oral Arguments in Collateral Source Rule Case
The Wisconsin Supreme Court recently heard oral arguments in an important case, Orlowski v. State Farm Mut. Ins. Co., 2009AP2848, which will determine whether the collateral source rule applies to underinsured motorist (UIM) policies.
The Wisconsin Supreme Court has explained that the "collateral source rule states that benefits an injured person receives from sources that have nothing to do with the tortfeasor may not be used to reduce the tortfeasor's liability to the injured person." Leitinger v. Dbart, Inc., 2007 WI 84, 736 N.W.2d 1 (2007). For example, in Leitinger, the Court held that the plaintiff was allowed to receive the full amount ($154,818.51) of his past medical expenses, even though the actual amount paid by the plaintiff's health insurer was $111,394.73. Read more...
Venue Statute Tested in Recall Lawsuit
One of the major civil justice reforms passed by the Wisconsin Legislature and signed by Governor Walker in 2011, was 2011 Wisconsin Act 61, which modified Wisconsin's venue statutes in cases where the sole defendant is the state, a state board or commission, or certain state officers, employees, or agents. The new law was recently utilized in Friends of Scott Walker v. The Government Accountability Board, which was filed in Waukesha County Circuit Court on December 15, 2011. Read more...
Daubert Comes to Wisconsin a Success
One of the most important pieces of legislation supported by the Wisconsin Civil Justice Council in 2011 was the adoption of the Daubert standards for the admission of expert opinion evidence, bringing Wisconsin in line with the entire federal system and a majority of states. A comprehensive understanding of decisions and trends from other jurisdictions will be critical for Wisconsin lawyers as the standards are implemented in Wisconsin. In an effort to educate the legal community on these important new standards, WCJC organized and hosted Daubert Comes to Wisconsin - A CLE Summit on Expert Opinion Evidence on January 11, 2012. Read more...
Court Delays CSAPR
On December 30th, a federal appeals court ruled that the Environmental Protection Agency must delay implementation of the Cross State Air Pollution Rule pending the outcome of legal challenges to the case.
A broad-based, bipartisan coalition of groups including power companies, cities, states, industry groups and labor organizations has emerged to challenge the rule in court because of what they have deemed to be an unrealistic compliance deadline that could affect electric reliability and create significant economic impacts to consumers.
Wisconsin is one of the states challenging the rule, along with Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, and Virginia. Read more...
EPA and NHTSA Accepting Comments on Proposed 2017-2025 Fuel Standards
By Emily Kelchen The public hearings and comment deadlines for the 2017 and Later Model Year Light-Duty Vehicle Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Corporate Average Fuel Economy Standards issued jointly by the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration are approaching. Public hearings will be held on January 17, 19, and 24, 2012, and public comments are due by January 30, 2012. Read more...
EPA Finalizes 2012 Renewable Fuel Standards
The EPA finalized the 2012 percentage standards for four fuel categories that are part of the agency's Renewable Fuel Standard program (RFS2) just in time for the new year. Read more....
The Hamilton Consulting Group Political Tidbits is a free newsletter on Wisconsin political and policy developments. Please forward to others who may wish to receive this service.