The following is a statement from Representative Janet Bewley and Senator Bob Jauch regarding today’s announcement that the Assembly Committee on Jobs will be holding a public hearing on AB 426 on Wednesday, January 11th at the Hurley Inn in Hurley, Wisconsin.
We were pleased to learn that the Assembly Committee on Jobs has reversed their original decision and decided to hold a public hearing on the mining bill in Hurley next Wednesday.
When we scheduled a hearing for Saturday in Ashland, it was our intention to give northern Wisconsin citizens an opportunity to express their opinions on the mining bill. Now that the Assembly Jobs Committee has agreed to hold a hearing up north, we will cancel our hearing and attend the one next Wednesday in Hurley.
Our goal has been to always give northern Wisconsin residents a chance to have their voices heard. The hearing in Hurley will provide them with an opportunity to be a part of the official record on the bill, something our hearing would not have offered. Therefore we encourage citizens to join us on Wednesday for the Jobs Committee hearing in Hurley.
While we believe that a Saturday hearing would provide more convenient access for local residents, we also believe that having one hearing chaired by Democrats and another chaired by Republicans only days later would lead to confusion and create more division on an issue that has already polarized our community. We apologize for any inconvenience canceling our hearing may cause.