Notes from the West Wing…

Posted on 14. Jan, 2009 by Garey Bies in News

State Representative Garey Bies

Phosphorous Legislation and the State Budget

Greetings again from the State Capitol in Madison. I know it has only been a short time since my last update, but there are a couple of developments this week that I wanted to report on.

First up today is my legislation to restrict the sale of fertilizer containing phosphorous. For those of you who have been following my Notes from the West Wing updates, this was a proposal that I worked on a great deal last session. The bill passed the State Senate unanimously and passed the Assembly Natural Resources Committee unanimously but, we just ran out of time during the session in March to get it taken up on the floor. Last fall I promised that I would be reintroducing this legislation early this session and I am here to report that this legislation was introduced on Monday and presented at a press conference here in the State Capitol.

I introduced this legislation last session at the request of the Door County Soil and Water Conservation Department. Senator Mark Miller of Madison joined me, becoming the lead author of the legislation in the State Senate. This session I am proud to report that we have good bipartisan support for the legislation from the outset. Senator Miller and I are joined this session by two other legislators to lead the charge on this bill: Representative Spencer Black of Madison and Senator Rob Cowles of Green Bay.

Briefly, this legislation will prohibit the sale of fertilizer containing phosphorous for applications on grass, except in certain circumstances including starting a lawn and in areas where tests show the soil to be phosphorous deficient. This legislation does not apply to agricultural operations. The legislation aims to reduce phosphorous runoff into Wisconsin’s lakes and rivers, thereby reducing the nutrient overload experienced in numerous locations. The excessive nutrients lead to algae bloom, smelly beaches and other detrimental side effects.

Secondly, today I just wanted to give a quick report on the anticipated schedule for introduction and consideration of the State Budget. It appears at this point that presentation of the budget to the legislature by the governor may be delayed in order to see what kind of federal assistance may be forthcoming under the new Administration. At this point there is simply no way to estimate how much federal assistance there may be available or how the federal government may stipulate how that assistance must be used.

As you have all undoubtedly heard in media reports, Wisconsin is facing a significant budget deficit. Federal assistance will certainly be welcome but, at the same time, we must take meaningful steps to craft a state budget that will be able weather further difficult economic conditions. We must constructively address the problems in the budget and utilize the stimulus package to spur economic activity.

As always, if you would like to contact me, I can be reached by e-mail at Rep.Bies@legis.wisconsin.gov or by telephone, toll-free at 888.482.0001. You may also visit my Web site at http://www.legis.state.wi.us/assembly/asm01/news/.

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