hue
hue's JournalRecords tie Walker's office to bill gutting open records law
Source: WTMJ4 (AP)
By Associated Press. CREATED 10:20 AM
MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- Newly released documents show Gov. Scott Walker's office was involved in drafting a state budget amendment that would have overhauled Wisconsin's open records law and kept some government materials secret.
Walker, who is seeking the 2016 Republican presidential nomination, has acknowledged his office played a role in developing the proposal but, in the wake of fierce bipartisan backlash, called it a "huge mistake." Documents released to a number of media outlets, including the Wisconsin State Journal and Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, show Walker's assistant legal counsel, David Rabe, was involved in drafting the amendment weeks before the Legislature's budget committee approved it.
A June 15 email from the Legislative Reference Bureau's Michael Gallagher to Assembly Speaker Robin Vos aide Andrew Hanus began with the subject line "Governor's request." Gallagher wrote in the email that he was in communication with Rabe about Walker's request to draft the amendment.
The next day, the reference bureau emailed draft amendment language that would have exempted legislative drafting documents and notes, personal property and other materials from the open records law, including so-called "deliberative process" materials, communications that include opinions, analyses, briefings, recommendations, suggestions and drafts related to bills.
Read more: http://www.scrippsmedia.com/tmj4/news/Records-tie-Walkers-office-to-bill-gutting-open-records-law-320025581.html
No need for EPA eyes on pollution, Scott Walker tells newspaper
Source: Wisconsin State Journal
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker wants to all but eliminate the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and place each state in sole charge of controlling air and water pollution within its borders if he is elected president, he told a conservative newspaper.
"I'm all for a sustainable environment, but you have to balance it with a sustainable economy, and I think in our state we've shown you can do that hand-in-hand," Walker told the Washington Examiner in an article published Monday. "I think states can do it all across America much better than the federal government."
Reaction was swift from critics of Walker's environmental record who said without the EPA there would be a "race to the bottom" among politicians in states competing for business investment and no safeguards in one state against pollution flowing through the air or water to another state.
"You don’t need a college degree to know that air and water pollution do not respect state boundaries," said Daniel J. Weiss, a League of Conservation Voters spokesman in Washington. "Wisconsin would be virtually helpless to protect its citizens from pollution from other states."
Read more: http://host.madison.com/news/local/environment/scott-walker-would-virtually-eliminate-epa-as-president-report/article_1b837577-6ffe-5fa4-8b6c-2561990ef91f.html
Back To The Future with Scott Walker
Published on Jul 16, 2015
If you want to catch a glimpse of what America would look like under President Scott Walker, you need to turn back the clock to one of the darkest periods in 20th century American history – the Lochner Era. Here’s a little history lesson just in case you don’t know what I’m talking about. Tune in...
Vilsack: Federal law bars Wisconsin food stamp drug testing
Source: 18WQOW.com
MADISON, Wis. (AP) - U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack says federal law bars the drug testing of food stamp recipients that Wisconsin plans.
Vilsack responded Wednesday to a lawsuit filed by Wisconsin Attorney General Brad Schimel asking a federal judge to declare that state budget provisions requiring food stamp recipients to undergo drug testing are legal.
In a statement, Vilsack says Congress has "repeatedly rejected the expensive, intrusive practice of suspicion-less drug testing," which Vilsack says has been shown to uncover "very little drug use."
The USDA has not yet seen Schimel's lawsuit, which was filed Tuesday.
Read more: http://www.wqow.com/story/29558731/vilsack-federal-law-bars-wisconsin-food-stamp-drug-testing
Obama Permanently Protects More Than One Million Acres Of Public Lands
Source: CLIMATEPROGRESS
Early Friday, President Obama announced that he will designate three new national monuments, permanently protecting more than one million acres of public lands. He designated pristine wilderness landscapes in Nevada as Basin and Range National Monument, scenic mountains in California as Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument, and a fossil-rich site in Texas as Waco Mammoth National Monument.
With these designations, President Obama is adding to the 16 national monuments he has already created with his authority under the Antiquities Act, setting aside “more public lands and waters than any administration in history.” Both Democratic and Republican presidents have used their authority under the law to designate national monuments, many of which have later become some of the country’s most iconic national parks such as the Grand Canyon, Death Valley, and Arches National Park.
A diverse array of groups praised the announcement, emphasizing that the new monuments were a response to years of local support and advocacy to permanently protect these sites.
Read more: http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2015/07/10/3678957/three-new-national-monuments/?utm_source=fb&awesm=ofa.bo_q8qq&utm_medium=socnet&source=socnet_fb_CC_20150710_bo_national-monuments_protect_2&utm_content=20150710_bo_national-monuments_protect_2&utm_campaign=socnet_fb_CC_20150710_bo_national-monuments_protect_2
Profile Information
Member since: Thu Dec 23, 2004, 12:30 PMNumber of posts: 4,949