Wis. Assembly won't take up local mining bill

MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Robin Vos says his chamber won't take up a bill that would scale back local governments' ability to regulate mining this fall.

Sen. Tom Tiffany, a Hazelhurst Republican, is working on a measure that would prohibit locals from regulating sand mines under so-called police powers, regulating blasting and collecting advance fees for road damage. The Senate's mining committee has scheduled a hearing on the bill for Thursday.

Vos, a Burlington Republican, said during a question-and-answer session with reporters Tuesday he supports Tiffany's bill and believes the state Department of Natural Resources is best-suited to set uniform mining regulations.

But he says the Assembly will be busy this fall with bills on mental health care, worker training and reforming elections, including changes to make voter photo identification constitutional.