Editorial cartoon

Published: July 16, 2010
Tags: cartoon, law, local preference

Illinois preference law rattles contractors along the border

Published: July 12, 2010
Tags: Camosy Construction, Illinois, law, preference, Public Construction, Rasch Construction & Engineering, residency requirement, unemployment, Wisconsin

By Tony Anderson Special to The Daily Reporter An Illinois law requiring the use of state residents on public projects has Wisconsin contractors gauging the potential damage to their bottom lines. The amended law requires contractors use a work force of at least 90 percent Illinois residents when unemployment reaches 5 percent for two months [...]

Booze interest holds sway in Legislature

Published: June 11, 2010
Tags: drunken driving, law, Legislative Fiscal Bureau, state Legislature, Wisconsin Democracy Campaign

By Matt Pommer A watchdog group is blaming large legislative campaign donations for what the group calls a tepid approach to tightening drunken driving laws. In the last decade, the booze industry — including manufacturers of alcohol products, distributors and taverns — has contributed $2.53 million to legislative candidates and leadership committees of both parties. [...]

New professional engineering standards signed into law

Published: May 14, 2010
Tags: engineer license, law, standards
Comments: 1

Standards for professional engineers in Wisconsin were raised in a new law signed Thursday by Gov. Jim Doyle. The previous law requires standards to attain a professional engineer license, including an accredited college degree, specified on-the-job experience and passing a proficiency test. There are multiple routes for applicants to become a professional engineer, two of [...]

New law gives communities more time to repay TIDs

Published: May 12, 2010
Tags: Doyle, law, tax incremental district, TID

By Darryl Enriquez A bill that authorizes communities to extend the amount of time debt obligations of financially distressed tax incremental districts can be retired was signed into law Wednesday by Gov. Jim Doyle. TID law allows taxes to be used for the development of blighted areas that may otherwise remain undeveloped. The economic downturn [...]

Legislators rush to the finish line

Published: April 16, 2010
Tags: bill, Capitol, law, Legislature, lobbyist, Pommer, session, Wisconsin

By Matt Pommer Never watch the making of sausages or laws, according to the old quip. The admonition especially applies in the final days of the Wisconsin legislative session as legislators and the 751 licensed lobbyists worry about keeping their jobs for the 2011-2012 biennium. “It’s sometimes called the ‘Capistrano syndrome,’” retired lobbyist Kirby Hendee [...]

Local preference hits pavement job (UPDATE)

Published: April 12, 2010
Tags: appeal, bid, Burbach, D.C. Burbach, Department of Public Works, Don Stark, DPW, Korban, law, local preference, Milwaukee General Construction, paving, Payne & Dolan, Piefer, Snorek Construction, Stark Asphalt Service, Zenith Tech

By Sean Ryan D.C. Burbach Inc. could become the first paving contractor to lose a job because of Milwaukee’s preference for city-based bidders. Waukesha-based Burbach submitted a low bid of $497,143 to repave West Tower Avenue. But, based on the city’s local preference law, Milwaukee-based Stark Asphalt Service Inc. is the recommended project winner with [...]

Development law splits Milwaukee neighborhood

Published: March 29, 2010
Tags: Bondar, Christopherson, development, east side, East Village Association, guidelines, Kovac, law, Milwaukee, repeal

By Sean Ryan A proposal to wipe out a five-year-old development law in a Milwaukee neighborhood is reigniting an argument over the best way to govern growth. The city in 2005 limited development in a lower east side neighborhood in which most of the buildings are old houses. The law was intended to discourage construction [...]

Bill targets prevailing wage law (UPDATE)

By Paul Snyder A bill that would repeal every prevailing wage law change enacted in last year’s state budget faces long odds in the Democrat-controlled Legislature. State Rep. Mary Williams, R-Medford, has drafted a bill that would reinstate a threshold of $234,000 as the point at which prevailing wages must be paid on public projects. [...]

Reporting snafu delays three county projects in Waupaca County (UPDATE)

By Paul Snyder The state’s new prevailing wage threshold slipped the minds of Waupaca County planners, leaving them with no choice but to postpone an estimated $151,000 worth of projects. Roger Holman, director of the Waupaca County Parks & Recreation Department, said he thinks the new threshold is too low, but that’s no excuse for [...]