WisPolitics Budget Blog

Sen. Lena Taylor, D-Milwaukee, proposed a motion to increase the tipping fee by $3, but to reduce the transfer from the recycling fund to the general fund by $6.9 million in 2007-08.

This motion met the same fate as the others, failing on an 8-8 party line vote.

No other motions being offered, the governor's proposal prevails, and the $3 tipping fee increase and transfer to the general fund is in.

Labels: tipping_fee

The vote is 8-8, along party lines.

The committee is now taking up a motion by Rep. Pedro Colon, R-Milwaukee, to raise the tipping fee by $3, but to transfer just $7.6 million over the biennium to the general fund. Colon's motion also increases the DNR municipal and county recylcling grant appropriation by $29 million over the biennium.

The Colon motion also failed on an 8-8 party-line vote.

Labels: Colon, tipping_fee

A motion by Republicans to eliminate the tipping fee increase failed on a party-line 8-8 vote.

The committee is now taking up the Miller-Pocan motion detailed in the previous post.

Labels: tipping_fee

Sen. Mark Miller, D-Monona, said the current tipping fee is inadequate and below what other states charge. He said increasing the fee will make landfills last longer by discouraging out-of-state dumping, and the increased funds will be used to not only pursue an "aggressive" recycling program, but will also advance renewable energy studies.

Miller and Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Madison, have introduced a motion to, in addition to adopting the governor's recommendation, increase the recycling tipping fee by an additional $4 per ton, generating an additional $35 million over the biennium. They also propose to increase the DNR municipal and county recycling grant appropriation by about $33 million.

The motion also directs the DNR to submit a report by the end of the year to the JFC and legislative committees that includes recommendations for revising the formula for distribution of municipal and county recycling grants.

Pocan said the state is becoming known as the Wal-Mart of garbage dumping - "Always low prices on your garbage."

"Do we want Wisconsin to be known ... as the garbage dump of the Midwest," Pocan said.

Rep. Meyer said any argument that raising the tipping fee will discourage out-of-staters from bringing garbage here is "completely untrue."

Labels: tipping_fee

We're underway here in the JFC. The day starts with budget paper 601
on the recycling and tipping fee increase and transfer from the recycling fund to the general fund.

Gov. Doyle has proposed increasing the tipping fee from $3 to $6 per ton. The fee is estimated to generate $18 million in 2007-08, and $24 million in 2008-09. Doyle has also proposed transferring $13 million in 2007-08 and $20 million in 2008-09 from the recylcing fund to the general fund.

Rep. Dan Meyer, R-Eagle River, is opposed to the increases, saying his local landfill operators and garbage haulers are opposed, and the increase will hurt their business. He also said the transfer takes the money collected and puts it toward unrelated expenses.

"Over the years quite frankly, this has become nothing but a slush fund," Meyer said.

Labels: tipping_fee