Hamilton's blog

This week the legislature held a hearing on one venture capital bill and started discussions about another. Venture capital is a hot topic this session because Wisconsin lags behind other states in the availability of start-up capital, but there is a hesitancy to put taxpayer money at risk.

The non-partisan Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau has compiled an informational brief on the statutory differences between misdemeanors and felonies. The brief also includes a 32 page list of all the statutory misdemeanors in Wisconsin.

The Wisconsin Counties Association is holding a free webinar on broadband deployment in Wisconsin on May 20 at 10 a.m.

The EPA has formally proposed revisions to its effluent guidelines for stormwater discharges from construction and development point sources. The proposed rule would make several revisions to the non-numeric requirements of the existing rule, as well as withdraw the numeric discharge standards.

The April 2013 issue of Wisconsin Interest, the magazine published by the Wisconsin Policy Research Institute, has an article making an economic and environmental argument in favor of frac sand mining. The article, "Mining Success," also discusses the impact the sand industry has had on local governing boards.