Lawmakers Pull Natural Resources Board Changes From State Budget

Republican state lawmakers have rejected Gov. Scott Walker’s plan to gut the power of Wisconsin’s Natural Resources Board.

Walker wanted to take away the Board’s authority to set policy, changing it instead into an advisory council.

But the Republican co-chairs of the Joint Finance Committee on Wednesday announced that they were removing the proposal from the budget. That means it must be introduced as a separate bill, making it more difficult to pass than if it were included as part of the larger state budget.

Republican Sen. Alberta Darling, who co-chairs the Legislature’s budget committee, said many of her GOP colleagues were uneasy about Walker’s idea.

“They were very uneasy about making a change that was in business for like over 100 years. The DNR Board is very important to a lot of people, and so people think it should see the light of day and be debated,” Darling said.

The planned change has been one of the more controversial items in Walker’s budget, drawing criticism from residents at public legislative hearings in recent weeks.

The Natural Resources Board itself passed a resolution last week rejecting the governor’s propossal.

Lawmakers also rejected Walker’s proposal to make a similar change to the Board of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection.

Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story featured Associated Press reporting. It has been updated to include original content.