PIER COMPROMISE IN THE WORKS?

Sen. Neal Kedzie, the chair of the Senate Natural Resources and Transportation Committee, says he is talking with the Department of Natural Resources, the governor's office and the authors of a controversial pier bill to find a compromise.

"I believe that we will reach a middle ground that will please the majority of people," Kedzie tells WisPolitics.com about Assembly Bill 850.

Offered by Assembly Speaker John Gard and Rep. Scott Gunderson, R-Waterford and the chair of the Assembly Natural Resources Committee, AB 850 passed the Assembly last month on a 58-34 vote. The bill seeks to grandfather in nearly all piers that existed before Act 118, the Job Creation Act that put the DNR's pier planner in the statutes, took effect in early 2004.

The problem from the DNR's standpoint is with about 1 percent of the state's existing 187,000 or so piers toting decks of 200 square feet or more. The DNR says they're too big and that they obscure prime lake space considered public access. The bill's authors contend piers that existed before the law should not be subjected to the new rules.

Kedzie, whose committee will get the AB 850 and the tentative DNR rules, appears hopeful of a deal. "Any bill that is introduced is a work in progress," he said. "It's an issue that is quite delicate and is kind of a hot-button issue. But I think we will reach that resolve relatively soon."