ethanol mandate passes the committee

It passed the State Senate Committee on Agriculture, and Insurance on a vote from 4-2. The only Republican to vote against it was State Senator Neal Kedzie. From the press release:

As Chair of the Senate Natural Resources and Transportation Committee, Kedzie has expressed concerns that the mandate will be detrimental to existing air quality problems in southeast Wisconsin. Kedzie pointed to a Department of Natural Resources (DNR) study that demonstrates that the ethanol mandate will increase pollution twice as much as the NOx decrease of the current motor vehicle inspections and maintenance (M&I) program in Southeast Wisconsin. Kedzie stated, “When this occurs the federal government will step in and impose costly clean-up procedures on business. We cannot afford to chase away Wisconsin’s manufacturing base nor the good paying jobs that go with that sector unless we want to see another significant economic downturn in the state.”