Five WTBA members know their personal stories can help lawmakers understand why an important piece of legislation should become law. Today, they shared those stories on a public stage. Jeff Peterson, Steve Nachreiner, Jeff Parisi, Dan Weinkauf, and Chris Cape all testified in support of Senate Bill 270 and its companion, Assembly Bill 275, during two public hearings at the state Capitol. The bill ensures WisDOT pays a contractor directly and promptly when they encounter a utility conflict the Department deems compensable. Currently, contractors have to pursue utility companies for compensation themselves. The bill also establishes a clear appeals process and requires a program review after four years, ensuring it’s working as designed. “Those situations, when a company runs into it, well it ends up being a B-F-D: a big financial deal,” Wisconsin State Representative David Steffen said during his Assembly committee testimony. Steffen is one of the bill’s authors. WTBA’s coalition-backed measure (including WEC, the state’s largest utility company) is the product of many months of work, bringing all parties involved to the table. Peterson, WTBA’s Past President and James Peterson Sons, Inc. President, has been pushing for this type of change for years. “What this bill does is keep all parties engaged to resolve conflicts as efficiently as possible and compensate everyone fairly through their respective contracts or permits,” Peterson said. “Our projects will be done more cost-effectively, safely, and on schedule for the taxpayers of Wisconsin.”
Unifying on Utilities
