{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://wied.house.gov/media/press-releases/rep-tony-wied-urges-state-lawmakers-return-power-local-communities", "Rep. Tony Wied Urges State Lawmakers to Return Power to Local Communities", "2025-10-15", "2025", "2025-10", "Republican", "House", "WI", "Tony Wied", "W000829", "wied.house.gov", "wied", "https://wied.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "DE PERE \u2014 Today, Congressman Tony Wied (R-WI) sent a letter to the chairs of the Wisconsin State Legislature\u2019s committees on energy and utilities, urging swift consideration of Senate Bill 3 and Assembly Bill 7, which would rightfully restore local governments\u2019 ability to influence the siting of large-scale energy projects.\n\nIn the letter, Rep. Wied calls attention to the statutory imbalance created by 2009 Wisconsin Act 40, which significantly curtailed local input in energy development decisions. The letter urges support for legislation introduced by State Senator Howard Marklein and State Representative Travis Travel that would require approval from affected towns and counties before the PSC can proceed with any large-scale wind or solar development.\n\n\u201cThis commonsense legislation reaffirms a basic principle that should never have been compromised: communities deserve to have a say over what takes place in their own backyards,\u201d said Rep. Wied. \u201cIt\u2019s time to return power to the people in these towns and counties that have been shut out of the decision-making process for far too long.\u201d\n\nThe Congressman\u2019s letter highlights recent examples of solar and wind projects approved despite repeated objections from the very communities expected to host them. He also cited the absence of developer engagement in his own district, where Florida-based NextEra Energy Resources declined to attend a local listening session on their proposed Fox Solar project.\n\nIn addition to his outreach to state lawmakers, Rep. Wied sent a separate letter to PSC Chair Summer Strand urging the Commission to adopt reforms that prioritize community engagement and transparency.\n\n\u201cThe PSC has repeatedly ignored the voices of rural Wisconsin,\u201d said Rep. Wied. \u201cUnelected bureaucrats should never have the power to override the will of a community. If a town doesn\u2019t want its landscape transformed into an industrial corridor, the people who live there should have the final say.\u201d\n\nThe letters reflect growing frustration across rural Wisconsin, where residents feel steamrolled by centralized decision-making and corporate interests. Rep. Wied is calling on state lawmakers and regulators to act swiftly to return power to local communities and ensure that no energy project is forced on a community without its consent.\n\nRead the letter to lawmakersHERE.", 1, "2026-04-04T05:28:40Z", "2026-04-04T05:30:10Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://wied.house.gov/media/press-releases/rep-tony-wied-urges-state-lawmakers-return-power-local-communities"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8084599394351244, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}