Walker confident mining bill will pass

Gov. Scott Walker said he is confident the Republican-controlled Legislature will pass a mining bill next year, but he won't sign anything he believes will hurt the environment.

Walker told The Associated Press in a Monday interview that he believes the June recall election against him made it more difficult for the mining bill to pass this year.

Lawmakers could not reach a compromise on the bill despite pressure from a company looking to open a new iron ore mine in northern Wisconsin near Lake Superior.

Walker said he would look at a bill that would do away with the state's 15-year-old "moratorium" on mines that produce polluting acids, but he doesn't want anything that would jeopardize the state's tourism and agriculture industries.