If You're Wondering What Wisconsin's Republican-controlled Senate & Assembly Spent Most Of It's Time on in 2005...

Madison - Special-interest groups trying to influence Capitol decisions spent a record $30.6 million lobbying legislators, the governor and other state officials in 2005 - a total boosted by the 50,000 hours spent lobbying on the state budget passed last year, the Ethics Board reported Wednesday.

#1
In terms of hours, the most-lobbied bill was the fight between papermakers and insurance companies over who should pay for the cleanup of contaminated Fox Valley-area waterways. Interest groups on both sides of that issue reported spending 5,404 hours on the issue.

#2
The second most-lobbied issue, consuming 2,964 hours, was the controversial proposal that would have allowed citizens with a state-issued permit to carry concealed weapons. Doyle vetoed that bill for a second time, and the Legislature fell just short of overriding his veto.

#3
The third most-lobbied issue, with 2,916 reported hours, was a mandate that ethanol be sold at gas pumps statewide - a measure passed by the Assembly but that stalled in the Senate. That fight pits legislators from corn-growing rural areas against southeast Wisconsin legislators, who say more ethanol may worsen existing pollution problems and hurt car engines.

Read more: Milwuakee Journal Sentinel