It's rare indeed when inaction on a bill by the Legislature turns out to be a good thing. But by not putting on the fast track a measure dealing with siting of wind energy farms, lawmakers will have the chance to make the bill better.

Proposals to give the state Public Service Commission the authority to write rules on wind farm siting, including allowable noise levels and setback from residential development, were introduced in late February and received minimal scrutiny and little public comment. In the end end, the state Senate wisely voted to send the proposal back to committee, thus ending the possibility of action on it in this session.

That hopefully will give lawmakers time to do a siting bill the right way.

Input is needed from local government, some of whom have already come up with siting rules. But not all have been successful in setting the parameters. Neighboring Manitowoc and Calumet counties have struggled to find satisfactory rules, while Fond du Lac County has rules in place.

While local control over these decisions is best, it appears that consensus - even within individual counties - is not going to be easily reached.

Current law now requires state regulators to OK large wind farms but leaves the decision-making on smaller projects to local units of government.

The idea of having the state Public Service Commission handle these sticky and controversial rules for all wind projects would appear to be a more practical route. Local government and the people living in areas where wind turbines are likely to be located must have input into the rules. And the rules themselves must not be developed in haste at the very end of a legislative session.

Still, time is critical. With the state planning to generate 20 percent of its power from sources other than coal- or gas-fired power plants, wind power likely will play a big role.

Like coal-fired power plants and nuclear generators, someone is going to have to live in relatively close proximity to these energy producers. It's in the best interest of all to have uniform siting rules - and a full discussion before they are established.