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Joint Finance Committee Begins
Hearings on Budget
The Republicans wasted no time criticizing the Democrats over the size of
the proposed tax and fee increases - totaling $1.7 billion over the
biennium. According to a
Legislative Reference Bureau memo, among other taxes and fees, the
budget would include a 75 cent per pack increase in the state cigarette tax;
a higher income tax bracket for married couples making more than $300,000 a
year; and, a tax on oil companies.
One the more controversial provisions involved a proposal to expand
prevailing wage to publicly funded private construction projects. The
Republicans criticized the proposed application of prevailing wage, arguing
that the term “publicly funded” is broadly defined to mean virtually any
project in which a municipality provides funding, grants, loans, or transfer
of real estate at less than fair market value.
The budget bill would also substantially expand the scope of prevailing wage
on traditional public works projects (state and local) by reducing the
contract threshold from $48,000 (single-trade project) and $234,000
(multi-trade project) to a set $2,000 for any project. Under the bill, state
and local government would have to apply prevailing wage to any contract in
excess of the $2,000 threshold. This same $2,000 threshold would apply to
the newly created application of prevailing wage to private construction
projects.
In addition, the bill calls for a new weekly reporting requirement on all
prevailing wage jobs and diminishes current law protections against
frivolous complaints.
Taken together, Republicans argue that the changes will present
disincentives for community economic development and diminish the
effectiveness of the very tools that have been adopted to promote local
economic development.
The JFC will continue to hear these issues, with numerous others, over the
next two weeks as it travels the state. Below is a schedule of the JFC
hearings:
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March 23: Sparta
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March 30: Racine
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March 25: West Allis
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April 1: Appleton
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March 27: Eau Claire
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April 3: Cambridge
Joint Finance Committee Approves Road
Spending Request
During its deliberations this week, the JFC voted unanimously to approve
Gov. Doyle’s request to spend $42.5 million from the federal stimulus bill
passed by Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama.
The money will be used for 49 local road projects, including bridge and
transportation projects across the state. These local projects are
authorized in addition to the nearly $300 million in State road and bridge
projects approved in the budget repair bill (Wis.
Act 2). In total, Wisconsin expects to receive $529 million in federal
stimulus funds for state/local roads and bridges.
Lawmaker Unveils Paint Tax Proposal
for Lead Removal
Sen. Spencer Coggs (D-Milwaukee) announced this week that he is drafting
legislation establishing “Rehab Loans for Lead-Safe Homes.” Although the
bill has not been officially introduced, a draft proposal calls for a tax on
paint (likely 50 cents per gallon) that would be used to provide loans to
owners of residential property built before 1950 (owner occupied or rental).
The funds would be used for window replacement and other capital
improvements such as siding and porches.
There are currently in place several federally funded programs for the
removal of lead-based paint from older homes. The state of Wisconsin is
already slotted to receive $38 million (City of Milwaukee is receiving $9
million) in funding from HUD under the
National Stabilization Program.
NSP provides grants to every state, and certain local communities, to
purchase foreclosed or abandoned homes and to rehabilitate, resell, or
redevelop the properties to help stem the decline of house values of
neighboring homes. These homes must be lead-free once they are
rehabilitated.
Wisconsin is also receiving
$3 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 for Lead
Hazard Reduction Grants. These grants assist urban jurisdictions with
the greatest lead-based paint needs through programs for eligible privately
owned rental or owner-occupied housing.
U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu joined Gov. Jim Doyle last week in
Milwaukee to announce that Wisconsin is receiving
$197 million in weatherization and energy efficiency funding as part of
the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Some of this money will likely
be used to replace old windows in homes that contain lead-based paint.
For more information on lead paint issues,
see the
Hamilton Consulting Group's Update.
Senate Committee Hears Employment
Discrimination Bill
The Senate Committee on Labor, Elections and Urban Affairs last week heard
testimony on
Senate Bill 20, which authorizes a court to order an employer to pay
compensatory or punitive damages in instances where there is employment
discrimination.
Senate Bill 20 creates unlimited compensatory and punitive damages for
claims of workplace discrimination under the Wisconsin Fair Employment
Act. If an employer is found guilty of discrimination, the bill requires the
employer to pay an additional 10 percent “surcharge” that would be deposited
into the state’s general fund for DWD to use to administer the state’s fair
employment law.
The bill makes changes from the current law under which DWD may reinstate
the employee and file a complaint against the employer. The employee can
receive back pay up to two years and receive costs and attorney fees
associated with the lawsuit. Currently, an employee is not allowed to seek
compensatory or punitive damages.
Numerous business groups opposed the bill, while the Wisconsin Association
for Justice and the Individual Rights and Responsibilities section of the
Wisconsin Bar supported the bill.
AG Issues Informal Opinion Clarifying
Scope of Open Meetings Law
Responding to a request for clarification and guidance from the Wisconsin
Economic Development Association, Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen
issued an informal opinion addressing when a privately organized local
economic development corporation must be considered a “quasi-governmental
corporation” that is subject to Wisconsin’s open meetings and public records
laws.
Van Hollen noted that there is inherent uncertainty in the case-by-case,
totality-of-the-circumstances approach to this issue taken by the Wisconsin
Supreme Court in its recent decision in
State v. Beaver Dam Development Corp., but concluded that a close
examination of that decision in light of the basic policy of the open
government laws can provide meaningful guidance for privately organized
entities that wish to partner with local governments in the field of
economic development.
For more on the Beaver Dam case, see the
Hamilton Consulting Group's Update.
For more information and news articles of interest to ACNM
members, go to The Hamilton Consulting Group's
ACNM
Tracking Report.
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