On Monday, Sept. 18, Gov. Scott Walker traveled to Gateway Technical College in Sturtevant to sign Act 58, the incentive package put together by his administration in order to bring Taiwanese technology company Foxconn to Wisconsin. The legislature passed the Foxconn bill on Sept. 14.
Walker approved the bill only in part, exercising his partial veto power to delete three of the provisions added by the legislature:
- Walker vetoed the provision allowing the Joint Finance Committee (JFC) to object to bond proceeds for the I-94 north-south corridor project, citing the ambiguity of JFC approval as a possible hindrance to Wisconsin’s ability to receive federal funds for the project.
- Walker also partially vetoed the provision that a town adjacent to a city or village containing the Electronic and Information Technology Manufacturing Zone can incorporate by referendum with exceptions to current law procedures. The veto limits this provision to towns adjacent only to villages, not cities in the zone.
- Walker’s third partial veto deleted the sections specifying that no city or village may annex a territory that initiates actions to incorporate for 30 days. Walker wrote that these provisions could create delays in constructing development in the zone.
The Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) met Thursday to discuss Foxconn, but took no action. Though it has yet to be officially confirmed, the likely site of the Foxconn plant will be Mount Pleasant.
Walker’s office also announced this week that his deputy chief of staff for operations, Matt Moroney, will transition to the position of strategic economic initiatives director at the Department of Administration, a position created by the Foxconn bill to focus on economic development in coordination with WEDC.