Republican agenda focused on Jobs: 92.7 % of bills passed with bipartisan support
Madison, WI… The state Senate held its final floor action of the 2011-12 session today. According to Sen. Scott Fitzgerald (R-Juneau), the senate majority leader, Senate Republicans oversaw a historic session with a strong pro-jobs agenda.
“Two years ago, Republicans promised that we would focus first on jobs, and help get Wisconsin moving back in the right direction. I’m proud that we kept that promise,” Fitzgerald said.
At the start of this session, Wisconsin faced a massive uphill battle. Republicans inherited a $3 billion budget deficit; the state lost 150,000 jobs between 2007 and 2010, and only 10 percent of businesses said we were on the right track.
Republicans passed a wide range of pro-jobs legislation throughout the session, including:
- Two special sessions on job creation;
- Replacing the Department of Commerce with the WEDC;
- The Manufacturers Tax Credit;
- Targeted tax credits for businesses that relocate to Wisconsin and credits for Wisconsin businesses that create jobs;
- Health Savings Accounts;
- Tort reform, to crack down on frivolous lawsuits;
- Infrastructure investment in the state budget;
- Rural Enterprise Zones, thanks to Sen. Pam Galloway (R-Wausau);
- The “Wisconsin Wins” jobs bill, from Sen. Van Wanggaard (R-Racine);
- and The Small Business Jobs Tax Credit, from Sen. Terry Moulton (R-Chippewa Falls).
Of the 123 bills signed into law to date, an overwhelming 92.7 of them – 114 of 123 – passed with bipartisan support.
After this historic session, Wisconsin’s jobless rate is down to 6.9 percent, its lowest level since 2008. Wisconsin gained 15,700 private-sector jobs last month alone. Republicans eliminated the structural deficit, capped property tax hikes and cut state borrowing by more than half. Thanks to Republican reforms, 94 percent of businesses now say that Wisconsin is on the right track, up from 10 percent last session.
“I’m proud that we always put jobs ahead of politics. The reforms that Republicans passed set the national standard for getting our government back on track,” Fitzgerald said.