Jobs Legislation Finally Working through Legislature

With less than two months remaining in the 2009-2010 legislative session amid ongoing uncertainty over the future of our state economy, legislation has been progressing through the Legislature with the intent to reignite private investment and ultimately job creation.  Senate Bill 409, also known as the C.O.R.E. Jobs Act, contains provisions to meet three key goals: creating new jobs and businesses, retaining and expanding existing Wisconsin businesses, and improving the education and training of our state workforce.  SB 409 passed the state Senate by a vote of 32-1 and has since been referred to the Assembly Committee on Jobs, Economy, and Small Business, where the companion bill, AB 641, is currently under consideration.  A public hearing on AB 641 was held on February 3rd.

C.O.R.E. is an acronym for Connecting Opportunity, Research, and Entrepreneurism.  This legislation is comprised of a number of components that my colleagues and I have supported through introducing similar legislation in the past: 

• Providing grants to foster a working relationship between small and mid-size businesses and research institutions such as the University of Wisconsin and its system campuses in order to increase the rate of commercializing new technology. 

• Increasing tax credits to spur investment in Wisconsin companies along with job creation.  Under SB 409, tax credits provided under Accelerate Wisconsin would increase by $3 million in 2010 and $20 million each year thereafter. 

• Establishing a micro-loan program to help entrepreneurs start their own businesses (which Republicans have supported through Angel Investment tax credit programs). 

• Adding to the Wisconsin Development Fund.  SB 409 proposes an additional $1 million. 

• Providing incentives to encourage research and development in green technology by businesses of all sizes. 

• Creating an employee education investment tax credit to leverage additional resources for skills training, education, and career enhancement.  Under SB 409, this would be done through $2 million in incentives for businesses that fund university or technical college tuition for their low-income employees. 

• Last, but not least, SB 409 would increase the capacity of the CAP Services Skills Enhancement Program to assist low-income workers in attaining additional training and education, resulting in a $10,000 average annual income increase per worker. 

I praise the Senate on its bipartisan support of SB 409 and look forward to reviewing the C.O.R.E. Jobs Act once it passes the Assembly Committee on Jobs, Economy and Small Business and reaches the floor of the Assembly. 

Rep. Kerkman is pictured with members of ABATE, with who she discussed transportation issues, particularly highway safety when it comes to motorcycles.

 Small Business Reform Passes Assembly

In addition to the C.O.R.E. Jobs Act, another bill I support and have co-sponsored that seeks to improve Wisconsin's economy is the Regulatory Flexibility and Enforcement Fairness Act (Assembly Bill 767).  Introduced by my Kenosha County colleague, Rep. Peter Barca, AB 767 proposes a number of changes that will improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the Small Business Regulatory Review Board.  The bill was drafted in collaboration with the National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB).

AB 767 includes a number of positive initiatives such as altering the make-up of the Small Business Regulatory Review Board.  The board is currently comprised of six small business members and nine state agency representatives from the Department of Administration; Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection; Department of Children and Families; Department of Commerce; Department of Health Services; Department of Natural Resources; Department of Regulation and Licensing; Department of Revenue; and the Department of Workforce Development.  Once enacted into law, AB 767 would eliminate agency representation from the board and increasing small business representation to seven members.

Additionally, the Regulatory Flexibility and Enforcement Fairness Act would rename the Small Business Ombudsman Clearinghouse to the Small Business Advocate, a permanent position that would provide the business community with a stronger voice on regulatory issues and state-imposed mandates.  It would also investigate regulatory enforcement actions taken by an agency against a small business for minor violations in determining alternative, less-demanding approaches to ensure compliance.  Last, but not least, this bill requires the Department of Commerce to model the Small Business Advocate on the best practices of state and federal small business advocacy organizations such as NFIB.

The Regulatory Flexibility and Enforcement Fairness Act unanimously passed the full Assembly during the floor period held on March 4th.  It has since been referred to the Senate Committee on Small Business, Emergency Preparedness, Technical Colleges and Consumer Protection for further consideration.

Rep. Kerkman and Sen. Wirch are pictured with area realtors during the Wisconsin Realtors Association lobby day at the Capitol.  They discussed different ways of addressing the negative impact the economy has had on Wisconsin's housing market and how ensure a brighter future for our state's homeowners.

Previous Technical Issues

Please accept my apologies for the "test" newsletter you may have received earlier as the Kerkman office experienced technical issues with our computers.  It has since been resolved and we apologize for the inconvenience.  Thank you!