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— Republican lawmakers are circulating six bills to address child care costs, including one that would create accounts in which parents, guardians, family members, employers and others could contribute a combined $10,000 a year to pay for those expenses.
Under the proposal, those contributing to the child care reimbursement account with a parent or guardian’s approval could deduct their donation from their state taxes.
The package of bills comes as Gov. Tony Evers has called a special session of the Legislature next month to take up a workforce development package that includes putting state money into a subsidy program for childcare providers. GOP lawmakers have rejected the call, and Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, said Tuesday they would instead take up a package that includes paring back regulations on child care providers.
“This package of legislation aims to help families afford child care and increase the accessibility of child care in our state through helping providers boost capacity and bringing our regulation in line with our neighboring states,” the authors wrote in the co-sponsorship memo.
A spokesperson for Dem Gov. Tony Evers said the package would reduce the quality of care and fail to keep child care center doors open.
“The looming collapse of our state’s child care industry will be devastating for our kids, families, workers, and economy,” Britt Cudaback said. “Republicans must get serious about meaningfully addressing our state’s generational workforce challenges, and that includes making sure child care is affordable and accessible for families.”
The proposals include:
*changing administrative code on the ratios of children to child care workers and the maximum number of kids in a group. For example, currently, there has to be one worker for every four children up to 2 years old, with a maximum number of eight kids in a group. The bill would apply that same standard to kids up to age 1 with a new requirement for those aged 1 to 2.5 years of a minimum one worker for every six kids and a maximum of 12 kids in a group. That now only applies to those aged 2 to 2.5. For kids 5 and up, the ratio would change to one worker per 20 kids from 1 per 18.
*allowing child care providers in the Wisconsin Shares program to care for up to six children under the age of 7, regardless of whether the kids are related to the provider and without having to obtain a license from the Department of Children and Family. Under current law, certified providers can only care for up to three children that are not their own. In addition, they may also care for three children of their own for a maximum of six.
*requiring DCF to create a category of licensed centers that provide supervision for between four and 12 kids called large family child care centers. Now, a person must obtain a license to be paid to supervise four or more children under the age of 7 for less than 24 hours a day. Those that care for between four and eight kids are considered a family child care center. Those for nine or more kids are considered a group child care center, with different requirements for the ratio of providers to kids. The new large family care centers would largely be regulated the same way a smaller family child care center is.
*lowering the minimum age to be an assistant child care teacher in a licensed group facility to 16 rather than 17 and to 16 from 18 to independently provide sole supervision to a group of children.
*creating a revolving loan program for child care center renovations.
— The GOP authors of a bill to cut nearly $3 billion in taxes argued the measure would provide significant tax relief for Wisconsinites, pushing back on concerns it could put federal pandemic aid dollars at risk.
Dem Rep. Sue Conley, of Janesville, at yesterday’s Assembly Ways and Means Committee hearing asked bill co-author Rep. David Steffen if he had looked into whether the bill could jeopardize some $2.5 billion in federal COVID-19 funds the state and local governments have received.
Evers has raised concerns about the funding because the U.S. Treasury Department bars states that accepted American Rescue Plan Act dollars from using the funds to directly or indirectly offset a reduction in net tax revenue.
The Evers administration estimates the state could reduce taxes by $113 million in 2023-24 and by $319 million in 2024-25 before having to possibly pay back federal COVID-19 dollars.
Steffen, R-Green Bay, noted other states have passed tax cuts and haven’t had any money clawed back from the federal government. The state has already obligated or spent all of its COVID-19 pandemic relief dollars, he added.
“There’s no way you can read the pandemic ARPA bill to mean that every state in the union is ineligible to providing tax relief, for new money, for five years. That is a stretch,” he said.
He also argued it wouldn’t make sense politically for the Biden administration to ask for money back that is being used to provide tax relief.
“Can you imagine any type of environment where you have 15 to 17, to 20-plus states who are providing relief to their people through tax relief that a president would all of a sudden say, ‘No, that’s out of bounds?'”
AB 386 would reduce the third-highest tax bracket to 4.4 percent from 5.3 percent. The reduction in that bracket, which covers income between $36,840 to $405,550 for married couples filing jointly, would account for about $2 billion of the price tag.
The other piece is a proposed expansion of an existing break on retirement income. It would allow married couples to subtract up to $150,000 in payments from qualified retirement plans from their taxable income if they’re 67 and older.
The Legislative Fiscal Bureau has projected the combined impact of the two tax cuts would mean an average reduction of $772 in tax year 2023.
— Committee Chair John Macco during the hearing expressed support for the proposal while raising concerns about the potential impact of the cut on future state finances.
“The concern is, are we cutting off our nose to spite our face here? Are we going to run into a deficit spending problem?” the Ledgeview Republican asked.
He said it’s important for the Legislature to do its due diligence to make sure “we don’t turn into Kansas,” noting the state had overshot its own tax adjustments.
Steffen said former Dem Gov. Jim Doyle left office with $2 million in the state’s rainy day fund, which now contains about $1.7 billion.
“So we have a substantial rainy day fund, and, to meet expectations should bad times come in the future,” he said.
Evan Umpir, director of tax, transportation & legal affairs for Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce, argued the state’s taxes deter potential residents and prevent businesses from attracting new talent.
He said WMC would have liked to see the proposal include a cut for the top tax rate, which Evers vetoed in the state budget.
“But understanding the political climate and, for sure, likely dooming this bill were that to be included here, I still view this bill and support this as a step in the right direction because of its impact it would have on the workforce and their decisions,” Umpir told the committee.
Macco said the committee will take up the measure in an executive session Sept. 6. Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, said he expects a floor vote in the Assembly after Labor Day.
— U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin and Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation Sec. Missy Hughes argue bringing federal Regional Technology and Innovation Hub dollars to Wisconsin would create more high-paying jobs and solidify the state as a tech leader.
The Madison Dem and Hughes at UW-Madison’s Wisconsin Institutes for Medical Research said Wisconsin is poised to grow its status as a tech leader through its existing research facilities. They toured various labs at the school working on projects such as radiology, Alzheimer advancements and others.
The two are pining for U.S. Economic Development Administration Regional Technology and Innovation Hubs grants, which were included in the CHIPS and Science Act Baldwin pushed across the finish line last year.
“With world-class research institutions, cutting-edge businesses, a high skilled workforce, and a robust manufacturing economy, Wisconsin is well positioned to be at the center of innovation and I can think of no better place in the nation for a Tech Hub,” Baldwin said.
Baldwin’s bill authorized $10 billion for the program over five years.
A group of 15 private and public Wisconsin companies including UW-Madison and Rockwell Automation in Milwaukee submitted Wisconsin’s application to become a tech hub earlier this month.
The federal agency expects to designate 20 tech hubs across the country and separately award $15 million as part of the first of two phases.
EDA will publish a notice of funding opportunity for phase two this fall. The second phase will give even more funding to five of the original 20 tech hubs.
See more on the program:
https://www.eda.gov/funding/programs/regional-technology-and-innovation-hubs
— Stoughton Trailers CEO Bob Wahlin says the federal government needs to do more to stop the Chinese government from creating monopolies that threaten U.S. security and the economy.
Wahlin in an interview with WisBusiness at the company’s Stoughton manufacturing facility praised recent tariffs for blocking companies backed by the Chinese government from “dumping” trailers at lower rates than U.S. material costs. Before the tariffs, he said Chinese government-subsidized products nearly destroyed the semi-truck trailer chassis manufacturing industry.
“They took the standard long run, large fleet type of business. So that took us to zero,” he said. “So that took us to zero so that that caused us to shut down our Evansville plant, lay people off. Really excellent that product line.”
Since the U.S. efforts, his company has added production lines to its Evansville, Stoughton, Mississippi and Texas facilities, Wahlin said. The Stoughton facility is the largest employer in the city, with about 700 workers, and the four facilities combined employ about 2,300, he added.
“So we went from zero to a rate that can service 25-to-30,000 container chassis a year,” he said. “And this last year, we actually built that rate up to about 550 chassis a week.”
The goal now is to block the competition from finding ways to avoid the Chinese tariffs, such as using intermediary companies in Thailand, he said.
Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party Chair U.S. Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Allouez, during a roundtable at the Stoughton assembly line said the federal government needs to do more to strengthen commercial businesses.
“When you do anything that allows our economy to function, day to day, you’re relying on the hard work of the men and women in this facility, many of whom we see back there,” he said.
Gallagher and two committee members alongside a panel of 11 manufacturing representatives – some whom work with the Department of Defense – also said robust commercial manufacturing industries are crucial for succesful military products.
“But it’s kind of a whack a mole as we chase the Chinese government, as they try to find other avenues to flood the U.S. market with this product,” Wahlin said before joining the roundtable.
Aside from Whalin and Gallagher, the panel included:
*United Steelworkers Local 9777 President Steve Kremer;
*Fincantieri Marinette Marine Group CEO Mark Vandroff;
*Worthington Industries Vice President of Corporate Communications Sonya Higginbotham;
*Whirlpool & InSinkErator President Joe Dillon;
*Titletown Tech Managing Director Craig Dickman;
*Fairbanks Morse Vice President of Washington Operations Paul Roden;
*Walker Forge, Inc. Vice President, Sales & Marketing Mike Gray;
*Plews & Edelmann Executive Chairman David Rashid;
*Auxin Solar CEO Mamun Rashid;
*Ranking Committee Member U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill.;
*Committee Member U.S. Rep. Darin LaHood, R-lll.;
Watch the roundtable event:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvEHtbwyp0c&ab_channel=TheSelectCommitteeontheCCP
— WisPolitics in partnership with the Tommy G. Thompson Center on Public Leadership will hold a Sept. 13 panel on electric vehicles.
The “Is Wisconsin plugged in to the EV evolution?” event will take place at UW-Oshkosh’s Culver Center from 5 to 7 p.m. It will feature a discussion on the impact of the federal government’s push for EVs and how they will impact businesses and residents in the state.
Panelists will include:
*Dan Krueger, executive vice president of WEC Infrastructure and Generation Planning;
*Oshkosh Corporation Vice President of Engineering Michael Moore;
WI Department of Transportation Assistant Deputy Secretary Joel Nilsestuen;
*UW-Oshkosh Director of Parking and Transportation Benjamin Richardson; and
*Focus Fox Valley radio host Hayley Tenpas.
See the release:
https://www.wisbusiness.com/2023/thompson-center-announces-ev-panel-is-wisconsin-plugged-in-to-the-ev-evolution/
Register here:
https://thompsoncenter.wisc.edu/event/is-wisconsin-plugged-in-to-the-ev-evolution/
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Robert M. La Follette School of Public Affairs
TOP HEADLINES
Wisconsin’s economic development agency is falling short of its job goals. Here are takeaways from a new report on WEDC
https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/politics/2023/08/30/wedc-fell-short-of-its-job-creation-goals-misallocated-federal-funds/70717221007/
Millions more workers would be entitled to overtime pay under a proposed Biden administration rule
https://apnews.com/article/work-labor-overtime-pay-biden-ba1613a766bd45c4f15650bb7d361063
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STORY TOPICS
ECONOMY ^top^
– US economic growth for last quarter is revised down to a 2.1% annual rate
https://apnews.com/article/economy-gdp-inflation-federal-reserve-jobs-growth-8934ebcac23acdfef69089db2942f6d6
EDUCATION ^top^
– UW-Milwaukee analysis nixes merger, suggests other ways to help campuses survive
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HEALTH CARE ^top^
– Children’s Wisconsin to open new mental health walk-in clinic in Kenosha
https://biztimes.com/childrens-wisconsin-to-open-new-mental-health-walk-in-clinic-in-kenosha/
– A Wisconsin program allows the disabled and elderly to live in their own homes. Here’s why advocates worry that is in jeopardy
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LABOR ^top^
– ThedaCare support and service workers in Appleton call for better wages as negotiations continue
https://www.wpr.org/thedacare-service-workers-appleton-union-better-wages-negotiations
MANUFACTURING ^top^
– Briggs & Stratton taps Whirlpool ranks for next CEO
https://www.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/news/2023/08/30/briggs-stratton-names-next-ceo.html
SPORTS ^top^
– Giannis Antetokounmpo and brothers invest in new golf league created by Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy
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PRESS RELEASES ^top^
See these and other press releases:
https://www.wisbusiness.com/press-releases/
Thompson Center: Announces EV panel: Is Wisconsin plugged in to the EV evolution?
Dept. of Agriculture: Invests $266 million to help rural business owners, farmers and ranchers lower energy costs, generate income and expand operations, as part of investing in America Agenda
