Madison — Two bills authored by State Senator Julie Lassa (D-Stevens Point) received public hearings by committees in the Senate Committee on Economic Development and Veterans and Military Affairs yesterday.
Senate Bill 369 would create a tax credit for businesses that hire disabled veterans. The credit would help defray any extra costs, such as adding accessibility features, that businesses may incur by hiring a disabled veteran.
“Veterans have been disproportionately affected by unemployment, and, unfortunately, those with disabilities face even greater challenges when trying to find full-time and long-term work,” Lassa said. “Right now we have around 15,000 working-age disabled veterans in Wisconsin with about 3,700 looking for jobs each year. Some estimates find unemployment among disabled veterans as high as 50 percent. This bill will help break down the barriers our disabled veterans face when they seek employment.”
Senate Bill 376 would make senior executives at the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) subject to the same ethics provisions that state employees are held to. Because WEDC was created as a public-private corporation, its senior executives aren’t automatically subject to those ethics provisions.
Under the bill, WEDC executives would be prohibited from using their positions for private benefit, accepting anything of value in return for official actions, accepting meals or transportation expenses, using confidential information for private gain, or using their positions to benefit themselves or family members. They will also be required to file annual statements of economic interest.
“In creating WEDC, the Legislature gave the new public-private corporation unprecedented flexibility in how it uses millions in taxpayer dollars to create jobs and promote Wisconsin’s economy,” Lassa said “By passing SB 376, we will be fulfilling our duty as legislators to make sure that tax dollars are used responsibly and in the public interest.”
SB 376 was developed in consultation with WEDC Secretary and CEO Paul Jadin, and was approved unanimously by the WEDC Board of Directors at its December 13th meeting. Senator Lassa is one of four legislative members of the WEDC board; the other three legislators joined her in cosponsoring the bill.
