2025 WEDA Legislative Day a Huge Success

2025 WEDA Legislative Day a Huge Success

WEDA Members Successfully Advocate for Economic Development in the State Capitol

On March 26, WEDA members from every corner of the state traveled to Madison for WEDA’s annual Legislative Day event to advocate for critical economic development polices at the State Capitol.

With over 50 attendees, WEDA members were able to network with other economic development professionals, hear from guest speakers, and receive in-depth policy briefings on WEDA’s top legislative priorities. Most importantly, they were able to meet with state lawmakers in the Capitol to request their support for the following legislative initiatives:

• TIF Modernization – WEDA SUPPORTS comprehensive Tax Incremental Financing (TIF) reform legislation to modernize Wisconsin’s outdated TIF law that no longer aligns with current economic realities. Legislation is needed to provide communities with long overdue TIF flexibility to encourage new workforce housing development, fund critical infrastructure improvements, and cultivate additional business investment to ensure Wisconsin remains competitive in the 21st century economy.
• Enhance Workforce Housing Revolving Loan Funds – WEDA SUPPORTS ”trailer” legislation to improve the following workforce housing revolving loan fund (RLF) programs created last session, and funded with $525 million, to increase access to affordable housing for working families and strengthen the state’s workforce: Infrastructure Access Program; Restore Main Street Program; and the Vacancy-to-Vitality Program. The bill, which would make these loan programs more effective and easier to use for communities and developers, proposes to make several important changes to the RLF programs, including: 1.) Repeal the provision that prohibits communities from using Historic Tax Credits or TIF in conjunction with the RLF programs (as you know, incentive “stacking” is critical to making housing projects financially viable); and 2.) Increase the amount of loan funding an individual project can access under each RLF program.
• Wisconsin Housing Tax Credit Expansion – WEDA SUPPORTS legislation to expand Wisconsin’s successful Housing Tax Credit to better address the state’s housing shortage. The proposal would encourage the development of additional low-to-moderate income housing across the state, provide Wisconsin working families with much-needed housing opportunities, and help employers recruit and retain employees. Under current law, the WHEDA-administered Housing Tax Credit program can allocate up to $42 million in income tax credits – spread over six years – to construct affordable housing developments. This bill would make the following important changes to the program to increase available housing in communities across Wisconsin: 1.) Expand the total annual tax credit allotment from $42 million to $100 million; 2.) Eliminate the program requirement that projects be financed with tax-exempt bonds; and 3.) Boost housing development in rural areas of the state by requiring WHEDA to direct at least 35% of the tax credits each year toward housing projects in rural communities.
• Business Development Tax Credit Improvement – Last session, 2023 WI Act 143 was signed into law to better align the state’s Business Development Tax Credit (BTC) with current economic realities and challenges. In addition to modifying BTC eligibility to emphasis and encourage capital investment in Wisconsin, the act created a tax credit “sweetener” for BTC eligible businesses that invest in workforce housing and childcare programs for their employees. WEDA SUPPORTS “trailer” legislation that would enhance the BTC housing and childcare tax incentives to encourage greater workforce housing and childcare investment by BTC eligible businesses and ultimately help remove obstacles to workforce participation. The bill would make the following changes to current law: 1.) Specify that eligible investments in workforce housing and childcare programs may include contributions made to a third party for those purposes, including contributions made to a local revolving loan fund; and 2.) Repeal the requirement that workforce housing development and childcare programs driven by the tax credit must be exclusively for the benefit of the employees of a BTC eligible business.

Legislative Day is a critical grassroots advocacy tool that allows WEDA to raise the profile of economic developers in the State Capitol, strengthen our relationship with lawmakers, and influence important economic development policy. It also helps WEDA’s lobbying team to build advocacy momentum and ultimately advance our legislative priorities. Thank you to all WEDA members who participated in 2025 Legislative Day!