Yesterday, the Legislature’s budget-writing committee – the Joint Finance Committee – met for the first time this session to begin reshaping Gov. Tony Evers’ 2019-21 state budget bill. One of the first budget motions debated and voted on by the Committee proposed the removal of roughly 130 items from the Governor’s budget. The motion passed on a 11-4 partisan-line vote (with one member absent). Among the provisions removed from the budget via the omnibus motion were the following initiatives WEDA opposed and was actively lobbying for their elimination from the budget bill:

• The provision to limit Tax Incremental Financing (TIF) developer grants to 20 percent of a TIF district’s total project costs.
• The provision to limit the manufacturing portion of the Manufacturing and Agriculture Tax Credit to only apply to the first $300,000 in qualified production income.
• The provision to cap the Enterprise Zone Tax Credit program to a total of 35 zones statewide.

The WEDA Government Affairs Team will continue to monitor the progress of the budget and engage in the process in an effort to ensure these items remain out of the final budget bill passed by the Legislature.