Madison, WI – Yesterday afternoon, Governor Evers vetoed two bills that would have assisted small businesses throughout the state, especially businesses in the timber industry. Governor Evers vetoed AB 191, the personal property tax exemption, and AB 367, which would have provided a loan for the purchase of the Verso Mill in Wisconsin Rapids and the Park Falls Mill in Park Falls:
“The Legislature provided the Governor with a chance to provide relief to business owners across the state with the personal property tax exemption bill we placed on his desk. Throughout the last several months of the budget process, all we heard from Democrats were cries of ‘missed opportunities’ at every turn. What is a greater missed opportunity than turning down the chance to help small business owners you forced into a crippling shutdown?
Over the last year, stakeholders from the timber industry came together, and worked hand in hand with the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation and legislators from both sides of the aisle on a solution to the Verso shutdown that everyone agreed to. What is a greater missed opportunity than throwing away all that work and leaving hundreds of timber industry employees stuck in limbo?”