Madison, WI – During today’s floor session, the State Senate approved over 90 bills, including several of Senate President Mary Felzkowski’s (R-Tomahawk) priorities.
Senate Bill 456, The Forestry Revitalization Act, provides incentives for a historic economic development project in Northern Wisconsin. Tax credits will incentivize private investment for a new plant which will use woody biomass to manufacture sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). Demand for SAF is increasing rapidly worldwide, but wood products markets are declining, resulting in forest health degradation. This investment will have a massive impact on the Northwoods and Wisconsin’s forests. The total economic impact is projected to be billions.
Assembly Bill 598 protects hospital price transparency requirements against potential future changes from the federal government. If current federal hospital price transparency regulations were to change or disappear, Wisconsin’s Department of Health Services would be required to implement practices to protect patients and transparency in hospital pricing.
Senate Bill 127 allocates $132 million from the PFAS Trust Fund to assist victims and communities impacted by PFAS contamination for clean-up efforts. This fund was established in last session’s budget, yet has been unused due to Governor Evers’ veto of a bill to disperse it. Critically, this new bill includes protections for “innocent landowners” to ensure individuals are not held financially and legally responsible for cleaning up pollution they did not cause.
Assembly Bill 180 modifies SNAP benefits to prohibit the purchase of candy and soft drinks with FoodShare benefits. SNAP is designed to provide healthy meals to low-income families. It is not meant to subsidize foods that contribute to the declining health of Americans.
Senate Bill 454 exempts overtime wages from Wisconsin income tax for middle-class workers.
Senate Bill 674 creates an income tax subtraction for losses from financial exploitation. After a constituent of Senator Felzkowski’s unfortunately lost his entire retirement savings to a scam, he found himself facing a huge tax bill due to early withdrawals and a lien on his house. This bill prevents those who have been financially exploited from being retraumatized by facing taxes on money that was stolen.
Following the floor session, Senator Felzkowski issued the following statement:
Today was truly a great day for Wisconsinites. From addressing PFAS and exempting tax on overtime pay to combatting high healthcare costs and everything in between, the Senate took action on issues that impact our constituents every day. I am especially pleased that we were able to pass The Forestry Revitalization Act, which will boost the economy of the Northwoods while supporting forest health. The entire Northwoods will benefit from this investment: truckers, restaurants, loggers, trades workers, the direct plant employees and everyone in between. Northern Wisconsin needs this, and I’m glad my colleagues agreed.
