The state Senate approved an amendment that would tweak language in the Foxconn bill to state WEDC “shall establish job creation thresholds” and claiming capital expenditure tax benefits shall be tied to those benchmarks. Dems questioned the impact of the amendment, saying it did not include any mechanisms to ensure

Senate Dems today announced three amendments to the $3 billion Foxconn incentive package that they said would prioritize hiring Wisconsin workers, make the tax credits nonrefundable and nix all exemptions for the Taiwanese manufacturer from Wisconsin’s environmental regulations. Minority Leader Jennifer Shilling said the three amendments are geared toward ensuring

Local officials appearing at today’s hearing expressed support for the Foxconn bill, but asked for a few changes to address local impacts. Kenosha Mayor John Antaramian asked for several changes to language regarding TIFs to allow for investment in the water utility and to allow police and fire personnel hired

Cabinet officials fielded a variety of questions from JFC members, many focusing on the ability of the state to recoup its investment if Foxconn doesn’t fulfill its commitments, environmental concerns and workforce issues. Responding to several questions from JFC Dems about clawbacks, Hogan said those are not included in the

STURTEVANT — In opening statements before the Joint Finance Committee’s hearing on the Foxconn bill, DOA Secretary Scott Neitzel and WEDC Secretary Mark Hogan today stressed ways the planned $10 billion investment would reshape the state’s economy. Neitzel said Foxconn would transform the state’s economy by bringing electronics manufacturing back

The Assembly this evening green-lighted the $3 billion Foxconn incentive package, after rejecting a series of Dem amendments over more than six hours of debate. The 59-30 vote sends the bill to the Senate, which has already referred it to the Joint Finance Committee for another public hearing. Three Dems

Rep. Tod Ohnstad was the second Dem this evening to say he’d back the Foxconn bill when the full Assembly votes on it later today. Ohnstad, who worked with Assembly Committee on Jobs and the Economy Chair Adam Neylon on changes to the Foxconn bill, joined Dem Rep. Cory Mason

Rep. Cory Mason, who’s said he’ll run for mayor of Racine, said he would vote yes on the Foxconn bill today, adding while he still had concerns about the deal, the vote is about “the middle class in Racine, the future in Racine.” Mason, who many thought would support the

Shortly after debate kicked off this afternoon on the Foxconn bill, a Dem motion to send the incentive package to the Joint Finance Committee failed on a 57-32 party-line vote. The Senate is already set to take up the bill in JFC, likely next week. But Assembly Minority Leader Peter Barca,

The Assembly this afternoon adopted a resolution condemning the violence that occurred in Charlottesville, Va., over the weekend, along with the “racist, intolerable views that caused that deeply tragic day.” The resolution, adopted with bipartisan support, further condemns the “white supremacists, the Ku Klux Klan, neo-Nazis, and all those who

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos said while he’s seen “some of the rhetoric from the other side,” he’s still hopeful the Foxconn bill will see bipartisan support once debate ends at 7 p.m. Still, when Vos, R-Rochester, was asked during a news conference prior to the floor vote why no Dems were

The Assembly will convene at 11:30 a.m. Thursday to take up the $3 billion Foxconn incentive bill, according to the office of Majority Leader Jim Steineke. Steineke’s office said leaders from both parties have agreed to 7.5 hours of debate Thursday.  

The Assembly Committee on Jobs and the Economy pushed through the $3 billion incentive package for Foxconn this evening over Dem objections. The bill passed following the party-line adoption of a GOP substitute amendment that would add $20 million for a worker training program and require that the final contract with

Republicans shortly before 5 p.m. passed the substitute amendment to the Foxconn bill on an 8-5 party line vote. The substitute amendment would add $20 million for a worker training program and require that the final contract with Foxconn encourage the Taiwanese company to hire Wisconsin workers “when practically possible.”

Most of the remaining Dem amendments to the Foxconn bill were rejected on party-line votes this afternoon ahead of committee members ultimately taking up the $3 billion incentive package for the Taiwanese company. The Assembly Committee on Jobs and the Economy shot down almost two dozen Dem proposals in just

The Assembly Committee on Jobs and the Economy this afternoon shot down a series of Dem amendments to the Foxconn bill, including one that would have revoked the Taiwanese company’s tax credit eligibility if 70 percent of its workforce isn’t made up of Wisconsin residents The committee’s executive session, which kicked

The state would provide $20 million in new money to develop a plan to meet the possible job demands of a new Foxconn plant while requiring WEDC to promote Wisconsin workers “when practically possible,” under a substitute amendment released today. According to a summary of the changes from the speaker’s

The Assembly is now looking at Tuesday for a committee exec on the Foxconn bill with a floor vote to follow Aug. 17, Majority Leader Jim Steineke says. Jobs and the Economy Chair Adam Neylon, R-Pewaukee, had been looking at an exec on the bill tomorrow, though he said earlier

UW System President Ray Cross today hailed the opportunity that the Foxconn development would have on the state, though he said UW would need money to turn out even more engineers than it does today. Cross told lawmakers at today’s Assembly public hearing that Foxconn would be a “magnet” for

Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation CEO Mark Hogan said a decision on a site for Foxconn is “imminent,” with an announcement likely coming within the next few weeks. Hogan, taking questions from members of the Assembly Committee on Jobs and the Economy, also said the Taiwanese technology company is ready to