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| Wisconsin: Legislative & Political Weekly Update
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TO: Clients & Friends of Capitol Consultants, Inc. and Wimmer & Company
FROM: Capitol Consultants, Inc.
and Wimmer & Company
DATE: February 27, 2009
SUBJECT: Weekly Update - Office of Recovery and Reinvestment Overview
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Week's Highlights
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After a hectic week in the Capitol last week where the legislature passed and the Governor signed a stimulus package (budget adjustment bill) to close the current budget deficit combined with the Governor's introduction of the 2009-11 Biennial Budget, this week saw a much slower pace of activity by lawmakers with the legislature only being in session one day this week.
To see a summary released by the Legislative Fiscal Bureau of the budget adjustment bill that was signed into law last week, click here: http://www.legis.state.wi.us/lfb/2007-09budget/2009_02_23Act2.pdf
Governor Doyle was out of the state most of the week spending the first part of the week traveling to Washington, DC where he, along with the rest of the nation's governors, met with President Obama at the White House to discuss the components of the federal stimulus package that the President recently signed into law.
Later in the week, the Governor traveled to Spain where he is currently visiting with Spanish public and private officials about Spain's efforts in regard to high speed rail.
According to a WisPolitics interview with the Governor, Doyle says the purpose of the trip is to try to cultivate business partnerships with Spanish business officials about potential
partnerships with Wisconsin manufacturers, such as Super Steel in Milwaukee.
Doyle also said that he has spoken "very specifically" about the idle GM plant in
Janesville as a potential manufacturing site for passenger rail cars, though he
hasn't given up hope that the auto manufacturer will put the plant back to
work (www.wispolitics.com).
The other highlight of the week was unfortunately a somber one. On Thursday, it was announced that Wisconsin's unemployment rate spiked 1.8 percentage points in January, climbing
to 7.6 percent, which is nearly 3.0 percentage points higher than the rate of 4.9 percent for January
2008.
The national rate was 8.5 percent last month.
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Office of Recovery and Reinvestment - Overview
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On January 23, 2009, Governor Jim Doyle announced
plans to create the Office of Recovery and Reinvestment in preparation for the
state of Wisconsin's receipt of the more than $2 billion in projected federal
money will receive as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (the federal
stimulus package) that President Obama signed into law on Tuesday, February 17,
2009.
When announcing the office, the Governor said
the office would work to get money out the door for worthy and worthwhile
projects that immediately jumpstart job creation, maintain jobs and invest in
long-term economic growth in Wisconsin
after the federal government finalizes a stimulus package (www.wisgov.state.wi.us).
The Governor has appointed two well-known Madison officials - Gary Wolter, who is the Chairman,
President, and CEO of Madison
Gas and Electric, along with Alan Fish, the University of Wisconsin-Madison
Associate Vice Chancellor of Facilities, Planning and Management to oversee the
Office of Recovery and Reinvestment. Along with Wolter and Fish, the office
will be staffed by at least 15 state employees that come from a cross-section
of state agencies that stand to get funding from the stimulus package.
To view the Governor's January 23, 3009,
press release announcing the office, click here:
http://www.recovery.wisconsin.gov/journal_media_detail.asp?locid=164&prid=3917
To view the biographies of Gary Wolter and
Alan Fish, view here:
http://www.recovery.wisconsin.gov/section.asp?linkid=1513&locid=164
What
is in the Federal Stimulus Package for Wisconsin?
According the Governor's office, the state of
Wisconsin
will receive approximately $2 billion in the American Recovery and Reinvstment
Act (the federal stimulus package):
·
$550 million for
roads, bridges and other infrastructure projects. Under the state stimulus bill
unveiled last week, $300 million of those projects would be pre-approved (to
view the 47 pre-approved transportation projects go to page 110 of the LFB
document.
To view the LFB analysis, click here:
http://www.wispolitics.com/1006/090216LFBanalysisstimbill.pdf
·
The Governor
plans to seek a part of the $8 billion for railroad modernization and high
speed rail.
·
Education
incentive grants for schools in which Wisconsin
schools can compete for extra funding. The Governor expects that Wisconsin schools could get as much as $90 million
·
The stimulus bill
also includes $19 billion for health information technology, which the Governor
hopes state businesses like Epic Systems, Marshfield Clinic and GE Medical can
capitalize on.
·
Wisconsin will get $150 million of the $5 billion in the bill
earmarked for weatherization of homes.
To see more on the
impact of the federal stimulus bill to Wisconsin
view this document
from the White House (www.wispolitics.com).
Other parts of the legislation that are aimed
to benefit Wisconsin residents include
(according the office of U.S. Representative Ron Kind):
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The creation or
saving Creates or saves 70,000 jobs in Wisconsin
over the next two years.
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A "Making
Work Pay" tax cut of up to $800 for 2.2 million Wisconsin
workers and their families, designed to start paying out immediately into
workers' paychecks, as well as tax cuts for small businesses.
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Modernization of
schools and makes college more affordable with improved Pell Grants for the
91,532 Pell Grant recipients in Wisconsin and a higher education tax credit for
63,000 students in the state.
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Expands
unemployment and maintaining health care benefits for the 191,400 of
Wisconsinites that are out of work right now (www.house.gov/kind).
Mission of the Office
of Recovery and Reinvestment
As mentioned above, the Office of Recovery
and Reinvestment has been created to help quickly move federal stimulus funds
to create jobs. The Office of Recovery and Reinvestment will work with
communities, local governments and the private sector to make Wisconsin
ready for stimulus funding by:
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Coordinating
projects that can be started immediately and that will lead to long-term
economic investment in Wisconsin;
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Identifying and
removing possible barriers to the completion of projects;
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Assisting local
governments in implementing the federal stimulus package according to federal
guidelines.
According to its website, the
Office is aiming to capture stimulus funds and help make the state a leader in
technology and research, energy independence, green infrastructure, and
education-projects that make Wisconsin a beacon for new businesses and
long-term investment (www.recovery.wisconsin.gov).
How to interact with the Office of Recovery and
Reinvestment
Administration officials have
created an official website - www.recovery.wisconsin.gov
- that outlines how the agency will implement the state's portion of the
federal stimulus money.
Below are answers to some of
the frequently asked questions about the Office of Recovery and Reinvestment
(taken from www.recoverywisconsin.gov)
Suggesting a Project to be
Considered
If you have a project that
you think will fit the criteria in the stimulus package and will create jobs in
Wisconsin visit our website at www.recovery.wisconsin.gov.
Just click on the "Suggest" button and complete the form.
How
will Funding Decisions be made for the Stimulus Projects?
Decisions on which stimulus
projects should be selected and how they should be funded will be made under
the same process currently used by the Governor and the Legislature. All
major building decisions, major road projects and appropriations already have a
rigorous review and approval process in place. Creation of the Office of
Recovery and Reinvestment does not remove or change any current legislative
authority or oversight. The Office of Recovery and Reinvestment will help
analyze projects to determine if they meet the federal program criteria
and will help connect them to the correct stimulus program. The
Office will also make recommendations on changes that could help remove barriers
to quickly moving the stimulus fund
What
Accountability and Transparency Steps will the Office of Recovery Reinvestment
take?
The stimulus package includes
extensive provisions to ensure that the state spends funds appropriated under
the act consistently with the purposes of the act. The requirements include:
o Strict time
limits for obligating the funds
o Public
access to contract and grant information, primarily by use of the new website
o
Requirements for competitive contracting
o
Certifications by the Governor or local officials that infrastructure
expenditures have been fully reviewed and are an appropriate use of tax dollars
The stimulus package also
requires the state to report to the federal government the uses of funds
provided under the act, how the state distributed the funds it received, the
number of jobs the Governor estimates were saved or created with funds the
state received, tax increases that the Governor estimates were averted because
of the availability of funds and other information. The bill also includes
extensive provisions for federal oversight, reviews and audits, coordinated by
a Recovery Act Accountability and Transparency Board. It requires the state to
give federal inspectors general and the Board access to all records related to
contracts administered under the act and access to employees for interviews.
Why
is the State Moving so Fast in Distributing the Stimulus Money?
Currently, the federal
stimulus package provides some pots of money with the requirement that the
funds be obligated within 90 to 180 days or the money will go to a different
state. Even more important, every day there are announcements of plants
closing or downsizing and people losing their jobs. It is important to
get some of the stimulus money out as quickly as possible to create jobs and
help families that have been hit hard by the national economic crisis.
How
will the Stimulus Money be Distributed?
Both the House and Senate
stimulus packages establish more than a hundred specific programs. Many
programs are increases to existing programs with little or no discretion and
some are competitive grants which will require project proposals to be prepared
and submitted to federal agencies. The federal stimulus legislation does
not create large block grants to be transferred to states.
Oversight
of the Office of Recovery and Reinvestment
In order to ensure legislative oversight of
the delivery of the stimulus bill, legislative leaders in negotiating the state
stimulus package, requires Governor to provide the Joint Finance Committee Co-chairs,
Senator Mark Miller (D-Monona) and Representative Mark Pocan (D-Madison) with a
plan for the expenditure of federal stimulus funds.
After receiving the plans, the co-chairs
could direct the governor to implement the plan, or the JFC could convene
within 14 days to either approve the plan or modify it (www.wispolitics.com).
To see an article about the oversight of the
distribution stimulus money, click here:
http://www.madison.com/wsj/home/local/438915
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The Week Ahead
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Neither the Assembly or Senate are in session next week.
However, several committees will meet next week.
Mar 3
Tue
Jobs, the Economy and Small Business
(Assembly)
9:00 AM
328 Northwest
Items:
Jobs and the Economy
Public Hearing
Mar 3
Tue
Rural Economic Development
(Assembly)
10:00 AM
300 Northeast
Items:
Matching Displaced Rural Workers with High-Demand Occupations;
Department of Commerce Programs to Encourage Rural Economic
Development; An Economic Forecast for Rural Wisconsin; The Role of
Entrepreneurship in Growing Rural Economies
Public Hearing
Mar 3
Tue
Strengthening Wisconsin Families
(Legislative Council)
10:00 AM
411 South, State Capitol, Madison
Items:
(None)
Overview:
· Discussion of and testimony by invited speakers on WLC: 0346/3,
relating to creating a family policy board and requiring counties to
provide prevention resources.
· Discussion of WLC: 0383/2, relating to requiring notice to relatives
when a child is taken into custody.
· Presentation by invited speakers on child welfare services provided
by the Department of Children and Families.
Study Meeting
Mar 3
Tue
Public Safety
(Assembly)
11:00 AM
417 North (GAR Hall)
Items:
Assembly Bill 17
Public Hearing
Mar 4
Wed
Regional Transportation Authority
(Legislative Council)
10:00 AM
Legislative Fiscal Bureau Conference Room, 1 East Main Street, Suite 301
Items:
(None)
Overview: · Discussion of committee legislation:
o WLC: 0063/1, relating to the creation of regional transit authorities, requiring a referendum, and making appropriations.
· Discussion of committee assignment.
Study Meeting
Mar 4
Wed
Health and Healthcare Reform
(Assembly)
11:00 AM
417 North (GAR Hall)
Items:
Assembly Bill 76; LRB 1475/3
Public Hearing
Mar 5
Thu
Criminal Justice
(Assembly)
10:00 AM
328 Northwest
Items:
Assembly Bill 27; Assembly Bill 47; Assembly Bill 70
Public Hearing
Lastly, reports are that the major legislative work on the 2009-11 Biennial Budget will begin in earnest in two weeks.
It is expected that the Legislative Fiscal Bureau will release its analysis of the Governor's budget the week of March 16th. The Joint Finance Committee is expected to begin meeting on the budget the week of March 23rd.
To view a copy of the 2009-11 Biennial Budget, click here:
http://doa.wi.gov/debf/execbudget.asp?locid=3
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