• SSAB2 was voted out of the Assembly Committee on Health on Thursday on a 7-3-1 vote.
• SSSB2 was voted out of the Senate Committee on Health on Thursday on a 3-2 vote.
   

Special Session Assembly/Senate Bill 3 (Business Relocation Tax Credit)

SSAB3/SSSB3 creates an income and franchise tax credit for a business for two consecutive taxable years beginning with the taxable year in which the business locates to this state from another state and begins operations in this state. The credit
is equal to the amount of the taxpayer's income or franchise tax liability after
applying all other credits, deductions, and exclusions. The taxpayer does not receive
a refund of the credit amount, but, instead, may apply the credit amount to
subsequent taxable years.
 

• SSAB3 had a public hearing in the Assembly Committee on Rural Economic Development and Rural Affairs on Tuesday.  And the Committee voted to pass the Legislation on Thursday on a 14-1 vote (Rep. Roys voting no).

• SSSB3 had a public hearing in the Senate Committee on Small Business, Workforce Development and Tourism on Wednesday.  The Committee voted to pass the Legislation unanimously on Thursday, 5-0.

SSAB4/SSSB4;  Under current law, the Department of Commerce (Commerce) may allocate tax credits to certain businesses under the economic development tax credit program.  The economic development tax credit program consolidates several economic development−related tax credit programs and provides that the total amount of credits allocated under the consolidated program may not exceed the sum of the tax credits remaining under the other programs. This bill increases the total amount of credits that Commerce may allocate under the economic development tax credit program by $25,000,000.

• SSAB4 had a public hearing in the Assembly Committee on Jobs, Economy and Small Business on Tuesday.  And the Committee voted to pass the Legislation on Thursday on a 9-6 vote.

• SSSB4 had a public hearing in the Senate Committee on Small Business, Workforce Development and Tourism on Wednesday.  The Committee voted to pass the Legislation unanimously on Thursday, 5-0.

SSAB5/SSSB5;  This bill prohibits either house of the legislature from passing a bill that increases the rate of the state sales tax or that increases any of the rates of the income tax or franchise tax unless the bill is approved by two−thirds of those members present and voting. The bill, however, specifies that this prohibition does not apply if the legislature passes a joint resolution requiring a statewide advisory referendum on the question of whether the legislature should authorize the tax increase provided in the bill and a majority of voters voting at the referendum vote to approve the tax increase.

• SSAB5 has been referred to the Assembly Committee on Ways & Means and does not have a public hearing scheduled as of yet.
   

• SSSB5 has been referred to the Senate Committee on Judiciary, Utilities, Commerce and Government Operations and does not have a public hearing scheduled as of yet.

SSAB6/SSSB6;  This bill would create the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation that would assume the responsibilities of and more sharply focus the role of the State's Department of Commerce.  The WEDC would be governed by a 12 member board appointed by and led by the governor of the State of Wisconsin.   

• SSAB6 and SSSB6 had a joint public hearing in the Senate and Assembly Economic Development Committees on Thursday.  Neither committee has a vote scheduled as of right now.
   

SSAB7/SSSB7;  This bill creates an income and franchise tax credit for small businesses. Under
the bill, a business that has less than $500,000 in gross receipts in the taxable year
may claim as a credit a percentage of the taxpayer's tax liability based on the amount
of the gross receipts that exceed $250,000. If the business has no more than $250,000
in gross receipts in the taxable year, the business may claim a credit equal to 15
percent of its tax liability. Under the bill, the taxpayer does not receive a refund, but
may apply any remaining credit amounts to subsequent taxable years.

• SSAB7 had a public hearing in the Assembly Committee on Jobs, Economy and Small Business on Tuesday.  And the Committee voted to pass the Legislation on Thursday on a 9-6 vote.

• SSSB7 had a public hearing in the Senate Committee on Small Business, Workforce Development and Tourism on Wednesday.  The Committee voted to pass the Legislation unanimously on Thursday, 5-0.

• To identify waste, fraud and abuse in state government programs and state appropriations and recommend solutions.
• To obtain and review all budget documentation for each state agency, including detailed information regarding the appropriations and programs administered and the related personnel costs.  
• To advise the governor about the long and short-term impact of the Commission's recommendations on state appropriations, efforts to make government smaller and more efficient, and ongoing economic development initiatives.

Mr. Craig Rakowski was appointed Chairperson of the Commission by Governor Walker.  The bios of Mr. Rakowski and other Commission members is below:
 
Craig Rakowski-Rakowski worked as a certified public accountant for 29 years primarily dealing with housing and construction clients.  He now serves as the CEO and President of James Craig Builders.  He will serve as the chairperson of the Waste, Fraud and Abuse Commission.

Ara Cherchian - Cherchian is part-owner of Northern Wire in Merrill and the former owner of Northland Stainless in Tomahawk.  He is also a former Board member and Board chair of the Wisconsin Manufacturing Extension Partnership.

Cindy Archer-Archer has a long history of public service, working at the Wisconsin Department of Administration, Department of Corrections, and most recently as the Director of Administrative Services of Milwaukee County.  She is now currently serving as the Deputy Secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Administration

Sen. Frank Lasee-Senator Lasee represents the 1st Senate District and will be serving as the Republican representative from the Senate.

Sen. Chris Larson ­- Senator Larson represents the 7th Senate District and will be serving as the Democratic representative from the Senate.

Rep. Samantha Kerkman - Representative Kerkman represents the 66th Assembly District and will be serving as the Republican representative from the Assembly.

Rep. Mark Pocan - Representative Pocan represents the 78th Assembly District and will be serving as the Democratic representative from the Assembly. 
 

The Joint Legislative Audit Committee this week held a public hearing and voted to approve a proposed audit of the state's Medical Assistance Program.  
 

Wisconsin's Medical Assistance program consists of two main subprograms: a longstanding subprogram for elderly, blind, and disabled individuals; and BadgerCare Plus, which began in February 2008 and was authorized by 2007 Wisconsin Act 20, the 2007-09 Biennial Budget Act. BadgerCare Plus was created by merging its predecessor, BadgerCare, with family coverage under the Medical Assistance program, and by expanding income limits and creating coverage for additional groups of individuals.

In fiscal year 2009-10, benefit expenditures totaled $6.7 billion. Approximately 70.2 percent of these expenditures were funded with federal revenue, 19.3 percent with GPR, and 10.5 percent with other sources, primarily segregated revenue through the State's Medical Assistance Trust Fund. From January through November 2010, the average number of monthly Medical Assistance recipients totaled 1,048,546, 73.2 percent of which were receiving services through BadgerCare Plus. These figures exclude expenditures and enrollment related to the SeniorCare program.

Among those testifying at the hearing and welcoming the Audit were newly appointed Department of Health Services Deputy Secretary Kitty Rhoades and Medicaid Director Brett Davis.  Both Rhoades and Davis are former Republican members of the State Assembly.

The scope of the Audit of the Medical Assistance program will include the following:

• a review of trends in program expenditures by funding source and type, including a detailed review of administrative costs;
   
• a review of trends in the number of Medical Assistance recipients by sub-program category;
   
• an analysis to apportion cost increases among increased caseloads, increased service costs, and increased administrative costs;
   
• to the extent reliable data are available, an analysis of trends in program service costs by category, such as physician office visits, nursing home care, and inpatient hospital stays;
• a review of contract payments for selected administrative services, including services provided by HP Enterprise Services, which acts as the fiscal agent for Medical Assistance;
• a review of how Medical Assistance costs and benefits in Wisconsin compare to those of other midwestern states; and
• a review of cost containment strategies that other states have implemented to address rising costs in their Medical Assistance programs, including a program that was highlighted by Sen. Julie Lassa (D-Plover) at the Marshfield Clinic as a possible best practice.

The Joint Committee approved the audit and the amended scope unanimously.  This will be a lengthy project and the LAB has said it is likely some portions of the Audit will be accelerated to be available for consideration during the budget deliberations, and other portions, may not be ready until after the budget debate.

At the conclusion of the hearing State Auditor Janice Mueller updated on the status of an audit currently being wrapped up of Wisconsin's Family Care program, the state's Long-Term Care program.  That program accounts for $900 million of the state's Medical Assistance Program, and the Audit will be released by March at the latest, but likely in February.