Special Session on Job Creation. The bills that passed protect businesses and others from lawsuits and provide tax breaks for those with health savings accounts.

Special SessionAssembly/Senate Bill 1 (Civil Justice Reform/Quality Improvement)

-"Tort Reform"

SSAB1/SSSB1 passed the Senate on Tuesday on a party-line vote of 19 to 14 and passed the Assembly on Thursday by a 57-36 margin. It is expected that the Governor will sign the new legislation soon.

This legislationwould:

· Limit noneconomic damages - such as payments for pain and suffering - to $750,000 in medical malpractice cases at nursing homes. That limit matches the one already in place for other types of medical malpractice cases.

· Limit punitive damages to $200,000 or double the amount of compensatory damages, whichever is higher.

· Raise the standards for qualifying people as experts when they testify (www.jsonline.com).

Special SessionAssembly/Senate Bill 2 (Health Savings Accounts)

SSAB2/SSSB2 passed both the Senate and Assembly on Thursday by overwhelming majorities. The legislation creates a nonrefundable individual income tax credit for certain amounts relating to health savings accounts, that may be deducted from, or are exempt from, federal income taxes.

Under current federal law, certain individuals may make tax-deductible contributions to health savings accounts (HSAs) and withdraw the money tax-free when needed to cover routine an preventive medical care. 

Under this bill, an individual who makes contributions to such an HSA may claim a nonrefundable income tax credit for 6.5 percent of the allowable amount that the individual claims as a federal tax deduction for a contribution to an HSA or 6.5 percent of the federal tax-exempt earnings relating to an HSA, or both.

The Governor is expected to sign HSA bill soon as well.
 

Along the Wisconsin-Minnesota border in Hudson this week, Governor Walker declared, "These signs proudly proclaim Wisconsin is open for business."  Walker further added, "Along with the symbolic nature of these signs, there are going to be substantive changes to the way our state government treats job creators. The pro-growth initiatives I support stand in stark contrast to those policies being discussed in our bordering states. These signs are aimed directly at job creators to make them aware that they are welcome here."

To read about Governor Walker's visit to Hudson, Wisconsin, click here:

U.S. Representative Paul Ryan (R-Janesville) announced this week that he has been chosen by U.S. House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner to give the Republican response to President Obama's State of the Union speech. Ryan, who is in his seventh term and is the Chair of the powerful House Budget Committee, is expected to speak for about 10 minutes following the President's address.

It is expected that Ryan, who is considered one of the leading fiscal hawks in Congress, will lay out the Republicans' response to the President on how to best tackle the expanding federal deficit by reducing spending and shrinking the size of the federal government.

The State of the Union is scheduled for this Tuesday, January 25th at 8 p.m. CST.

To read about Ryan's announcement, click here: