Posted by Representative Garey Bies, Mar 6, 2010
 
Good afternoon to the people of the First Assembly District.  Warmer temperatures this week came as a reminder that spring is just around the corner.  Unfortunately, the economic and employment indicators out this week do not show a similar warming trend.  The economy was supposed to be saved by the stimulus but as time has gone on it became apparent we needed a new approach.  As I’ve traveled to meetings and spoken with business leaders throughout the First Assembly District, it has become clear that we need to do more to help create jobs and strengthen our economy.  Over the past few weeks I have been working with some of my fellow legislators to create several targeted initiatives to help retain and create new jobs in our area.

 In crafting our proposals we focused on the types of jobs that provide the foundation of many of our local economies.  We are proposing the creation of three different tax credits to help keep jobs in our area and add new jobs by making it cheaper to employ people or to bring in new clients.  Creating family supporting jobs in these core areas provides a base for the rest of the economy.  More people building ships means more people buying houses; more tourists visiting the area means more hotel rooms rented, more people eating in restaurants, and more people visiting specialty shops.

 First, we are proposing legislation to promote state tourism by providing to Wisconsin’s hospitality industry a 10% tax credit for out of state advertising.  In 2008, travelers spent $13 billion in Wisconsin which generated $2 billion in state and local taxes and supported thousands of jobs.  Like the rest of the economy, the recession had a dramatic negative impact on the tourism industry with a decline of over 13% on average, statewide.  People are still traveling, but tend to take their vacations closer to home and we need to take advantage of the opportunity to bring those travelers to Wisconsin.  This legislation will help the tourism industry rebound by lowering the cost to businesses for out of state advertising with the goal of drawing additional out of state travelers.

 Second, we are introducing legislation to help maintain current employment and create new jobs in the Wisconsin shipbuilding industry.  Since the beginning of the recession, Wisconsin has lost 120,000 jobs, with the manufacturing sector being particularly hard hit.  The loss of so many high-paying manufacturing jobs has devastated our economy, and that is why we are circulating this proposal.  Along the shores of Lakes Michigan and Superior, the shipbuilding industry has been a cornerstone of local economies.  In Door County, Bay Shipbuilding and Palmer Johnson Builders are the 1 ^st and 5^th largest employers respectively. In these difficult times we need to help our industries compete and provide jobs.  The legislation will provide a 10% payroll tax credit for existing employees and a 30% payroll tax credit for new employees.

 Third, we are introducing legislation to promote the expansion of broadband internet access to rural and low-income areas.  The lack of high speed internet access puts an area at a competitive disadvantage when competing to attract new or expanding businesses. 

 Our proposal would create a tax credit for the installation of broadband service.  Under the bill, the installation of broadband service to an area that does not have any broadband access qualifies for a tax credit equal to 20% of the infrastructure cost to provide such service.  Providing broadband service of at least 5 megabytes per second (mbps) to a rural or low-income area that already has some broadband access qualifies for a 10% tax credit.  Providing broadband service of at least 50 mbps to a rural or low-income area qualifies for a 20% tax credit. 

 It is my hope that these three initiatives will see quick action in the legislature this spring.  We need to move now to help get our economy moving again and put people back to work.

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