The Legislature will begin another floor period next week.  Possibly on the agenda will be passage of SB-190, automatic renewal of contracts.  The bill has passed the Senate and was reported out of committee in the Assembly before they adjourned for the holidays.  We encourage all of our members to call their legislator and encourage passage of this important small business bill.

AB-524 and SB-352 are bills that would raise the small claims court limit to $10,000.  The present limit of $5,000 has not been changed in over a decade.  These bills would raise the limit for those that file less than 20 small claims actions in a 365 day period to $10,000.  Raising of the limit would bring relief for small business owners trying to collect on what is owed them.  Every month WIB receives calls from members who need to try to collect what is owed them and many find they are over the small claims court limit.  AB-524 was passed by the Assembly committee last month but now, after a delay, has been sent to the Joint Finance Committee.  This probably means the bill is dead for this session but it has laid a good groundwork for next session.

Possibly the most expensive problem facing the business owners of Wisconsin for the next few years will be the state of the Unemployment Insurance (UI) fund.  It is now projected to be over $2.7 billion in the hole by the end of 2011.  This is money that must be paid back to the Federal government.  Wisconsin employers will pay higher UI taxes in 2010 and now face years of extra payments to repay the fund deficit.  Every business in Wisconsin will have to pay, the question is how the shares are divided.  In the past it has come down to mostly large, maximum rated, negative balance business vs. small, positive balance businesses.  WIB will continue to fight to make sure that our members pay only their fair share of the debt.  Please fax a copy of your 2010 tax notice to WIB at 608-255-6600.  This will give us the ammunition to fight for the small businesses in Wisconsin.

WIB wants to hear from you on these and any other issues you, the small business owners of Wisconsin, are facing.  Please email us at mmetz@wibiz.org or call Mike Metz at 800-362-9644.  We need your support and input to help in the fight to protect the small businesses of Wisconsin.