Month: March 2021

Governor Evers Approves Plans for Ho-Chunk Casino in Beloit

Posted on March 26, 2021 by

Gov. Tony Evers signed off Wednesday on the Ho-Chunk Nation’s plans to open a casino and entertainment complex in Beloit, hailing the project as job creator that will help the region recover from the economic damage of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The U.S. Department of the Interior in April approved taking 32 acres just north of the Illinois border into trust for the purpose of developing the complex. Federal law gives governors the power to approve or reject off-reservation casinos.

The complex would include one of the largest casinos in the state as well as a 300-room hotel with more than 45,000 square feet of meeting and convention space, and a 40,000-square-foot indoor waterpark.

The Department of the Interior now must issue a final determination on taking the land into trust. Evers and the Ho-Chunk then must amend the tribe’s gaming compact with the state.

“As we work to bounce back from this pandemic, we must do everything we can to support economic development in communities across our state,” Evers said in a statement.

The Ho-Chunk already run three casinos in Wisconsin — one in Nekoosa, one in Baraboo and one in Black River Falls. The tribe’s gaming compact with the state allows it to operate a fourth. Plans for the Beloit facility have been in the works for more than 20 years.

Beloit voters approved the project in a 1999 referendum. The tribe purchased the land in 2009 and has been working to win federal and gubernatorial approval to build a casino there since 2012.

Wisconsin Legislature Approves Funding Bill for Utility Ratepayer Advocate

Posted on March 24, 2021 by

Wisconsin lawmakers have approved a bill to provide the state’s consumer advocate with funding to negotiate more favorable utility rates.

The bill, passed by the Senate Tuesday, would direct $900,000 a year from ratepayers of Wisconsin’s investor-owned utilities to the Customer Utility Board (CUB), an independent nonprofit organization established by the Legislature to represent utility customers. Funding would be administered by the Public Service Commission, which would have oversight of the organization’s budget.

“Wisconsin homeowners, renters and small businesses will now have an even more effective consumer advocate working on their behalf in the years ahead,” said CUB executive director Tom Content.

Content said the additional revenue will allow CUB to expand its staff and better represent ratepayer interests under a 2018 law that encourages utilities to negotiate rates with consumer advocates and other interested parties.

The new model is expected to cost customers of investor-owned utilities a little less than 2 cents a month. Content said that in the past 15 years CUB has saved ratepayers $3.6 billion, a return of $170 on the dollar.

The bill prohibits CUB from using that funding on lobbying or work on rates and practices of municipal utilities, though it would be eligible to receive up to $100,000 in additional funding from the PSC for other work, such as intervention in a water rate case.

The bill also streamlines some PSC regulatory procedures, including:

  • Allowing utilities to file a single application to build a generator and associated transmission line; current law requires a separate application for the line.
  • Doubling the cost threshold to $5 million for natural gas projects requiring commission approval.
  • Eliminating the requirement for the PSC to conduct an environmental review of its 2-year strategic energy plan.

The bill, passed unanimously by the Senate and Assembly, now heads to Gov. Tony Evers, who previously endorsed the proposal and included most of the language in his biennial budget.