Brian Dake

The Trump administration will make available an additional 15,000 H-2B visas, meant for temporary non-agricultural workers, this fiscal year, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said on Friday.

The increase would help relieve U.S. businesses that depend on seasonal labor during the busy summer tourist season. Many of them had complained that a visa shortage was pushing them toward economic ruin.

The U.S. government had issued 66,000 such visas this year, through a lottery for the first time, versus the usual first-come, first-served basis. Businesses which usually receive enough visas for temporary workers reported this year that many of their applications had been denied.

Net income rose 23.3% and net lending grew by 8.8% at Wisconsin’s state-chartered
banks in the first quarter of 2018 compared to the same period in 2017, according to data released today by the Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions (DFI).

Compared to the first quarter of 2017, Wisconsin’s 160 state-chartered banks:

• Increased net loans to $39.0 billion, up from $35.8 billion.
• Posted a net income of $158.7 million, up from $128.7 million.
• Reduced their past-due loan ratio to 1.22%, down from 1.23%.
• Posted a solid capital ratio of 11.48%, down from 11.64%.

“The performance of our state-chartered banks is yet another sign of a prosperous and growing
Wisconsin economy,” said DFI Secretary Jay Risch. “Our community banks help fuel the economy by providing their business customers and consumers with the products and services they need and want.”

In the first quarter, more than 75% of all state-chartered banks posted earnings gains compared to the prior year.

In a case involving Verona health software giant Epic Systems, a divided Supreme Court ruled Monday that businesses can prohibit their workers from banding together in disputes over pay and conditions in the workplace.

Department of Workforce Development (DWD) Secretary Ray Allen released the following statement on today’s release by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics  showing that Wisconsin’s record-low unemployment rate of 2.8 percent in April was the 5th lowest rate among all states, and tied with Iowa for the lowest rate among Midwestern states.

Additionally, Wisconsin’s labor force participation rate of 68.9 percent ranked 5th highest nationally, and the state’s year-over-year addition of 13,700 manufacturing jobs ranked 2nd nationally.

“Wisconsin’s robust manufacturing industry is growing, we have more people employed today than ever before and the number of unemployed Wisconsinites is approaching record lows as our unemployment rate is among the lowest in the country,” Secretary Allen said. “At the DWD, we will continue to work in collaboration with state and local partners on strategies to retain and attract more talent to Wisconsin by showcasing the tremendous opportunities that our state offers for career and personal fulfilment.”

Highlights of today’s state-by-state rankings by BLS include:

• Wisconsin ranked 3rd nationally in the number of manufacturing jobs added in 2018.
• Wisconsin’s addition of 13,700 manufacturing jobs from April 2017 to April 2018 ranked 2nd nationally.
• Wisconsin’s 0.2 percent labor force participation rate increase in April ranked tied for 2nd nationally.
• Wisconsin’s labor force participation rate of 68.9 percent in April ranked 5th nationally.
• Wisconsin’s record-low unemployment rate of 2.8 percent in April ranks 5th nationally and tied for 1st in the Midwest.

Yesterday, Governor Scott Walker announced the launch of ChildTaxRebate.wi.gov, the website where eligible Wisconsinites can claim their $100-Per-Child Tax Rebate. The rebate can be claimed at ChildTaxRebate.wi.gov from May 15 through July 2, 2018.

“The state has a larger than expected budget surplus, and we’re returning it to Wisconsin’s hardworking families,” said Governor Walker. “As parents, Tonette and I know that every little bit helps, and this $100-per-child tax rebate can go toward school supplies, activity fees, or a co-pay at the doctor or dentist. We urge everyone with children under the age of 18 as of December 31, 2017 to claim their credit on ChildTaxRebate.wi.gov from today through July 2.”

Wisconsin families who claim the rebate will receive $100 for each child living at home under the age of 18 as of December 31, 2017. Eligible parents must apply for their $100-Per-Child Tax Rebate online between May 15 and July 2, so they can receive the money before school starts this fall. Direct deposits or mailed checks will be delivered by September 1, 2018 in time for the new school year.

On Monday, the Supreme Court struck down a 1992 federal law that prohibited all states except Nevada from allowing sports betting.

New Jersey led the lawsuit, with the support of 18 other states that want to use sports gambling for college and professional teams to bring in more tourism and tax revenue.

A representative with the Wisconsin Department of Administration said “sports gaming is prohibited by the Wisconsin Constitution, state law, and is not allowed under the state tribal compacts.”

“Between the constitution and the compacts that are in place already in the state of Wisconsin, it really won’t have a bearing one way or the other,” said Gov. Scott Walker.

he 6-3 ruling by the Supreme Court lets states decide if they want to make sports gambling legal, as well as in what capacity, such as online, in casinos or in sports bars.

For Wisconsin to allow sports gambling in casinos, tribes would need to renegotiate their compacts with the governor.

Net income and total lending grew by double digits at Wisconsin’s 128 state-chartered credit unions in the first quarter of 2018 compared to same quarter in 2017, according to data released  by the Department of Financial Institutions (DFI).

In the three months ending March 31, 2018:

· Net income totaled $103.4 million, up 26.0% from $82.1 million in 2017.

· Total loans were $28.0 billion, up 12.6% from $24.9 billion.

· Net worth was 11.20%, up from 10.89%.

· The delinquent loan ratio was 0.60%, down from 0.61%.

“State-chartered credit unions in the first quarter picked up where they left off at the end of 2017,” DFI Secretary Jay Risch said. “Their continued strong performance indicates they are providing their members with the right mix of products and services, which is helping to fuel Wisconsin’s already strong economy.”

Paul Ryan says he needs notice of a NAFTA deal by May 17 if the current Congress is going to be able to vote on it, suggesting talks are pushing up against the constraints of American trade law.

The House Speaker, in remarks delivered Wednesday in Washington, said U.S. Trade Promotion Authority regulations mean next week is a deadline for the Trump administration if it wants to pass a new North American Free Trade Agreement before a new Congress is sworn in.

The existing NAFTA remains on the books unless a country withdraws, which would require six months notice. No country has given that notice, though President Donald Trump has threatened to do so.

Ryan met Thursday with Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland in Washington, and the two discussed U.S. trade law and the impending timelines. A NAFTA deal “will take as long as it takes,” she said. Freeland was twice asked Thursday by reporters whether Ryan mentioned a deadline of next week, and didn’t specifically answer.

“I think the rules are set out quite clearly in the TPA legislation, and it was certainly useful for me to hear directly from some of the people who actually wrote it how they see that process playing out,” she said. When pressed, Freeland added: “We discussed how the TPA legislation could come into play.”

What has more than five times as many words as the King James Bible, Harry Potter series, and the Lord of the Rings combined? The Wisconsin Administrative Code, which contains around 12 million words.

Red Tape Review is an initiative that started in 2015 in order to review and update all of Wisconsin’s Administrative Code. The administrative code encompasses all of the various rules implemented by state agencies to allow for the efficient running of the state and is comprised of 159,253 rules that have been put in place by agencies such as the Department of Natural Resources, the Department of Transportation, and the Department of Justice. With the many different agencies implementing these rules, the regulations are very diverse; the code encompasses everything from deer hunting to voter registration.

It is essential that we continue to look at the rules to make sure that they stay current, and repeal or replace those that are no longer needed. Since we started the Red Tape Review, we have combed through 40% of the Administrative Code and eliminated and repealed rules that were outdated or burdened Wisconsin citizens and businesses. So far, 769 of 1,736 chapters have been reviewed.

In order to streamline the process of repealing unauthorized rules, I authored 2017 Wisconsin Act 108, which helps establish a way for state agencies to review their regulations on a regular basis, as well as organize a system to examine the impact of new acts.