Brian Dake

Governor Evers, Oneida Nation Chairman Hill Sign Compact Amendment Permitting Event Wagering

Posted on July 2, 2021 by

Yesterday, Governor Tony Evers and Oneida Chairman Tehassi Hill signed a historic compact amendment that expands allowable gaming at Oneida Nation casinos and affiliate locations in the state of Wisconsin to include event wagering. This compact amendment will be the first to allow event wagering, including sports betting, to occur in Wisconsin.

“Event wagering,” as defined by the compact amendment, can include sports and events betting such as wagering on nationally televised award shows, professional sports league drafts, and professional sporting events such as the National Football League, the National Basketball Association, and Major League Baseball.  The current compact amendment does not allow for wagering on Wisconsin college athletics. Wagering is also prohibited on the outcomes of elections for public office and for events with participants under the age of 19.

The compact amendment signed today follows months of negotiations between the Oneida Nation and the Wisconsin Department of Administration’s (DOA) Division of Gaming. The agreement will be sent to the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and the Bureau has 45 days to review and approve the compact amendment.

If approved, the Oneida Nation can begin expanding operations to allow event wagering at Oneida Casino. The compact amendment also allows for remote event wagering on land owned by the Nation or held in trust for the Oneida Nation by the federal government that contains a commercial building owned or leased by the Oneida Nation. The Oneida Nation hopes to begin offering event wagering in time for the upcoming football season.

Governor Evers Vetoes Bill That Would Have Ended Federal Unemployment Benefits Early

Posted on June 30, 2021 by

Gov. Tony Evers vetoed a bill on Tuesday that would have ended Wisconsin’s participation in federal pandemic relief programs that increase the amount of government assistance available for unemployed people. The supplemental assistance is set to expire on Sept. 6, but at least 25 states started phasing it out earlier this month.

The bill would have reduced the maximum weekly unemployment benefit in Wisconsin from $670 per week to $370 week. It also would have prevented the state Department of Workforce Development from waiving unemployment work search requirements for any reason related to COVID-19. It passed on party-line votes in both chambers of the Legislature.

“Eliminating this lifeline for many Wisconsinites will cause continued economic hardship for those impacted the most by the pandemic and create additional hurdles to return to family-sustaining jobs,” Evers wrote in his veto message. “As a result, the entire state economy likely would be negatively affected.”

“The Legislature needs to confront issues surrounding child care, wages, and workplace COVID-19 safety for those returning to the workforce,” Evers wrote. “Eliminating the supplemental federal benefits while simultaneously failing to address systemic problems faced by individuals remaining in and returning to the workforce is irresponsible.”

Sen. Howard Marklein, R-Spring Green, disputed Evers’ assertion that there is no link between the extra money and the state’s workforce shortage.

“Every single employer I have talked to is challenged to find workers. Hardworking employees, who have been stretched very thin, tell me that they are getting tired,” Marklein said. “From restaurants to manufacturers to city governments to state parks. Every single employer is competing with the government’s unnecessary enhanced unemployment checks.”

Unemployment insurance should be a “safety net,” not a “brick wall for employers,” Marklein argued. Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, argued the veto only serves to add “one more hurdle” for businesses trying to recover from the pandemic.

Wisconsin Housing Market Strong Even as Inventories Remain Tight

Posted on June 22, 2021 by

Both existing home sales and median prices rose by double-digit margins in May compared to their levels 12 months earlier, when the economy was in lockdown. Housing supply remains very tight with just 2.8 months of available supply in the state. Inventory is tight in all regions, across all urban/rural classifications and across all price ranges

“Basic economics tells us that strong and growing demand in a world of tight supply is going to create significant price pressure, and that’s exactly what we’re seeing in the state housing market. Median prices through the first five months are up at an annual pace of 12.1%. Unless demand moderates or supply improves, neither of which is likely in 2021, we can expect to see more of the same price appreciation through the end of this year. The good news is that mortgage rates remain very low by historical standards, which has at least partially offset the impact of significant price pressure on housing affordability in the state.  Hopefully the inflationary pressures don’t intensify, which could cause mortgage rates to increase and lower affordability,” said Michael Theo, President & CEO of the Wisconsin Realtors Association.

 

Wisconsin Legislature’s Budget Committee Wraps Up with Massive Tax Cuts

Posted on June 18, 2021 by

Taking advantage of an unexpected revenue windfall, Republicans on the Wisconsin Legislature’s budget committee voted Thursday to approve about $3.4 billion in income, business and property tax cuts, wrapping up its work on the two-year spending plan.

The Republican plan would bring the state’s third income tax bracket down from 6.27%  to 5.3%, generating about $2.7 billion in relief. That bracket encompasses individuals making between $23,930 and $263,480 per year, and households earning between $31,910 and $351,310 per year.

Lawmakers set aside $202 million to offset a repeal of the state’s personal property tax which applies, in general, to furniture, equipment, machinery and watercraft owned by businesses. A portion of that tax — which provides funding to schools and local governments — was eliminated in the 2017-19 budget.

Committee co-chair Sen. Howard Marklein, R-Spring Green, noted that the tax is frustrating for those who pay it because it continues to apply every year — not just when the taxed item is purchased.

The motions passed Thursday also include a $72 million increase in aid to technical colleges and an additional $408 million for general school aid. They also remove a reduction in general school aid associated with some independent charter schools. Because spending caps remain in place, that funding would result in a decrease in property taxes. In total, the budget reduces property taxes by about $647 million.

The Republican tax measures are based on the idea that “taxpayers will do a better job, a more responsible job” than government would with the majority of the $4.4 billion more than expected that the state is projected to take in over a three-year period, said co-chair Rep. Mark Born, R-Beaver Dam.

State to Give 84,000 Wisconsin Small Businesses $5,000 grants by End of June

Posted on June 1, 2021 by

Some 84,000 Wisconsin businesses have been invited to apply for a $5,000 grant to be distributed by the Wisconsin Department of Revenue and Wisconsin Economic Development Corp.

Gov. Tony Evers authorized $420 million, through funding received by the American Rescue Plan Act, to be distributed to businesses that apply by 4:30 p.m. on June 7.

The businesses selected to be eligible for the grants had to have an annual gross revenue between $10,000 and $7 million.

Last year WEDC distributed $240 million to roughly 60,000 small businesses through funds received from the CARES Act.  Businesses that received funding last year could be eligible again for this new round of funding. Also, businesses that were started in 2020 are also eligible.

WEDC said the state is hoping to start distributing the grants to businesses as early as the first week in June, with the goal of having all the money distributed by the end of June.

Those interested in learning more about the program should visit the Department of Revenue website.

Application Period Open for $420 million in Wisconsin Tomorrow Small Business Recovery Grants

Posted on May 24, 2021 by

Applications for up to $420 million in new Wisconsin Tomorrow Small Business Recovery Grants for small businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic will open at 8 a.m. Monday, May 24 through 4:30 p.m. Monday, June 7, Governor Tony Evers announced today.

The Wisconsin Tomorrow Small Business Recovery Grants program is a collaboration between the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) and the Department of Revenue (DOR). The effort, funded by the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA).

The grants will provide as many as 84,000 Wisconsin small businesses with annual gross revenue between $10,000 and $7 million with a flat award of $5,000.

The grants are part of Gov. Evers’ plan to use the $2.5 billion the state will receive under the ARPA, which includes $600 million in funds designated to supporting small businesses. The Wisconsin Tomorrow Small Business Recovery grants are included in that $600 million.

The new grants will target Wisconsin small businesses, including those that started in 2020, in sectors that have been hit hardest by the pandemic. Individuals and businesses interested in learning more about the Wisconsin Tomorrow Small Business Recovery Grant program by visiting the main page of the Department of Revenue, www.revenue.wi.gov.

 

Wisconsin Republicans Want to End $300 Unemployment Bonus

Posted on May 19, 2021 by

Wisconsin Republicans want to end the $300-per-week federal unemployment supplement, which they said Tuesday hurts businesses that are struggling to fill vacancies as customers return amid a loosening of coronavirus restrictions.

The bill comes after the state chamber of commerce, more than a dozen trade groups, more than 50 local chambers of commerce and others called on Evers to return the state’s unemployment payments to pre-pandemic levels. Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson and Wisconsin’s five Republican members of Congress last week also asked Evers to rescind the $300 payment.

More than a dozen states with Republican governors have moved to eliminate the $300 payment. That payment is on top of Wisconsin’s weekly $370 unemployment benefit.

Ron Buholzer, one of the owners of Klondike Cheese Co. in Monroe, said he has 34 open positions now and has few applicants, despite raising starting salaries from $14 to $16 an hour.

“The help we have, they’re getting tired,” Buholzer said at a Capitol news conference. “They’re long days, long hours, when you’re short of people. … The only way we can fix that is more people.”

Under the bill, Wisconsin would no longer participate in four federal unemployment enhancement programs: Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation, Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation and Mixed Earner Unemployment Compensation.

The bill also prohibits the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development from waiving work-search requirements for any reason that is related to COVID-19. Republicans moved forward with separate plans to reinstate the work requirement, with a legislative committee planning to vote Wednesday to suspend the state rule waiving the work search requirements. That waiver is set to expire in July.

If the rule is put back in place, unemployed people will have to perform four work-search activities weekly to obtain benefits.

 

DATCP Waives Surcharge for Agricultural Chemical Cleanup Program Fund

Posted on May 18, 2021 by

For the fourth consecutive year, the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) is waiving the usual surcharge for the Agricultural Chemical Cleanup Program (ACCP). Fertilizer and pesticide businesses normally pay this surcharge when renewing their license, and the resulting fund helps pay to clean up agrichemical spills.

DATCP waives the surcharge when the fund balance remains above $1.5 million, allowing fertilizer dealers, commercial pesticide applicators, and pesticide manufacturers to pass these savings on to their customers.

The surcharge holiday will extend through June 2022 for fertilizer sales, and through the 2021-22 license year for other licensees. The surcharge is based on the level of the ACCP fund on May 1 of each year, when DATCP is required to review the program funds and decide whether to continue the surcharge holiday.

For more information about the ACCP fund and surcharges, visit https://datcp.wi.gov/Pages/Programs_Services/ACCPFundSurcharges.aspx.

Some Wisconsinites Who Declined to Return to Unsafe Jobs Could Be Eligible for Federal UI Benefits

Posted on April 29, 2021 by

Tens of thousands of people in Wisconsin whose applications for COVID-19 pandemic unemployment benefits were denied could be eligible for up to 79 weeks of unemployment payments.

There are three main categories of newly eligible workers:

  • Those who declined to return to work at a site that wasn’t complying with COVID-19 safety standards, such as requiring face masks and physical distancing.
  • Those working for an educational institution who became unemployed or partially unemployed after COVID-19 scrambled workers’ schedules.
  • Those who were laid off or had their hours reduced as a result of COVID-19 measures, including restaurant workers.

Officials with the state Department of Workforce Development said they would be mailing notices to nearly 28,000 people who were denied benefits under the federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program to let them know they are eligible to reapply under the expanded guidelines. If they were denied before but found to be eligible now, they could be paid for the entire period of the pandemic thus far.

The Biden administration announced expanded eligibility for the federal program in February after President Joe Biden in an executive order said workers whose employers didn’t follow safety protocols could get the benefits. The Wednesday announcement by DWD follows from that executive order and guidance from Biden’s Department of Labor.

Wisconsinites who weren’t previously denied federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance can also apply under the expanded eligibility. However, they’ll be limited in the number of weeks of back payments they can claim.

President Biden to Order Raising Federal Contractor Minimum Wage to $15

Posted on April 27, 2021 by

President Biden on Tuesday is expected to sign an executive order raising the minimum wage for federal contractors to $15 by March 2022.

At that time, the order will result in a 37-percent raise for federal contractors making the current contracting minimum $10.95, and setting their salary at over double the regular statutory federal minimum wage, which has been stuck at $7.25 since 2009.

Biden’s order would also phase out the tipped minimum wage, which stands at $7.25 by 2024, and set minimum wages for workers with disabilities on par with the standard minimum wage for contractors.

Federal agencies will have to begin incorporating the new wages into their contract solicitations by January 30, 2022, for implementation no later than March 30.

The new wages will apply to existing and multi-year contractors when their contracts receive their annual renewals, meaning some workers won’t see the benefits until later in the year.