News of the Day

A modernized Wisconsin Commercial Building Code will take effect September 1. That’s when the Legislative Reference Bureau (LRB) will publish the new, upgraded code, which establishes standards for commercial buildings in the state, including
multi-family residential buildings.

Department of Safety and Professional Services (DSPS) Secretary Dan Hereth submitted the required adoption order to the LRB earlier this month to complete the code promulgation process.

To ease any impact of this update on the building industry, DSPS will also accept plans submitted under the current (2015) code through the month of September. Starting October 1, all commercial building plans submitted to DSPS for approval must meet the standards set in the upgraded code. Any supplemental sub-submissions to DSPS (such as fire suppression/alarm, HVAC, boilers, elevators, refrigeration) must be aligned with the code under which the commercial building plan was approved, regardless of how many months later they follow.

The Department has been preparing for this code adoption by updating relevant licensing exam questions and training its staff. DSPS plans to have relevant exams updated to reflect improvements to the code starting October 1. The Department will also offer two virtual webinars to industry professionals to explain key code upgrades and answer questions.

A divided Federal Reserve on Wednesday voted to keep its benchmark interest rate steady.

The Federal Open Market Committee, the group that sets the overnight borrowing rate, voted 9-2 to stay on hold. The federal funds rate will continue to be set in a range between 4.25%-4.5%. The level sets what banks charge each other for overnight lending, but influences a slew of other rates across the economy.

However, the decision met opposition from Governors Michelle Bowman and Christopher Waller, both of whom have advocated for the Fed to start easing in acknowledgement that inflation is under control and the labor market could start weakening soon. This was the first time since late 1993 that multiple governors cast no votes on a rate decision.

The U.S. economy grew at a much stronger-than-expected pace in the second quarter, powered by a turnaround in the trade balance and renewed consumer strength, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday.

Gross domestic product, a sum of goods and services activity across the sprawling U.S. economy, jumped 3% for the April through June period, according to figures adjusted for seasonality and inflation.

Consumer spending rose 1.4% in the second quarter, better than the 0.5% in the prior period. While exports declined 1.8% during the period, imports fell 30.3%, reversing a 37.9% surge in Q1.

The GDP tally showed strength across key areas of the economy, as well as evidence that inflation is ebbing though not eradicated.

The personal consumption expenditures price index, the Federal Reserve’s key inflation metric, showed a gain of 2.1% for the quarter, just above the central bank’s 2% target. Core PCE inflation, which the Fed considers a better gauge for longer-run trends as it excludes volatile food and energy prices, increased 2.5%. The respective numbers for the first quarter were 3.7% and 3.5%.

The Federal Communications Commission today approved  updates to its pole attachment rules that will make it easier and faster to deploy broadband networks.

The FCC’s pole attachment rules prescribe processes and timelines that attachers and pole owners must follow when telecom crews attach communications infrastructure to those poles. Increased funding for broadband projects has led to extensive new deployments in recent years, resulting in a significant increase in attachment applications for large numbers of utility poles.

For too long, a lack of standard rules and timelines for processing large broadband deployment orders have slowed rollouts and led to costly disputes. By encouraging communications companies and pole owners to collaborate on larger broadband deployments and by providing more concrete timelines, today’s action will remove barriers to deployment, encourage investment, and help
achieve high-speed broadband availability for all Americans.

In December 2023, the Commission adopted the Fourth Report and Order, Declaratory Ruling, and Third Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in which it took steps to make the pole attachment process faster, more transparent, and more cost-effective and sought comment on additional actions it could take to prevent delays and other challenges to broadband deployment. Today’s actions move these proposals forward.

President Donald Trump announced Sunday that the U.S. reached a trade deal with the European Union, following pivotal discussions with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen days before the August 1 tariff deadline.

Trump said that the deal imposes a 15% tariff on most European goods to the U.S., including cars.

Some products, including aircrafts and their components, some chemicals and pharmaceuticals, will not be subject to tariffs, von der Leyen said in a briefing after the agreement was announced. She also said that the new 15% tariff rate would not be added to any tariffs already in effect.

The 15% tariff rate is lower than the 30% rate Trump had previously threatened against the United States’ largest trading partner, but higher than the 10% baseline tariffs the EU was hoping for.

Trump said that the 27-member bloc also agreed to purchase $750 billion worth of U.S. energy and invest an additional $600 billion worth of investments into the U.S. above current levels.

He said that the bloc would also be “purchasing hundreds of billions of dollars worth of military equipment,” but did not provide a specific dollar amount.

“It’s a very powerful deal, it’s a very big deal, it’s the biggest of all the deals,” Trump said Sunday alongside von der Leyen.

“It’s a good deal, it’s a huge deal, with tough negotiations,” von der Leyen said after the meeting.

Governor Tony Evers announced yesterday he won’t seek reelection next year, passing on the opportunity to become only the second governor in Wisconsin history to win at least three four-year terms.

Evers, 73, a former state schools superintendent, announced his decision via a post on social media.

At least a half-dozen Democrats are considered potential successors, including: Milwaukee County Exec David Crowley, Secretary of State Sarah Godlewski, Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson, Attorney General Josh Kaul (44), Lieutenant Gov. Sara Rodriguez and state Sen. Kelda Roys).

Meanwhile, New Berlin businessman Bill Berrien, and fellow Republican Washington County Executive Josh Schoemann have formally announced their bids for Governor. U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, a 67-year-old who lives in Minocqua, is among those considering a run for the GOP nomination.

Wisconsin existing home sales rose by significant margins in June as median prices increased at a modest pace. June home sales rose 8.1% compared to closed sales in June 2024, which is the first increase in June sales in four years. Compared to June 2024, the median price increased 4.6% to $340,000.

Evaluating the first half of 2025, home sales were essentially unchanged, rising just 0.1%, relative to the first six months of 2024; and the median price increased 6.7% to $320,000.

All indicators of inventory showed improvement in June compared to 12 months earlier.  New statewide listings rose 5%, total listings rose 4.7% and months of available supply increased 8.1%. Still, this remains a seller’s market with just 4 months of supply. We would need total statewide listings to increase by 53% for the market to reach the six-month supply indicator of a balanced market.

“The Fed’s target for inflation should benefit from moderating home prices. Indeed, the single largest share of expenses in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) is owner-occupied shelter, which represents just over 26% of all expenses in the bundle of goods that the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics tracks when computing the CPI. Lower housing price appreciation will help move inflation closer to the Fed’s 2% target rate for core inflation, which will increase the likelihood of a rate cut later this year.”

Dave Clark, Professor Emeritus of Economics and WRA Consultant

Two years ago, Gov. Tony Evers made national headlines when, with the stroke of his veto pen, he transformed two years of school funding in the state budget into 400 years.

That use of a Wisconsin governor’s unique partial veto power triggered outrage among legislative Republicans, and it spawned a lawsuit that resolved this April when the state Supreme Court’s liberal majority ruled that it was a legal use of the governor’s authority.

Now, Republican lawmakers are circulating a bill that would repeal the results of that veto, arguing it amounts to an unfair property tax increase in perpetuity.

As written, the new GOP proposal would repeal that annual increase after the 2026-27 school year.

“One man locked in a tax-raising mechanism that no one voted for and no one approved. Evers’ move bypassed both the elected Legislature and the hard-working people who pay the bills,” reads the cosponsorship memo.

If the bill passes the Legislature, it will face one significant hurdle to becoming law: Evers’ veto pen.

President Donald Trump will likely renegotiate the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA) next year to protect American jobs, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Sunday.

“I think the president is absolutely going to renegotiate USMCA, but that’s a year from today,” Lutnick said, pointing to the scheduled July 2026 review. The review, part of the agreement’s sunset clause, allows the deal to be assessed every six years and sets it to expire after 16 years unless all parties agree to an extension.

“He wants to protect American jobs,” Lutnick said of Trump. “He doesn’t want cars built in Canada or Mexico when they can be built in Michigan and Ohio. It’s just better for American workers.”

The USMCA requires 75 percent of automobile components to be manufactured in the United States, Canada or Mexico in order to avoid tariffs. It also opened new markets for American wheat, poultry and eggs, among other things.

The United States Department of Labor has updated its guidance on penalty and debt collection procedures in the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s Field Operations Manual in an effort to minimize the burden on small businesses and increase prompt hazard abatement.

“All employers should be offered the opportunity to comply with regulations that help maintain a safe working environment,” said Deputy Secretary of Labor Keith Sonderling. “Small employers who are working in good faith to comply with complex federal laws should not face the same penalties as large employers with abundant resources. By lowering penalties on small employers, we are supporting the entrepreneurs that drive our economy and giving them the tools they need to keep our workers safe and healthy on the job while keeping them accountable.”

The new policy, outlined in the Penalties and Debt Collection section of OSHA’s Field Operations Manual, increases penalty reductions for small employers, making it easier for small businesses to invest resources in compliance and hazard abatement. For example, a penalty reduction level of 70%, which was previously only applicable for businesses with 10 or fewer employees, will now be expanded to include businesses who employ up to 25 employees. The revisions also include new guidelines for a 15% penalty reduction for employers who immediately take steps to address or correct a hazard.

Additionally, the updated policy expands the penalty reduction for employers without a history of serious, willful, repeat, or failure-to-abate OSHA violations. Under OSHA’s revised policy, employers who have never been inspected by federal OSHA or an OSHA State Plan, as well as employers who have been inspected in the previous five years and had no serious, willful, or failure-to-abate violations, are eligible for a 20% penalty reduction.

The new policies are effective immediately. Penalties issued before July 14, 2025, will remain under the previous penalty structure. Open investigations in which penalties have not yet been issued are covered by the new guidance.

OSHA retains the right to withhold penalty reductions where penalty adjustments do not advance the goals of the Occupational Safety and Health Act.