By Greg Bump
WisBusiness.com
Gov.-elect Scott Walker on Wednesday told members of the Dairy Business Association that he wants Wisconsin to be the most aggressive state in the country when it comes to tort reform, promising to greatly reduce regulations on farmers and businesses.
“I told (Gov.) Rick Perry down in Texas ‘Look out, we’re coming after you,'” Walker said this morning at the DBA’s conference at the Madison Concourse Hotel. “When it comes to tort reform, we want to be one of the leaders out there that say this is one of the most cost-effective places in the country to do business.”
Walker said legislation to reduce the regulatory burden on farmers will be part of a special session on the economy and jobs he will call after he’s inaugurated Jan. 3.
In addition, Walker said the special session will include legislation to repeal the state tax on health savings accounts, provisions to cut taxes on small businesses with 50 or fewer employees and to “fundamentally reshape” the state Commerce department. He hinted that the changes to Commerce will be modeled on what’s been done in Indiana by Gov. Mitch Daniels.
He said the current structure in the department “unfortunately over the years has spent more and more time regulating commerce than it is promoting commerce.”
Beyond the special session, Walker said he plans to extend the dairy investment tax credit, control property taxes, and expand telecommunications infrastructure to make high-speed Internet available throughout the state.
