Below is an excerpt from the most recent edition of WisBusiness Tuesday Trends.
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RISING
Mining: Although Democrats carried Wisconsin at the top of the ticket in the election, the state’s legislative races flipped control of the Senate back to Republicans and maintained the GOP’s sizable majority in the state Assembly. And that means that the party likely has breathing room to pass the most high-profile bill remaining from the tumultuous 2011-2012 legislative session: iron mining reform. A mining bill that passed the Assembly last session fell short this spring in the Senate, when Sen. Dale Schultz, R-Richland Center, broke with the rest of his caucus to oppose the measure. Democrats then took control of the chamber in the June 5 recall election, but Republicans flip two Senate seats, meaning they can lose Schultz and still pass a mining bill along party lines when the next Legislature convenes in January. Senate Majority Leader-elect Scott Fitzgerald says the bill that failed this spring could serve as a starting point for the upcoming session, but that the work this summer and fall by Sen. Tim Cullen, D-Janesville, could have some value going forward. For his part, Schultz says both sides of the mining debate are closer than the public perception, and that he’s optimistic a bipartisan bill can pass. Assembly Republicans and the governor’s office, meanwhile, say they’d like to work with both sides of the aisle on the issue — as long as the final bill results in mining jobs coming to Wisconsin.
MIXED
Renewable energy: Some $20 million in federal stimulus was directed to Milwaukee, Madison and Racine in 2009 as part of an effort to increase energy efficiency and bolster the green jobs market. But officials with the Wisconsin Energy Conservation Corporation say just over $4 million has been allocated for some 600 homeowner, business and residential projects in those cities. And although those cities remain hopeful about continuing to enhance homes and businesses, the remaining funding must be allocated within the next seven months or be returned to the federal government. Officials in Milwaukee say the program initially limited the funding allocation to low-interest project loans, which slowed the program in an era of particularly difficult borrowing conditions. Meanwhile, an Illinois wind energy manufacturer with a Manitowoc plant reports a 25 percent increased in Manitowoc-based sales in the third quarter, but attributes the growth to a rush of projects as the end of federal tax credits for wind energy looms at the end of this year. As a result, Broadwind Energy Inc. says it expects sales to drop in its next quarter before the industry as a whole experiences contraction after the tax credits expire, as expected, next year. One reason Wisconsin hasn’t seen much in the way of that wind energy boom, observers say, is a sufficient level of renewable energy. The state Public Service Commission reports all 118 Wisconsin electric providers are in compliance with their Renewable Portfolio Standard requirements for 2011, and that most have already achieved the increased percentage of renewable energy that will be required by 2015.
FALLING
WPS: The Madison-based health insurer announces more than 600 layoffs — including 580 Wisconsin positions — due to a change in administration of the federal Defense Department’s TRICARE managed care program. WPS had provided claims services for TriWest Healthcare Alliance of Phoenix under its contract with the Defense Department, but WPS warned employees of potential cuts earlier this year after TriWest lost the contract for those services in 21 states to UnitedHealth. WPS officials announce Friday that 250 of the 300 positions at a WPS facility in Wausau will be cut, with 280 more cuts at the insurer’s Madison headquarters. Seventy additional out-of-state jobs are also on the chopping block.
