It could be mid-August before the Legislature votes on legislation providing incentives for Foxconn to build a plant in Wisconsin as lawmakers dive into details that include up to $252 million in contingency bonding for I-94 north-south and rollbacks of environmental regulations.
The proposed legislation also would provide incentives designed to encourage Fiserv to keep its headquarters in Wisconsin as the Brookfield financial technology company continues evaluating a new location, including a possible move to Georgia.
Republican lawmakers are caucusing today to discuss the bill.
Kit Beyer, a spokeswoman for Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, said a public hearing is expected this week. Beyer said it was still being decided whether committees beyond the budget-writing Joint Finance Committee would review the proposal.
Assembly Majority Leader Jim Steineke, meanwhile, said he hoped the legislation could make it through the committee process and hit the floor the week of Aug. 14.
“We’ve got to do our due diligence,” he said. “We’ve got to realize probably a lot of this is baked in the cake and a lot of it has been negotiated by the administration, so I’m not sure how much wiggle room there is.”
Myranda Tanck, a spokeswoman for Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, said the office is still reviewing the proposal and hasn’t yet decided on a timeline for action on it.
The Foxconn bill also looks to help Fiserv keep its headquarters in Wisconsin instead of heading elsewhere.
Fiserv, one of the state’s Fortune 500 companies, is reportedly eyeing a few Milwaukee-area locations for a new headquarters as well as Georgia, where the company already has major operations.
The bill would let WEDC certify the company for enterprise zone tax credits if, after undergoing a competitive process for a new corporate location, Fiserv keeps its headquarters and at least 93 percent of its full-time employees in the state.
Mark Maley, a WEDC spokesman, said that would give the agency a chance to use the program “to ensure the company remains in Wisconsin.”
Fiserv did not respond to a request for comment.
