WEDC Reforms Head To Assembly, Senate Floor

A reforms package to fix problems with the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) is headed to the floor of the Assembly and Senate.

But Democrats on the Joint Audit Committee say the changes still give Governor Scott Walker too much control over the agency.

The committee approved reforms that give WEDC’s board of directors more authority to review and approve the loans and grants the agency provides to private businesses. Other reforms will tighten up eligibility and reporting requirements for businesses to assure the loans and grants are actually creating new jobs.

But Sen. Katherine Vinehout, D-Alma, says the reforms don’t go far enough. She says as long as the governor remains the chairman of the board, it will be perceived as making political and not economic decisions:

“Because right now, it is very clear that the senior management in WEDC is operating to please the governor and not the board. And I believe that, in and of itself, makes it very difficult for the board to have the real true power that you would see in this supposed private corporation that we’ve created.”

A Democratic amendment to the bill that would have allowed the board to elect its own chairman was rejected on a party line vote. Sen. Alberta Darling, R-River Hills, says having the CEO of the state lead this job creation effort is essential.

“There’s no one better than the governor to be chair of this group; it’s a public-private partnership. To say this committee has stature, this partnership counts, job creation is a priority, and we’re going to do all we can…and the governor is the symbol – the highest symbol – of that kind of priority.”

WEDC is modeled on a similar agency created by the Indiana state legislature that includes a board chaired by Indiana’s governor. Members of both parties are hopeful the reforms will make the WEDC more accountable for the tax dollars it’s doling out to businesses.