Post by Logan on Feb 17, 2016 3:37:35 GMT -6
The state Senate won’t take up a bill making fraud against the state’s job-creation agency a felony, the chamber’s top Republican said Tuesday night after the Assembly passed the measure on a voice vote with little discussion.
Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, said he won’t schedule the bill if it doesn’t have the support of Senate Economic Development and Commerce Committee chairman Sen. Rick Gudex, R-Fond du Lac.
Gudex hasn’t scheduled a hearing on the bill and his spokesman said Monday he shares concerns raised by the Wisconsin Economic Development Association that the bill could discourage legitimate businesses from applying for WEDC awards for fear of being punished for unintentionally misleading the agency.
The Wisconsin State Journal reported in May that the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. had given a $500,000 loan to a struggling Milwaukee construction company in 2011 without a thorough review and at the urging of Gov. Scott Walker’s top aides. The company had been sued three times in the previous five years, though claimed in its application it faced no lawsuits. The loan has not been repaid and the company’s owner, who told creditors he would repay debt with the state funds, has not been charged with a crime.
Read more: host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/govt-and-politics/senate-won-t-take-up-wedc-fraud-bill-passed-by/article_ffb3e3e8-0f61-5425-a201-3d77e6100005.html
Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, said he won’t schedule the bill if it doesn’t have the support of Senate Economic Development and Commerce Committee chairman Sen. Rick Gudex, R-Fond du Lac.
Gudex hasn’t scheduled a hearing on the bill and his spokesman said Monday he shares concerns raised by the Wisconsin Economic Development Association that the bill could discourage legitimate businesses from applying for WEDC awards for fear of being punished for unintentionally misleading the agency.
The Wisconsin State Journal reported in May that the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. had given a $500,000 loan to a struggling Milwaukee construction company in 2011 without a thorough review and at the urging of Gov. Scott Walker’s top aides. The company had been sued three times in the previous five years, though claimed in its application it faced no lawsuits. The loan has not been repaid and the company’s owner, who told creditors he would repay debt with the state funds, has not been charged with a crime.
Read more: host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/govt-and-politics/senate-won-t-take-up-wedc-fraud-bill-passed-by/article_ffb3e3e8-0f61-5425-a201-3d77e6100005.html