Representative Robin Vos Highlights Legislative Successes

What a great week it's been at the State Capitol in Madison.

We finished our successful fall legislative session and continued our work in the special session on jobs. After pulling two all-nighters, I can tell you that we have a lot to show for our sleepless nights and numerous debates on the Assembly floor. This fall, we not only passed bills that will help improve the business climate in our state, we also passed bills that will make Wisconsin an even better place to live. Here are some of the highlights of our fall session.

• Providing employers with a great incentive to hire workers by doubling the Jobs Tax Credit, one of Wisconsin's most successful economic development tools.
• Increasing manufacturing grants to technical colleges.
• Expanding the state's small business loan guarantee program to allow for additional businesses to be eligible.
• Providing businesses with more litigation certainty by establishing guidelines for reasonable attorney fees.
• Streamlining the Department of Revenue's tax policies to promote fairness, clarity and certainty for businesses. 
• Providing families the right to defend themselves from an intruder looking to do them harm, often referred to as the Castle Doctrine.
• Expanding the list of mandatory reporters of child abuse in schools.
• Preserving and strengthening our hunting heritage through the passage of Sporting and Hunting Recruitment Bill.
• Lowering transportation costs for businesses and farmers.

And we're not done yet! 

Assembly Republicans are continuing to work on developing new mining laws to reflect the differences between iron and non-iron mining in order to pave the way for an iron mine in Northern Wisconsin. This will bring thousands of jobs to the area and a positive economic impact across the state.

I'm also hopeful that the state Legislature can move forward on a Venture Capital package soon that will help spur investment in new businesses and the expansion of existing businesses. This is an on-going effort with the legislature and governor's office. All agree that we need to do more to attract more private dollars into Wisconsin's economy to help our new business opportunities to thrive and  provide more jobs for our citizens.

Making Progress

Our two special sessions on jobs have paid off. In September, our employment rate fell to 7.8 percent. Plus, 67 of Wisconsin's 72 counties saw a decrease in their unemployment rate. The state has added 13,000 new manufacturing jobs since last year and over the first six months of the year, Wisconsin created jobs at nearly twice the rate of the nation. We're showing the country that Wisconsin is open for business and CEO's are taking notice. After our first special session on jobs, the state jumped 17 spots on CEO Magazine's list of business-friendly states. Plus, 88% of our job creators say the state is headed in the right direction. Even though the nation's economy continues to be sluggish and there's a lack of leadership from Washington. We're making progress and providing a better business climate for our state. I look forward to continued success stories to share with you.