News of the Day

Gov. Tony Evers must have needed an easy win on Tuesday, when he vowed to fight climate change by committing Wisconsin to the terms of the Paris accord. That agreement calls for a 26-28 percent reduction in greenhouse gases from the 2005 levels by 2025 – something Wisconsin already made enormous strides toward long before Evers got elected.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) keeps detailed records on energy production, consumption, and emissions. According to its data, Wisconsin’s residents, businesses and government have increasingly demonstrated their commitment to the environment.

Between 2005 and 2016, Wisconsin reduced its carbon dioxide emissions by 14.4 percent and overall energy consumption dropped by 10 percent. Wisconsin’s use of coal for energy production dropped 32 percent between 2005 and 2016, according to EIA’s data. The result of all these trends – today Wisconsin gets 20 percent of its energy from non-carbon sources (that includes all renewables and nuclear).

The Wisconsin Public Service Commission (PSC) predicted in 2016 that renewable energy would continue to make up a larger percentage of the state’s energy production.

“Rather than being driven by future requirements of the Wisconsin RPS, this growth trend is driven by other forces, such as market opportunities, customer demand for additional renewable energy, and multiple processes involved in citing new projects. Therefore, actual production could be lower or higher than these aggregated electric provider estimates,” according to the PSC.

Northern Wisconsin leaders lobbied the Wisconsin Department of Revenue on Tuesday to restore a tax reciprocity agreement with Minnesota that ended almost a decade ago. The state’s new Department of Revenue Secretary-designee Peter Barca is hopeful a deal can be reached to save Wisconsin residents money.

The agreement ended Jan. 1, 2010, impacting around 80,000 people in the two states. The deal that had been in place for more than 40 years allowed people living in one state and working in another to file just one income tax form in their home state. Minnesota and Wisconsin would then resolve payments at a later date.

“Minnesota feels like why should we have to end up suffering a financial loss in order to help the people of Wisconsin,” Barca said.

A deal would mean that Wisconsin would pay around $106 million a year to Minnesota because the Badger State has more residents working across the border, Barca said.

Barca said Wisconsin has submitted another proposal to Minnesota, noting he’s spoken with his Minnesota counterpart, Minnesota DOR Commissioner Cynthia Bauerly.

“She said she would take a fresh look at it, and our goal, of course, would be to have obviously (an agreement) for the 2020 tax season,” Barca said. “We would have until early fall to get it done.”

Barca said their proposal would include making quarterly payments to Minnesota to offset around $158 million in revenues the state would give up under an agreement.

A spokesman with the Minnesota DOR said they would consider any future proposals and whether they are in the best interest of Minnesota.

The state Assembly voted Tuesday to advance a Republican-backed income tax cut, despite doubt over whether Democratic Gov. Tony Evers will sign it.

The Republican bill would use money set to roll over from the current budget to fund a middle-class tax cut that would save the average taxpayer $170 a year, according to the Legislature’s nonpartisan budget office. It would be effective January 2020.

Evers and Democratic lawmakers have pushed for a similar tax cut, also aimed at middle-income earners. The primary difference between the plans is how they are funded. Rather than using existing state funds, the Democrat-backed plan would be paid for in part by rolling back a tax credit for manufacturers.

That rollback would only pay for about 60 percent of the Democrats’ tax cut. The remaining funding is expected to be unveiled as part of the governor’s budget proposal later this month.

Evers has said he is unlikely to sign the Republican bill, but stopped short Tuesday morning of saying he would veto the measure. Instead, he said he was hopeful there would be room for compromise between the GOP and Democrat-backed plans.

Lawmakers said on Monday night that they had reached an agreement “in principle” to avoid a second partial government shutdown set to begin on Saturday.

Negotiators refused to discuss the particulars of the deal with staff expected to work frantically to release the legislation as early as Tuesday.

A congressional source told The Hill that the bill will include $1.375 billion for physical barriers, the same amount included in the 2018 fiscal year bill. The tentative agreement, according to the source, also specifically prohibits the use of a concrete wall. But, senior Congressional aides separately noted that it will fund approximately 55 new miles of barriers along the U.S.-Mexico border in the Rio Grande Valley sector.

If negotiators are able to hold an agreement together, it would mark a dramatic U-turn from earlier Monday when both sides were still divided on two key issues: funding for physical barriers along the U.S.-Mexico border and a snag on Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention beds.

Lawmakers refused to discuss how they resolved the ICE fight, after Democrats proposed a cap on the number of ICE detention beds, arguing it would force the Trump administration to focus on “serious criminals,” and that numbers were in line with those from the Obama administration.

Congress has until Saturday to get the seven remaining fiscal year 2019 appropriations bills to Trump’s desk to fund roughly 25 percent of the federal government, including the Department of Homeland Security.

Regulators and consumer advocates are questioning the value of Wisconsin’s first large-scale solar project, while environmental groups are lining up in support of the investor-owned utilities as they embrace renewable energy.

Madison Gas & Electric and Wisconsin Public Service Corp. have jointly proposed to buy 300 megawatts’ worth of solar panels at two projects under development along Lake Michigan and in rural southwestern Wisconsin.

Both utilities say they need to replace aging fossil fuel generators and that the $405 million investment will cost customers $181 million less than other alternatives for meeting demand.

Environmental groups — often at odds with the state’s utilities — agree. “I’m convinced this is the best way forward for MGE and WPS,” said Michael Vickerman, policy director for Renew Wisconsin. “We’re seeing this happen all over the country. If capacity is required, large-scale solar is the most economic option.”

But Public Service Commission staff have questioned the economics, prompting concerns from consumer advocates.

The Citizens Utility Board, which represents residential and small-business customers, says staff raised valid concerns about the benefits and whether future policy decisions could leave customers having to fund additional investments.

“All of the decisions are being made now about what costs customers are going to shoulder,” said CUB executive director Tom Content. “Our risk is all up front, but our payoff could be questionable down the road.”

It will be up to the three-member PSC to determine whether purchasing the solar farms will impair the utilities’ efficiency, exceed their future needs or increase the cost of service without also increasing the value or quality of service. The commission is separately considering private developers’ plans to build the two solar farms, which have generated some opposition from neighbors.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, there were 106 Wisconsin workers who died due to injury in 2017. This number reflects a slight increase from 105 fatalities in 2016, but Wisconsin’s overall fatality rate dropped slightly from a rate of 3.6 in 2016 to 3.5 deaths per 100,000 full-time workers in 2017. 

The final count of occupational fatalities in the U.S. in 2017 was 5,147, according to figures the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released last month. This was a slight decrease from 5,190 total fatal incidents in 2016. The U.S. fatality rate decreased from 3.6 in 2016 to 3.5 cases per 100,000 full time employees in 2017.

Key findings for Wisconsin in 2017:

• Transportation incidents caused the most fatalities, as is typically true, though 2017 data show a continued trend in decreased incidents from the prior year, reduced from 38 incidents in 2016 to 35 in 2017. Management occupations, including farmers, were most prevalent with 27 incidents in 2017; transportation workers were the next most prevalent occupation type at 17 incidents.

• After more than doubling from 2015 to 2016, violent incidents declined from 23 in 2016 to 20 in 2017, the same number of incidents attributed to contact with objects and equipment last year.

• Of the 106 fatal incidents, only 9 were women in 2017, down from 16 of 105 total cases in 2016.

• Employees age 65 and over sustained the highest number of fatalities with 29 incidents, up from 23 last year.

The Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, part of the BLS occupational safety and health statistics program, compiles a count of all fatal work injuries occurring in the United States during the calendar year. The program uses diverse state, federal, and independent data sources to identify, verify, and describe fatal work injuries. 

Telemarketing complaints are on the rise (4,860 complaints) and continue to top the annual list of consumer complaints collected by the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP). More than two out of every five complaints received by the agency in 2018 were in regard to calls from unknown numbers, unwanted sales calls or scam
calls. 

Landlord/Tenant complaints held steady at the second spot with 1,188 complaints. Complaint allegations were primarily in regard to security deposit-related issues, with tenants claiming that inappropriate amounts were withheld or that a landlord failed to return deposit funds at the
end of a tenancy. Evictions and unauthorized entry were additional issues cited in many complaints.

Telecommunications remains in the number three spot in the Top Ten list with 681 complaints. Complaints were lodged against a wide spectrum of service providers, with customers making allegations about billing disputes, misleading representations, unauthorized charges and performance issues.

Home Improvement moved up one spot to number four in the list with 489 complaints. Home improvement complaints include a wide range of allegations, with consumers alleging that contractors failed to provide the services promised under a contract, charged for services or repairs that were not performed, failed to honor warranties or provided unsatisfactory workmanship.

In only its second year as a formal complaint category, Medical Services jumped two spots to number five with 255 complaints – an increase of more than 30%. These complaints cover services related to clinics, hospitals and professional services in the medical field and were overwhelmingly about billing disputes, misrepresentations and unauthorized charges. 

Rounding out the top ten for 2018:

6.) Identity Theft (250 complaints)
7.) Motor Vehicle Repair (196)
8.) Gas Pumps (169)
9.) Motor Vehicle Sales (155)
10.) Fuel Quality (119)

In all, DATCP received 11,303 complaints to the Bureau of Consumer Protection. The agency returned more than $4.6 million in funds to Wisconsin – the majority of which were returned to consumers in the form of mediated refunds, negotiated settlements or court-ordered restitutions.

Yesterday, Governor Tony Evers announced that his budget will include a responsible tax relief plan that will cut taxes for hard-working Wisconsin families by 10 percent, expand the Earned Income Tax Credit, and end a costly tax giveaway to millionaires—without adding to the deficit.

Under the Evers plan, middle-class families with a Wisconsin adjusted gross income below $80,000 for single filers and $125,000 for married-joint filers will receive a new nonrefundable credit equal to 10% of the remaining tax liability after all other credits (besides the credit for taxes paid to other states).

“I promised Wisconsin’s hard-working families that I would not only provide the tax relief they deserve, but that I would provide tax relief in a responsible and sustainable way,” said Gov. Evers. “This is what the people voted for and it’s what we know they support. I’m calling on Republicans to work with me and with Democrats in the Legislature to put people first and cut taxes for Wisconsin’s hardworking families without increasing Wisconsin’s budget deficit.”

The Evers plan will also expand the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) for families with one or two children. Beginning with tax year 2019, the credit rate as a percentage of the federal credit for families with one child will nearly triple, from 4 percent to 11 percent, and the rate for families with two children will increase from 11 percent to 14 percent. Increasing the credit for those categories brings Wisconsin closer to parity with the median EITC provided by other states.

In addition, the Evers plan will rollback a Republican giveaway to some of Wisconsin’s highest earners by capping the Manufacturing and Agriculture Credit (MAC) for manufacturing claimants. Agricultural firms would continue to have the credit as it exists under current law.

After a week of headlines suggesting Foxconn was abandoning or at least reevaluating plans for a LCD display fabrication facility in Mount Pleasant, the company now says it will move ahead with a Gen 6 fab at the complex.

The company is moving ahead with the projects it said it would build in the next 18 months. Those facilities include assembly, packaging and molding operations. Building those facilities first would allow the company to ship components to Mount Pleasant for assembly while the fabrication facility, which would actually make the screens, is built.

Getting operations up and running would help the company increase its employment in the state, allowing it to potentially earn payroll tax credits. The company needs at least 1,820 employees in 2020 to earn any tax credits for job creation.

The Gen 6 plant, however, is still a departure from Foxconn’s original plans. When the project was first announced, the company said it would build a Gen 10.5 plant to make the largest screens in the world. The larger screen market, however, has been plagued by oversupply in recent years.