News of the Day

Gov. Tony Evers will likely control how billions of dollars in federal COVID-19 stimulus money is spent in Wisconsin despite a GOP-backed effort to give state lawmakers more power and oversight of the funds.

The U.S. House of Representatives gave final approval on Wednesday to a $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package. According to estimates released last month by the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, Wisconsin is set to receive roughly $5.7 billion, about $3.2 billion of which would be directed to state government.

Current state law gives the governor broad powers to spend federal money sent to the state. Under a bill from GOP lawmakers, the Legislature’s state budget committee, which is controlled by Republicans, would have the power to block Evers administration spending plans. The administration would have to submit all plans to the committee, which would have 14 days to meet and vote to block any proposal. The committee’s power would only apply to federal coronavirus aid received before June 30, 2022.

Supporters of the bill include Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, and state Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu, R-Oostburg. They argue the Legislature, which plays a key role in crafting the state budget every two years, should be involved in disbursing the aid, in part because it’s so substantial.

“We feel it’s important to have legislative input into the process, to give our say, to represent our areas of the state, our constituents, and give that oversight,” LeMahieu said during an Assembly committee hearing on Wednesday.

The governor’s spokesperson, Britt Cudaback, confirmed Wednesday that Evers would veto the bill if it makes it to his desk.

The House is set to vote on the measure late Wednesday morning, and then it will head to President Joe Biden’s desk for his signature. The Senate passed the bill in a 50-49 vote last week after making changes to the original version passed by the House.

Under the legislation, those making $80,000 or under and married couples making $160,000 or less will receive stimulus checks of up to $1,400 per person. The bill would also provide $1,400 per dependent. The bill would expand the annual child tax credit to $3,600 for children up to age 5 and $3,000 for children ages 6 to 17 years old. It would also extend $300 a week in enhanced unemployment benefits, which was set to run out over this coming weekend, until September 6, 2021.

In addition to direct payments and child tax credits, the bill would provide $14 billion for vaccine distribution, $49 billion for Covid-19 testing, contact tracing and personal protective equipment. It also includes $125 billion for K-12 schools and nearly $40 billion for high education. It would provide $39 billion in child care grants, $25 billion in rental assistance and $30 billion for public transit as well.

As eligibility for the COVID-19 widens to more groups in the coming weeks, the state’s top health official said employers will play an important role in helping their employees access the vaccine when the time comes.

Interim Wisconsin Department of Health Services secretary Karen Timberlake said the role of employers varies, but could include allowing employees to take off work to get vaccinated, hosting on-site vaccine clinics or simply sharing information about vaccine safety with employees.

“We think you have a role to play,” Timberlake told GMC members. “And we do think that the most important thing you can be doing is helping your employees with access to good, fact-based, science-based information about vaccine efficacy and safety, vaccine availability, what the plan is for your workplace when your employees become eligible.”

“We know that employers are a very trusted messenger for their employees around these kinds of matters, so our job as a health department is to equip you with the facts you need,” she added.

Employers should consider how transportation challenges could prevent employees from accessing the vaccine and potentially partner with a local health department or health systems to ease those issues. With vaccine appointments generally being held during traditional work hours, Timberlake said employers should also consider allowing employees to get their shot on paid time.

House Democrats are expected to pass the final version of a $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package on Tuesday.

The Senate voted 50-49 to approve the plan on Saturday, with all Democrats voting in support of the measure — and all Republicans opposed — following a marathon debate of more than 24 hours.

The colossal package would bring a new round of payments to Americans still battling against the economic impacts of the coronavirus pandemic, and it includes an increase to the child tax credit and an extension of supplemental unemployment benefits through September 6, 2021.

Democrats are eager to get the final bill to Biden’s desk for his signature before current federal unemployment benefits expire on March 14.

In a statement on Saturday, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said he expects the president to be able to sign the legislation early this week.

Gov. Tony Evers’ proposal to allow local governments to increase sales taxes with voter approval is “dead on arrival,” according to state GOP leaders.

Under the governor’s sales tax plan, which was included inhis 2021-23 state budget proposal, counties and municipalities with populations over 30,000 would be able to increase sales tax by 0.5 percent, as long as the increase was approved by voters through a ballot referendum.

“There is no chance this is going to happen,” said Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester.  “I think the problem we are looking at, especially in Milwaukee, is systematic problems where they have made bad decisions over decades they now do not have the courage to solve. Now they want to go to taxpayers for an easy, quick fix. That is just not going to happen.”

The Wisconsin Counties Association supports the governor’s plan, saying it would provide much-needed help funding state-mandated local government programs. Other groups, including the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce, have also come out in support of the proposal.

Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu, R-Oostburg, indicated Senate Republicans may be more open to the plan if the sales tax increases were directed toward property tax relief. But he said it’s “very doubtful” counties would choose to use the money that way.

Yesterday, the Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions (DFI) and the Better Business Bureau Serving Wisconsin (BBB) warned businesses about solicitations designed to look like invoices arriving through postal mail and being reported to both DFI and BBB from “WI Certificate Service.”

The solicitation is designed to look like it is from the Secretary of State and requests payment of $72.50 for a “Certificate of Status.” The solicitation is not being sent by DFI, and the requested payment amount far exceeds the $10 fee DFI charges to obtain an official certificate of status online. The solicitation is not a valid invoice and businesses are advised to not pay it.

Buried within a paragraph on the mailing is the following sentence, which could easily be missed, “WI Certificate Service is not affiliated with any government or state agency and this is a solicitation for your business.” The address used by “WI Certificate Service” is actually a Madison UPS store and the toll-free phone number listed on the mailing is not a working number, according to BBB research.

These types of solicitations can mislead consumers into overpaying for documents that businesses can obtain from DFI directly,” said DFI Secretary Kathy Blumenfeld. “Carefully review all notices received and contact DFI with questions or to purchase an official certificate of status.”

Wisconsin’s state-chartered banks and credit unions both saw their combined net income increase double-digits in 2020, according to data from the state Department of Financial Institutions.

The state’s 135 state-chartered banks reported net income of $778.9 million last year, an increase of 17.2% from 2019. The 118 state-chartered credit unions increased net income by 18.1% to $506.1 million.

State-chartered banks ended 2020 with total assets of $63.8 billion, a growth rate of 13.3% and an increase of $7.5 billion from 2019. The banks had a return on average assets ratio of 1.34%, up from 1.25% in 2019.

State credit unions grew their total assets at a 20.6% rate to $49.5 billion, a jump of $8.5 bill. The return on average assets increased from 1.1% to 1.12%.

Banks saw delinquent loans as a percentage of total loans drop from 1.33% to 1.06%. At the same time, banks increased their allowance for loan losses from $532 million or 1.28% to $640 million or 1.45%.

Likewise, credit unions saw delinquent loans decrease from 0.7% to 0.56% but their allowance for loan losses increased from $199 million to $269.1 million.

The Department of Health Services (DHS) announced that new groups will be eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine starting March 1. The newly eligible groups, initially announced in January, include in priority order:

• education and child care staff;
• people enrolled in Medicaid long-term care programs;
• some public-facing essential workers;
• non-frontline essential health care personnel and;
• facility staff and residents in congregate living settings.

While these groups are eligible on March 1, educators and child care providers should anticipate receiving vaccine in March and early April, and the remaining groups can plan to be vaccinated in April and May.

Due to the limited supply of vaccine doses, people 65 and older, educators, and child care workers will be prioritized for the vaccine. Based on the current allocation numbers, it will take about two months to vaccinate these groups.

Groups eligible March 1 were recommended for the vaccine based on relative vulnerability and risk of exposure to COVID-19. This will add more than 700,000 people to the number able to get vaccinated.

The Senate parliamentarian on Thursday ruled against including a boost to the minimum wage in a $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill, arguing that it runs afoul of budget rules.

The decision from the parliamentarian, Elizabeth MacDonough, is a significant blow to progressives, who viewed the plan to increase the minimum wage to $15 per hour as one of their top priorities in the massive coronavirus relief plan. Because Democrats are trying to pass the coronavirus bill through reconciliation — a fast-track process that lets them bypass the 60-vote legislative filibuster — every provision has to comply with arcane budget rules.

Democrats will instead need 60 votes to overcome an inevitable GOP challenge in the wake of the parliamentarian’s ruling, support that it doesn’t have, if they want the minimum wage hike to survive the Senate.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (S.C.), the top Republican on the Budget Committee, immediately declared victory following the ruling. “Very pleased the Senate Parliamentarian has ruled that a minimum wage increase is an inappropriate policy change in reconciliation,” he said.

Senate Budget Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who had said he was optimistic that the parliamentarian would side with him, said that the Congressional Budget Office made it “absolutely clear” that raising the minimum wage “had a substantial budgetary impact and should be allowed under reconciliation.”

“I strongly disagree with tonight’s decision by the Senate Parliamentarian,” he said.

Sanders added that he will now try to get language added to the coronavirus bill that takes away tax breaks from large corporations that do not have a $15 per hour wage, and to try to incentivize small businesses to increase their wages.

“That amendment must be included in this reconciliation bill,” he said.