Project SEARCH is a program that helps high school aged students with disabilities prepare to enter the workforce. The success rate for Project SEARCH in Wisconsin is 88 percent which makes it one of the best in the country.
Eight years ago, there was just one program site in the state. When school starts in the fall, there will be 27.
Eight years ago, Governor Doyle had closed all eight of the visitor centers around the state.
Today, we’ve seen a 35 percent increase in the economic impact of tourism. Our marketing focuses not on a slogan, but on the fun people have in Wisconsin. We partnered with local convention and visitor bureaus and chambers of commerce to open visitor centers all around the state. Check out TravelWisconsin.com for more details.
Eight years ago, the state government did not have any state-funded grant programs for the expansion of broadband infrastructure.
Today, we do, and in this budget, we invested $41.5 million, an increase of $35.5 million, to connect communities across the state to high speed internet connections, as well as give schools access to the latest technology and training. Our goal is to connect every part of the State of Wisconsin over the next two years.
In 2007, the economic impact of agriculture was estimated at $59.2 billion by UW-Extension.
Today, a report by UW-Extension estimates that agriculture has an $88 billion impact on the Wisconsin economy. Lower property and agriculture taxes, science-based and predictable regulations, limits on frivolous lawsuits and expanded export opportunities will help our family farmers continue to grow in 2018 and beyond.
Eight years ago, taxes were going up. In fact, during the decade before we took office, property taxes alone went up 27 percent. People were telling me then how they felt they were being taxed out of their homes.
Today, both property and income taxes are actually lower than they were in 2010. Property taxes on a median-valued home are estimated to be more than $100 lower in 2018 than they were in 2010. If the previous trend had continued from before I took office, the estimated property tax bills on a typical home would be $612 higher than they are this year.
And, for the first time since 1931, there is no state property tax. In fact, property taxes as a percentage of personal income are the lowest they have been since the end of World War II.
Plus, we cut income taxes - so a typical family will have saved $1,400 since 2010. The overall state and local tax burden in Wisconsin, once one of the highest in the country, is now below the national average. Based on data from the U.S. Census Bure au, it’s the lowest it’s been in more than 50 years.
Through the end of this budget, the cumulative impact of our savings to the hard-working taxpayers will exceed $8 billion. Only 2 other states in America have reduced their tax burden more than we have since 2011.
Eight years ago, according to Chief Executive Magazine, Wisconsin ranked 41st for business. Sadly, the state was consistently in the bottom ten for places to do business.
Today, for the first time in the history of the survey, Wisconsin ranks in the top ten states for business. That’s why global businesses like Haribo and Foxconn are coming to Wisconsin.
It is why Fleet Farm is expanding in Chippewa Falls, Generac is growing in Waukesha, U.S. Venture is expanding in Appleton, Kwik Trip is building in La Crosse, Great Lakes Cheese Company is adding jobs in Wausau, Ameriquip is growing in Kiel, IMark Molding is adding jobs in Woodville, and Oshkosh Corporation is expanding in (well, of course) Oshkosh. Thanks to the many employees from these companies who are here with us today.
And we’re just getting started. Fox conn, for example, will begin construction this year on a $10 billion campus. This will require 10,000 construction workers from all over the state. Earth movers from Hoffman Construction out of Black River Falls are already starting work on the infrastructure for this major project.
Families, workers, and companies from across the state will benefit from one of the largest economic development projects in the history of America. Once operational, Foxconn will spend roughly $1.4 billion a year with Wisconsin businesses.
To put that in perspective, Oshkosh Corporation, one of our great Wisconsin employers, who just won the coolest thing made in Wisconsin contest, they spend about $300 million each year with Wisconsin companies. This will be more than four times as much.
If you are a small business that would like to be a part of the Foxconn team, I invite you to sign up on the website, wisupplychainmarketplace.com.
Most importantly, Foxconn will be one more reason for our graduates to stay in Wisconsin. Young people like Amber, who is a student at Gateway Technical College, Joey and Tim, who attend Madison College, and Eric, who is a student at Fox Valley Technical College. They all have plans to be a part of the 13,000 people working on the Foxconn team. Thank you for being such a visible reminder of all the employers that are growing here in Wisconsin.
Eight years ago, things were not very good in our state. There were double-digit tax increases, billion-dollar budget deficits, and record job losses. State aid to schools and local governments were cut with no new tools provided. UW tuition was continuing to go up faster than inflation. And Wisconsin consistently ranked in the bottom ten states for business.
We don’t want to go back to those days. That would be a giant step backwards. Thankfully, many of us in this chamber today had the courage to make some tough decisions. The results from those tough decisions helped turn our state around.
Those results now allow us to invest record amounts into our schools and into other priorities while still making Wisconsin more affordable for the hard-working taxpayers of this state. Now, we need to keep moving Wisconsin forward.
So today, I am laying out an Ambitious Agenda for 2018 to keep us headed in the right direction.
First, to ensure that every child has access to a great education, we are going to find additional ways to put more resources into the classroom. A good school equals a great life, and we have some of the best schools in the country. We will build off of our historic investments into K-12 education.
Looking ahead, we need to continue to help rural schools keep more money in the classroom. Many of these schools have unique needs related to transportation and to the size of the district. I want to ensure educational excellence everywhere. With that in mind, we have a plan that will increase Sparsity Aid and help out low revenue school districts.
I want to personally thank Joint Finance Co-Chair John Nygren for his leadership on this, along with Senator Howard Marklein and Representative Jeff Mursau.
Today, I call on members of the state Legislature to pass this plan.
Second, we need to grow the number of opportunities for our young people to pursue great careers here in our state. We developed a plan with the Wisconsin Technical College System, the University of Wisconsin System and with private colleges and universities in Wisconsin. With all of the new jobs being created in our state, we must have enough graduates with the skills to fill these careers.
Today, I propose that we use the $20 million designated in Act 58 to establish a new Wisconsin Career Creator program on campuses all over the state. Years ago, brain drain was a problem. Now, with all of the exciting new jobs and developments, there are many more reasons to keep our graduates in Wisconsin. Now that’s brain gain.
Tonette and I love the fact that our sons Matt and Alex work here in the state. We know how nice it is to have family close to home. We want that for other families as well.
Education and training are the keys to building a strong workforce. We also increased opportunities for people with physical and intellectual disabilities in the workforce.
Plus, our budget included a major increase in funding for vocational training within our correctional system. And we are aggressively working to get veterans into the workforce. Still, we will need to increase the number of potential employees in the state.
With more people working than ever before, we cannot afford to have anyone on the sidelines. Therefore, as the third point in our Ambitious Agenda, I propose that we expand our Wisconsin Works for everyone welfare reforms.
Since we started requiring employment and worker training, more than 25,000 people have gained employment. People like Thomas from Stevens Point and Charlotte from Beloit.
Thomas had been working a series of seasonal jobs. With our training program, he now has a permanent job with MedXcel at St. Michael’s in Stevens Point and says it’s his dream job.
Charlotte had health issues that forced her out of a job. Through our program, she got help and was hired almost immediately to work in registration at Beloit Health System.
These are just a few of the success stories of the more than 25,000 people who are in the workforce because of our work to transition more people from government dependence to true independence through the dignity of work.
Still, we need more individuals in the workforce. Each week, we typically have 80,000 to 100,000 job openings on our state website, jobcenterofwisconsin.com.
With that in mind, I am calling a special session to pass our common sense welfare reform plan.
We want able-bodied, working age adults to work at least 30 hours a week or enroll in job training to get assistance. We want to expand welfare reform statewide. And we want to ensure that everyone getting public assistance can pass a drug test. If someone fails, we set aside resources to get them into rehabilitation because we understand that if we get them healthy, we can find a job for anyone in the state.
We also propose putting asset limits on public assistance so people with giant mansions and fancy cars don’t get welfare checks while hard-working taxpayers have to pay the bills.
While many are upset with the inability to get things done in Washington, we are getting positive things done for the people of Wisconsin.
Thank you to Speaker Vos and Senator Chris Kapenga for leading and working with us on welfare reform.
Now, some will complain that our reforms are about making it harder to get government assistance. The truth is, our reforms are about making it easier to get a job. For those who are able, we will enable them to find meaningful work. We want to help people pursue careers to support themselves and their families. You see, public assistance should be more like a trampoline and not a hammock. Just like Tommy Thompson did in the 1990s when unemployment was low and times were good, we are moving people from welfare into the workforce.
Fourth, I ask the members of the Legislature to pass our Small Business Plan to help even more employers grow across the state. The first step is reducing costs for small businesses. Lower taxes, streamlining regulations, and reducing frivolous lawsuits are all part of the plan. There is still more that can be done this session on ending unemployment fraud and on lawsuit reform.
Let’s get it done.
The next step for small business is preparing the workforce. Our plans include investments in schools, apprenticeships, higher education, and worker training.
Another step for small businesses is removing barriers to work. The plan includes ending benefit cliffs to encourage more people to work, take more hours and advance into higher wage jobs. It also includes work requirements and screening for drug use for welfare benefits, as well as adding new populations to the workforce.
The final step of our plan for small businesses is to help attract new talent. I ask for the assistance of the Legislature as we seek to attract to Wisconsin several key groups of potential employees: transitioning veterans and their families, graduates of Wisconsin colleges and universities and millennials from across the Midwest.
For more details on our Small Business Plan, please visit our website walker.wi.gov.
We are committed to helping small business grow in every part of Wisconsin. We recently announced major new investments in our ethnic chambers of commerce to help grow minority- owned small businesses. We continue to partner with local chambers, with county economic development entities and with regional economic development organizations to grow small businesses.
And to ensure that more small businesses succeed in the rural parts of the state, I propose that we create a Rural Economic Development Fund of $50 million per year. The fund will support the development of new businesses and the expansion of small businesses in rural areas. And it can assist in training more people to fill the positions being created by employers in rural area.
On top of that, many of the small businesses in our rural communities support and depend on our farm families.
To keep more of our family dairy farms, I propose a plan that would create a Family Farm Fund. This fund would provide scholarships to encourage students to take advantage of agriculture- related studies at a Wisconsin technical college or the UW-College of Agriculture that would help them begin a rewarding career in farming.
Our plan would also help farmers deal with the costs of ensuring that their farming practices preserve clean water in rural areas.
We also recognize that farmers are facing challenges with low commodity prices. That’s why, earlier today, I signed an Executive Order that expands resources for farmers to reach new markets across the country and around the world.
We also need to do more to connect people and businesses in rural areas to high speed Internet connections. As mentioned, we made a major new investment in broadband access grants for communities and in TEACH grants for schools and students. But we can do more. That’s why I’m calling on the Federal Communications Commission to finalize rules increasing access to broadband internet by advancing television white space technology. White space is the unused spectrum between broadcast television stations and it can deliver high-speed internet to underserved areas of Wisconsin.
Each of these items will help grow small businesses in Wisconsin. Therefore, I ask for the members of the Legislature to act on these items that require legislative approval before the end of session.
Our Ambitious Agenda also includes our work to reform state government – to make it more effective, more efficient and more accountable to the people.
We will continue to challenge the status quo.
With that in mind, we are pushing a major reform of the criminal justice system for serious juvenile offenders. Over the past year, we worked with county officials, members of the judiciary, policy experts and lawmakers from both political parties.
We looked at best practices in states like Missouri and elsewhere to see how to reform the system here in Wisconsin.
Thank you to Secretary Jon Litscher and Secretary Linda Seemeyer for their work and that of their incredible teams.
Instead of one or two large facilities, which has been the model for decades, our reform plan would create six smaller facilities spread throughout the state. Locations for five of the sites would be determined by collaborating with the 72 counties - since the offenders are sent to state facilities from individual counties. The other facility would be at Mendota Mental Health Institute as part of the nationally recognized program for mental health treatment.
The complex in Lincoln County would be converted to a medium security adult prison. It would likely focus on alcohol and drug abuse treatment. This additional space would also help limit the amount of money the Department of Corrections has to pay for contract beds outside of the state system.
The Department of Corrections has made many changes over the past few years to improve safety and treatment. These include additional positions, increased compensation, and changes in medicine distribution and more security cameras. The changes I am talking about today, however, are larger than that and are really about long-term reform of the system.
Today, I ask the members of the state Legislature to act on this plan by the end of session.
I particularly want to thank Representative Evan Goyke for his work on these reforms. Much of our plan parallels his work. He is now amending his bill to include our additions in mental health and trauma-informed care. Let’s work with the counties to pass this plan quickly so we can move forward with real reform.
Just like families all across the state have had to do, over the past 8 or 9 years, we have made tough decisions. They paid off. Our reforms are working. The economy is growing. And Wisconsin has a sizable surplus.
As I promised, when we have a surplus, we will give it back to you, the hardworking taxpayers. This is your reform dividend. You deserve it.
So, today, I propose that we create a child tax credit in Wisconsin.
Families across the state will receive $100 for every child, under 18, living at home.
A couple hundred dollars more in the family budget could really make a difference, particularly when getting ready for the next school year.
It could be a new pair of shoes, a winter coat, activity fees at school, or a co-pay at the doctor or dentist. We know sometimes Wisconsin families face challenges when making ends meet, and this new child tax credit can help.
Today, I am joined by families from all over Wisconsin who will benefit from our child tax credit.
Today, I ask members of the Legislature to pass my plan, so that by the time these kids, and all the others like them across the state begin school this fall, their parents will have a check in the mailbox.
The final part of our Ambitious Agenda for 2018 is providing stability in health care. Our citizens are crying out for a stable health care system. Washington has failed to act so it is time for us to lead in Wisconsin.
That is why, today, I propose the Health Care Stability Plan.
Most people receive their health care coverage from their employer. Premium increases for the majority of employer-based plans were fairly modest this year at about 5 percent.
The biggest concern I hear about is from those who are worried about pre-existing conditions. With that in mind, I propose that we enact a law in Wisconsin that will guarantee coverage of pre-existing conditions. That way someone who has cancer or another serious disease or ailment will not have to worry about obtaining or keeping coverage.
The members of the state Assembly have already moved forward, now I ask the members of the Senate to do the same.
This will provide comfort and stability for people all across Wisconsin.
For our senior citizens, most receive their health care through Medicare. While that is a federal and not a state program, we can provide certainty and stability for those who depend on SeniorCare.
In the past, there has been plenty of debate about whether this should be a federal or state government responsibility. It is clear that people want it at the state level.
Therefore, I am officially seeking a permanent waiver for the State of Wisconsin to provide SeniorCare.
Since it was first approved in 2002, the state has asked for an extension of SeniorCare four times. It is time to make this a permanent and stable program.
For the small number of people who seek coverage through the individual market, and not through their employer or through Medicaid or Medicare, I propose that the state provide assistance to keep those premiums from making health care coverage unreachable for many of our fellow citizens.