When I vetoed the Senate version of this bill, SB 454, I raised concerns about the need for long-term sustainable funding. Wisconsin is projected to have a $3.8 billion surplus at the end of the 2021-23 biennium—nearly $2.9 billion more than was expected in June 2021—while the state’s ‘rainy day’ fund now sits at the highest level in state history. Instead of amending the bill to utilize state dollars and ensure ongoing funding, the bill was amended to require the use of already allocated one-time federal funds. I am vetoing this bill in its entirety because I continue to object to overhauling Wisconsin’s reading readiness system for assessment and intervention without evidence that the proposed approach is best suited to our students, without long-term, sustainable funding.
As I stated previously, we need to address reading proficiency and increase literacy success in our schools, particularly after the challenges our kids, parents, and schools faced during the pandemic. A bill that will ultimately lead to reducing valuable instruction time and asks schools to rely on one-time money for long-term expenses fails to provide the necessary and meaningful investments our kids and our schools deserve.
As I advocated for as Superintendent of Public Instruction, and have proposed as Governor is that we need to provide the necessary funding to support the work of our educators, administrators, and staff currently doing the work with our kids to ensure reading and literacy success.
I am vetoing Assembly Bill 495 in its entirety.
This bill would weaken current conceal carry weapon license regulations establishing gun-free school zones by allowing, under certain circumstances, a concealed carry weapon licensee to possess a loaded firearm on school grounds.
I am vetoing this bill in its entirety because I object to creating another exception to the gun-free school zone law. Wisconsin's gun-free school zone law passed with strong bipartisan support and was signed into law by Governor Thompson in 1991. Wisconsinites desperately want their elected leaders to take action to find common-sense solutions that both respect and uphold rights and ensure our schools, our streets, and our communities are safe. To that end, I have been proud to invest more than $100 million into violence and crime prevention and efforts to support local and tribal public safety agencies.
By contrast, this bill neither improves public safety nor addresses gun violence in our state by allowing for an increased presence of firearms—including loaded firearms—on school grounds. This could only further endanger our kids and make our schools less safe.
I am vetoing Assembly Bill 518 in its entirety.
This bill would expand conceal carry reciprocity by allowing an out-of-state resident with authorization issued by any other state to carry a concealed weapon in Wisconsin. Currently, the Wisconsin Department of Justice maintains a reciprocity list that outlines those states whose permits are honored in Wisconsin. Other states’ permits are only honored if they require as part of the license, or designate that the holder chose to submit to, a background search comparable to the type of background check required for Wisconsin licenses. This bill removes the requirement that the issuing state is on this list.
I am vetoing this bill in its entirety because I object to letting non-residents carry concealed weapons in our state without having met the same criteria as Wisconsinites. The department’s background check process serves a critical public safety function. This bill would risk public safety by allowing out-of-state residents to enter our state, carry concealed weapons, and avoid the same background check process that a Wisconsin licensee must undergo.
I am vetoing Assembly Bill 569 in its entirety.
This bill would require the Wisconsin Department of Corrections to reimburse local units of government for law enforcement investigative services provided for incidents involving persons in the care of the department. The legislature voted to remove the funding necessary to support this legislation before sending it to my desk.
I support reimbursing local units of government for law enforcement investigative services. That is why I included language in my 2021-23 executive budget to reimburse local units of government for law enforcement investigative services and provided funding to make such reimbursements. That budget provision was rejected by the Legislature’s Joint Committee on Finance on a party-line vote. My administration’s support is also among the reasons why the Department of Corrections originally provided written testimony in support of this bill.
Unfortunately, an amendment during the legislative process removed the funding behind this proposal. I am vetoing this bill in its entirety because I object to the Legislature’s failure to provide the necessary resources for implementation, creating an unfunded mandate, when the state has ample resources available to support this effort.
I am vetoing Assembly Bill 597 in its entirety.
This bill would allow an individual licensed to carry a concealed weapon to possess a firearm in a place of worship that is located on the same grounds as a private school.
I am vetoing this bill in its entirety because I object to creating another exception to the gun-free school zone law. Wisconsin's gun-free school zone law passed with strong bipartisan support and was signed into law by Governor Thompson in 1991. Wisconsinites desperately want their elected leaders to take action to find common-sense solutions that both respect and uphold rights and ensure our schools, our streets, and our communities are safe. To that end, I have been proud to invest more than $100 million into violence and crime prevention and efforts to support local and tribal public safety agencies.
By contrast, this bill neither improves public safety nor addresses gun violence in our state by allowing for an increased presence of firearms—including loaded firearms—on school grounds. This could only further endanger our kids and make our schools less safe.
I am vetoing Assembly Bill 643 in its entirety.
This bill would specify that a Department of Administration construction project selection committee may not refuse an architect or engineer for a construction project costing less than $7,400,000 simply because the architect or engineer operates a firm with only one architect or engineer.
I am vetoing this bill in its entirety because I object to removing requirements designed to protect the state, and in turn, its taxpayers. It is prudent for the state to require that firms wishing to complete large and expensive building projects have a second architect or engineer in the event that the first architect is ill, injured, or otherwise unable to complete the project on time. The state has an obligation to protect taxpayer dollars, especially when it comes to multimillion-dollar building projects; it is therefore reasonable to require that if a firm wishes to take part in a building project for the state, the firm must either have a second architect or engineer, as the project warrants, or partner with another architect or engineer to give the state necessary assurance of coverage.
I am vetoing Assembly Bill 675 in its entirety.
This bill would mandate that employers requiring proof of vaccine against COVID-19 must accept documentation demonstrating natural immunity against the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus (COVID-19) in lieu of proof of vaccination or regular testing.
I am vetoing this bill because I object to preventing employers from making decisions that are informed by science and public health to help combat the spread of COVID-19. The COVID-19 vaccine remains the most effective tool we have to prevent serious illness, hospitalizations, and death.
Private entities and businesses should remain free to implement COVID-19 mitigation measures to keep themselves, their workers, and customers safe without the Legislature’s political interference.
I am vetoing Assembly Bill 776 in its entirety.
Under current law, it is a Class I felony to damage or graffiti property if the damage exceeds $2,500 or to damage certain property on state-owned land. This bill further specifies in state law that any damage or graffiti to certain property or to a structure, plaque, statue, painting, or other monument of commemorative or historical significance that is maintained by any state, county, or municipality or that is located on publicly owned land would also result in a Class I felony.
I am vetoing this bill because the behavior this bill purports to address is already prohibited and punishable under current law. It is already a Class A misdemeanor to commit these acts if the damage is less than $2,500. An individual who commits these acts and causes damage valued at over $2,500 is already punishable with a Class I felony under current Wisconsin state law. Thus, current law already ensures individuals who engage in this behavior can be held accountable.
I am vetoing Assembly Bill 777 in its entirety.
This bill would require the Governor to allocate $10,000,000 of federal funds awarded to Wisconsin from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) to political subdivisions for costs associated with policing. Any grant program would have to be approved by a legislative committee, which would also have the authority to modify it.
My administration and I have, thankfully, not waited for Legislative direction to begin this important work. Last fall, I announced my administration would be making a $45 million investment in ensuring safer communities through violence prevention and support for crime victims. Additionally, I recently announced more than $50 million into efforts to address reckless driving, support evidence-based crime prevention strategies, and alleviate justice system backlogs.
To date, I have been proud to invest more than $100 million into violence and crime prevention and efforts to promote public safety in communities across our state. Among that $100 million includes a program to invest nearly $19 million into providing funding to local and tribal law enforcement agencies in Wisconsin. This will enable these public safety agencies to address the unique needs facing their communities, including training, recruitment bonuses, community policing needs, and technology investments. The determination of an agency’s amount is a formula based on the population served and includes a violent crime add-on for locations where violent crime exceeds the statewide average.
I am vetoing this bill in its entirety because I object to the Legislature’s effort to limit the state’s ability to use federal funds and also because my administration has already been using federal aid to invest in violence prevention and crime prevention and community safety efforts, including supporting costs associated with public safety efforts. Additionally, in Wisconsin, it remains the role of the Governor to oversee the use of federal funds under Section 16.54 of the Wisconsin State Statutes, which has been established and reaffirmed on several occasions. I am vetoing Assembly Bill 824 in its entirety.
This bill would create a five-year penalty enhancer for a battery to a Department of Corrections employee by a person in custody. This bill would also require that any sentence imposed pursuant to this bill must run consecutively, rather than concurrently, to any sentence the person is already serving.
I am vetoing this bill in its entirety because the conduct this bill purportedly seeks to address is already prohibited and punishable under current law and judges already have the discretion to impose a sentence consecutively rather than concurrently. More specifically, current law already outlines increased penalties for batteries committed under specific circumstances, including currently existing increased penalties if committed by a person in our care at a correctional institution, or if the victim is a probation agent, extended supervision agent, parole agent, community supervision agent, aftercare agent, or a nurse.
I am vetoing Assembly Bill 827 in its entirety.
This bill would mandatorily aggregate the value of property for the purposes of determining a penalty for theft and retail theft if committed by three or more individuals, at the same time, in the same place, and in concert.
I am vetoing this bill in its entirety because I object to adding duplicative provisions to our criminal code as there are already state laws addressing orchestrated theft. Our criminal code already provides for the aggregation of the value of stolen property where multiple acts of theft are prosecuted as a single count, as well as party to a crime and conspiracy.
Republican and Democrat-controlled states alike have been leading efforts to reform the justice system by using data-driven, evidence-based practices to inform decisions that help keep our communities safe. Unfortunately, the Wisconsin State Legislature persists in working to push our state in the opposite direction. I welcome the opportunity to have meaningful conversations about holding offenders accountable while implementing strategies that can keep our kids, our families, and our communities safe. I remain hopeful the Legislature will join me in this important work.
I am vetoing Assembly Bill 828 in its entirety.
The bill requires the Governor to allocate sufficient funds received under section 602 of the federal Social Security Act, as amended by the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) of 2021, to the Department of Corrections and the Department of Health Services for additional compensation for correctional officers, youth counselors, and psychiatric care technicians. The bill requires the Department of Corrections to provide an additional $2 per hour to correctional officers and youth counselors during calendar year 2022 and $5 per hour during calendar year 2023. The bill also requires the Department of Health Services to provide an additional $2 per hour to psychiatric care technicians during calendar year 2022 and $5 per hour during calendar year 2023. The hourly wage increases would not be cumulative. Under the bill, the pay increases are not permanent and would be rescinded when ARPA funding is no longer available. The bill also requires the Governor to allocate these ARPA funds to both agencies that may then use them to provide recruitment and retention benefits, including, but not limited to, overtime compensation, sign-on bonuses, and longevity bonuses, to employees in these classifications.
I am vetoing the bill because I object to mandating the use of additional one-time federal funds without taking into account the other needed investments of federal dollars, most importantly our ongoing work to respond to and recover from the pandemic. My administration has already prioritized funds to provide a much-deserved add-on to our correctional workers while ensuring sufficient funding for our ongoing efforts. While this add-on is funded through a combination of federal funds under ARPA and existing agency budgets during the current fiscal biennium, it is the intent of the administration to make these pay increases permanent with readily available state resources, beginning in the 2023-25 biennial budget. The majority of these funds have already been allocated to assist Wisconsinites with the recovery from the Coronavirus pandemic. This bill would require that federal funds be redirected from the public health response, broadband, or tourism grants.
Furthermore, the 2021-23 compensation plan and companion bill proposed by the Division of Personnel Management within the Department of Administration provided additional state funding for compensation for correctional officers, youth counselors, and psychiatric care technicians which are critical for employee recruitment and retention, as well as to ensure safety inside of our institutions. This proposal from my administration funded these pay increases on a permanent basis using a small portion of the largest general fund balance in the history of our state. Unfortunately, the Joint Committee on Employment Relations chose to play politics, reject this proposal, and instead authorized a smaller and unfunded pay increase that is insufficient in solving this workforce crisis.
In favoring one-time ARPA funds instead of state funds, the Legislature is not offering a meaningful solution to this ongoing problem. Rescinding the increases after certain ARPA funds are no longer available will create even more significant recruitment and retention issues. Responsibly compensating our correctional officers, youth counselors, and psychiatric technicians is an important and ongoing state cost. The state holds the largest general fund balance in the history of the state and our budget stabilization fund is at its highest level ever. We have ample state resources available to make these important investments, and I welcome the Legislature to join me by supporting this effort in my next biennial budget.
I am vetoing Assembly Bill 829 in its entirety.
This bill would create a 180-day mandatory minimum sentence for a person convicted of a third offense of retail theft, which includes theft of services, within five years.
I am vetoing this bill in its entirety because I object to restricting the discretion of judges to address the circumstances of the violation before them. Republican and Democrat-controlled states alike have been leading efforts to reform the justice system by using data-driven, evidence-based practices to inform decisions that help keep our communities safe. I welcome the opportunity to have meaningful conversations about holding offenders accountable while implementing strategies that can keep our kids, our families, and our communities safe. I remain hopeful the Legislature will join me in this important work.
I am vetoing Assembly Bill 831 in its entirety.
This bill would require the Governor to allocate $1,000,000 of federal funds awarded to Wisconsin from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) for a marketing campaign designed to recruit and retain law enforcement officers, including the recruitment of out-of-state law enforcement officers from communities in other states that have sought to reduce funding for law enforcement.
My administration and I have, thankfully, not waited for Legislative direction to begin this important work. Last fall, I announced my administration would be making a $45 million investment in ensuring safer communities through violence prevention and support for crime victims. Additionally, I recently announced more than $50 million into efforts to address reckless driving, support evidence-based crime prevention strategies, and alleviate justice system backlogs.
To date, I have been proud to invest more than $100 million into violence and crime prevention and efforts to promote public safety in communities across our state. Among that $100 million includes a program to invest nearly $19 million into providing funding to local and tribal law enforcement agencies in Wisconsin. This will enable these public safety agencies to address the unique needs facing their communities, including training, recruitment bonuses, community policing needs, and technology investments. The determination of an agency’s amount is a formula based on the population served and includes a violent crime add-on for locations where violent crime exceeds the statewide average. Additionally, among that $100 million investment was also $1 million for the Wisconsin Technical College System to establish part-time police academies to help address our state’s public safety workforce challenges. These investments also do not include the $130 million I have directed toward finding innovative, long-term, and community-based solutions to addressing our state’s longstanding challenges retaining and bringing talented workers.
I am vetoing this bill in its entirety because I object to the Legislature’s effort to limit the state’s ability to use federal funds and because my administration has been using ARPA federal aid to invest in violence prevention and crime prevention and community safety efforts. In Wisconsin, it is the role of the Governor to oversee the use of federal funds under Section 16.54 of the Wisconsin State Statutes, which is established, has been in place for decades, and was reaffirmed by legislative leadership in a letter sent to me in April 2020. I am vetoing Assembly Bill 832 in its entirety.
This bill would require the Law Enforcement Standards Board to reimburse certain individual preparatory training expenses and agency recertification training expenses. These reimbursement programs would end on December 31, 2024, and would be funded by requiring the Governor to allocate federal funds from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA).
To date, I have been proud to invest more than $100 million into violence and crime prevention and efforts to promote public safety in communities across our state. Among that $100 million includes a program to invest nearly $19 million into providing funding to local and tribal law enforcement agencies in Wisconsin. This will enable these public safety agencies to address the unique needs facing their communities, including training, recruitment bonuses, community policing needs, and technology investments. The determination of an agency’s amount is a formula based on the population served and includes a violent crime add-on for locations where violent crime exceeds the statewide average.
I am vetoing this bill in its entirety because I object to the Legislature’s effort to limit the state’s ability to use federal funds and because my administration has been using ARPA federal aid to make meaningful investments in violence prevention and crime prevention and community safety efforts. The Governor of Wisconsin is charged with overseeing the use of federal funds under Section 16.54 of the Wisconsin State Statutes, which is clearly established, has been in place for decades, and was reaffirmed by legislative leadership in a letter sent to me in April 2020. I am vetoing Assembly Bill 834 in its entirety.
This bill would create a statutory standard for executing "no-knock" search warrants, preempt local authorities from adopting policies that conflict with that standard, and place certain requirements on how first-class cities spend their distribution of Local Fiscal Recovery Funds from the federal American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA).
I am vetoing this bill in its entirety because I object to the Legislature imposing onerous restrictions on first-class cities to use federal funds with the flexibility necessary to confront the variety of challenges posed by recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. Local governments and local elected officials are well-positioned to make informed decisions about what is best for their communities and how to meet the needs of the people they serve and represent without unnecessary political interference and micromanagement by the Legislature. I once again welcome the Legislature to make meaningful investments in tangible solutions like increasing County and Municipal Aid so that communities can more readily increase support for public safety services across our state. Moreover, I recently signed 2021 Wisconsin Act 183 into law, which requires the Department of Justice to collect certain information on no-knock entries in the execution of search warrants, which is a necessary step to further understanding this issue. I am vetoing Assembly Bill 836 in its entirety.
This bill would require the Wisconsin Technical College System Board to work with local technical college district boards to establish two part-time police academies and would require that the Governor allocate $1 million in fiscal year 2022-23 from discretionary federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) dollars.
I am vetoing this bill in its entirety because I object on the grounds that the Wisconsin Technical College System and Board expressed concerns about two provisions in this bill that went unaddressed through the legislative process and requested additional flexibility to implement this program effectively. To that end, on March 15, 2022, I announced $1 million for the Wisconsin Technical College System to establish part-time police academies with that requested flexibility. We allow our technical colleges to be responsive to workforce needs in creating these academies so they can continue to be a critical partner in addressing our state’s workforce challenges.
Finally, it remains the role of the Governor to oversee the use of federal funds under Section 16.54 of the Wisconsin State Statutes. I am vetoing Assembly Bill 884 in its entirety.
This bill would mandate the University of Wisconsin System (System) to accept a course in the U.S. Constitution or the Bill of Rights to satisfy diversity or ethnic studies required for core general education courses.
I am vetoing this bill in its entirety because I object to the Legislature’s continued efforts to politicize our higher education institutions, sow division on our campuses, and micromanage the University of Wisconsin System and Board of Regents. This Legislature must stop using our students as political pawns. Educators should be able to teach honest, complete facts about important historical topics and events, and our students deserve to learn in atmospheres conducive to learning without being subjected to political interference by the Legislature.
I am vetoing Assembly Bill 885 in its entirety.
This bill eliminates statutory immunity for University of Wisconsin System (“System”) or Wisconsin Technical College System (“WTCS”) district board campus administrators from liability for violations of certain individual expressive rights on system or technical college campuses. The bill allows for the recovery of reasonable attorney fees and costs by a prevailing plaintiff.
I am vetoing this bill in its entirety because the System already has policies and practices in place reflecting its obligations under the extensive body of caselaw defining First Amendment rights and exceptions and providing protections and remedies in case of a violation. According to the System, no case has been brought forward in Wisconsin in which a System or WTCS district employee was found to have violated the expressive rights of another individual under the state constitution. This demonstrates first and foremost how seriously Wisconsin's higher education institutions already take academic freedom and freedom of expression. It also underscores that existing state law and policies already sufficiently address the concerns this bill raises.
This legislation, like several bills before me, represents yet another attempt by this Legislature to politicize our campuses and higher education institutions. Our students and our world-class higher education institutions would be much better suited if this Legislature instead meaningfully considered efforts to invest in students and education at every level, and I welcome the opportunity to engage in this important conversation and do what’s best for our kids.
I am vetoing Assembly Bill 888 in its entirety.
The bill would require the Governor to allocate $10 million in federal funding received under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 to the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) to fund talent attraction and retention initiatives focusing on veterans. The bill also requires WEDC to expend those funds allocated by the Governor for this purpose.
My administration has been working diligently to make meaningful investments in our workforce, including support for our veterans in our workforce. I announced in July 2021 an investment of $130 million into solutions to help address our state’s long-term workforce challenges. This investment included $100 million to develop innovative, community-based solutions to supporting our workforce, apprenticeship, and work training, $20 million toward subsidizing employment and skills training for individuals who are unemployed, and $10 million to help connect workers with available jobs. Today, much of this investment has already been awarded to important projects and efforts in every corner of our state.
We have also worked to provide additional federal funds to invest in veteran-owned businesses and their economic recovery through the Diverse Business Assistance Grant Program. This program, which I created to assist small businesses in communities disproportionately impacted by the pandemic, provided, among other investments, nearly $5 million toward the Wisconsin Veterans Chamber of Commerce and CRC Employment and Entrepreneurial Services—both organizations that serve veterans and veteran-owned businesses by providing educational programming, computer literacy, technical assistance, and other benefits for new business owners.
I also recently announced over half a million dollars in grants to 14 registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations that provide financial assistance, entrepreneurship training, or other services to Wisconsin veterans and their families. Since starting in 2015, the WDVA’s grant programs have awarded more than $1.7 million in funding to organizations that have a goal of ensuring Wisconsin veterans and their families are properly cared for, and more than $2.2 million in funding to non-profit organizations that provide entrepreneurship or technical, business, or other assistance to veteran entrepreneurs to improve employment outcomes.
I am vetoing this bill in its entirety because I object to the Legislature attempting to limit the state’s ability to use federal funds. It is the governor’s role to oversee the use of federal funds under Wisconsin State Statutes Section 16.54. I remain committed to the work my administration has already been doing to ensure our veterans have the resources and support they deserve. I recently announced Blue Ribbon Commission on Veteran Opportunity will examine issues related to veteran employment and training, among other topics supporting veteran success. As Wisconsin’s economic recovery from the pandemic continues, my administration remains committed to further efforts aimed at strengthening businesses and our workforce. We will continue our effort to bolster collaboration with Wisconsin’s veterans, strengthen the network of veterans organizations working to provide care and assistance, and find long-term solutions to support our state’s and our country’s heroes and the challenges they face—both those that existed before the pandemic and others that worsened because of it.
I am vetoing Assembly Bill 903 in its entirety.
This bill requires school boards to annually submit a report to the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) on the presence of a gifted and talented program coordinator and their time worked on gifted and talented programming, the number of gifted and talented pupils that received gifted and talented services, demographics for each pupil, and any other information requested by DPI. Under the bill, DPI must annually report on its website for each school district (1) the number of pupils evaluated to determine if they are a gifted and talented pupil; (2) the number of pupils identified as gifted and talented pupils; (3) the number of pupils who received gifted and talented program services (unless doing so would jeopardize confidentiality) and pupil demographics; (4) DPI’s determination of whether or not the school district complied with the state’s gifted and talented law; (5) the services and activities provided to gifted and talented pupils under a gifted and talented program; and (6) whether the school district employs a gifted and talented program coordinator and if so the amount of time that person spends on the district’s gifted and talented program. Further, DPI must include on its website the statewide pupil participation rate in advanced placement courses, and for any entity receiving.
Further, the bill adds to the Department of Workforce Development’s teacher training grant program a purpose area to award grants for professional development for teachers serving gifted and talented pupils. Along with the other annual reporting responsibilities added by this bill, DPI would also have to compile and publish on its website the services and activities provided by such grant recipients to gifted and talented pupils. Further, the bill would require DPI to audit for compliance at least 10 percent of school districts selected at random, in addition to including information on compliance with gifted and talented requirements on school report cards.
We have worked diligently over the course of the last three years to make meaningful investments in our kids and our schools after a decade’s worth of cuts to education, returning our state to having the 8th best pre-K-12 education system in the country after dropping to 17th just five years ago. I also support the gifted and talented pupil program. For example, in my first biennial budget, I proposed more than $1.5 million over the 2019-2021 biennium to support gifted and talented education. The Legislature removed that investment from my budget.
I am vetoing this bill in its entirety because I object to this Legislature’s failure to increase investments in an already underfunded program while simultaneously adding new mandates without the sustainable, long-term funding necessary for implementation. Wisconsin, even after doubling the amount of gifted and talented funding in the current biennium, still provides far less to gifted and talented programming compared to neighboring states. This bill does not address this concern, and instead, potentially exacerbates it.
I am vetoing Assembly Bill 912 in its entirety.
This bill limits the use of emergency powers during emergencies.
I am vetoing this bill in its entirety because I object to the Legislature potentially preventing small businesses from receiving targeted relief and resources designed specifically to support small, family-owned businesses during an economic emergency, and I object to potentially having to use economic relief programs designed for small, family-owned, and main street businesses to support big box corporations.
Economic crises often have disproportionate effects on small, main street businesses compared to larger corporations and big businesses. To this end, a state’s immediate economic relief and recovery efforts must make intentional and targeted investments to support local main streets and economies that otherwise might not be able to leverage economic resources to the same extent as large, corporate counterparts. See, for example, my administration’s “We’re All In” small business grant program announced in May 2020 to respond to the coronavirus pandemic, which was funded through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act. Our program invested $75 million in the early days of the pandemic to provide $2,500 in cash grants to help businesses with cost interruptions or health and safety improvements, paying worker salaries and wages, rent and mortgages, and inventory. These grants were critically important in helping small businesses across our state and were specifically targeted to go to small businesses with 20 or fewer employees.
Investing specifically in Wisconsin small businesses has been a central focus of our economic relief and recovery efforts during a state of emergency. The “We’re All In” grant program referenced above was just one of many I have implemented to specifically provide targeted resources and assistance in response to this economic crisis. In fact, my administration has been proud to be a national leader in the share of the federal aid we have directed to economic development and small business support. An analysis conducted in November 2021 found Wisconsin ranked second in the country for aid we have directed to economic development and first in the country in aid, we have allocated to businesses. During this pandemic, we have helped more than 100,000 small businesses, including helping more than 3,400 small businesses open up storefronts in all 72 counties. Clearly, many of these programs were directed to help small businesses, not big box corporations.
This bill would have potentially forced us to reduce or even eliminate altogether some of the economic support programs we ultimately devoted to our small businesses, instead requiring us to provide the same economic support to big-box corporations as well—no matter how big they are or how much money they have—to the significant detriment of Wisconsin’s small businesses that desperately needed our help. Under this bill, any future state action relating to an emergency must be applied to all businesses uniformly, which could prevent the state from responding to an emergency by providing targeted resources to specifically help small businesses without necessarily providing those same resources to big box corporations, too.
