AB68: Bill Text

AB68,1367,7 238.137 Pandemic recovery. The corporation shall aid in the state's economic recovery from the COVID-19 global pandemic by providing financial assistance to small businesses adversely affected by the pandemic, including for the retention of current employees and the rehiring of former employees. The corporation shall, as necessary, coordinate with the Department of Revenue in the administration of programs under this section.

AB68,2548 Section 2548. 238.139 of the statutes is created to read:

AB68,1367,12 238.139 Financial assistance for underserved communities. The corporation shall expend $5,000,000 annually to provide grants, loans, and other assistance to underserved communities in this state, including members of minority groups, woman-owned businesses, and individuals and businesses in rural areas.

AB68,2549 Section 2549. 238.145 of the statutes is created to read:

AB68,1367,15 238.145 Venture capital fund of funds program. (1) Definitions. In this section:

AB68,1367,17 (a) “Investment manager” means the person with whom the oversight board enters into a contract under sub. (4).

AB68,1367,18 (b) “Oversight board” means the oversight board created under sub. (2) (c).

AB68,1367,22 (2) Establishment of program. The corporation shall establish and administer a fund of funds program to invest moneys in venture capital funds that invest in businesses located in this state, subject to the requirements of this section. In establishing the program, the corporation shall do all of the following:

AB68,1367,23 (a) Create a fund of funds.

AB68,1367,24 (b) Provide that the fund of funds will continuously reinvest its assets.

AB68,1368,2 (c) Create an oversight board to conduct any activity as required by this section or as directed by the corporation.

AB68,1368,8 (3) Investments in venture capital funds. (a) The investment manager shall request from the corporation monies to make investments through the program established under sub. (2) and to pay the investment manager's management fee, and the corporation shall, subject to the approval of the secretary of the department of administration, pay the monies to the investment manager from the appropriation under s. 20.192 (1) (c).

AB68,1368,10 (b) The oversight board shall establish investment policies for the program established under sub. (2), subject to all of the following conditions:

AB68,1368,14 1. All moneys paid to the investment manager under par. (a) to make investments shall be committed for investment to venture capital funds, subject to the requirements of this section, no later than 60 months after the creation of the fund of funds under sub. (2) (a).

AB68,1368,17 2. No more than $25,000,000 of the total moneys paid to the investment manager under par. (a) to make investments may be invested in any single venture capital fund.

AB68,1368,19 3. At least 20 percent of the investments made through the program shall be directed to any combination of the following:

AB68,1368,21 a. Businesses located in parts of this state that typically do not receive significant investment from venture capital funds.

AB68,1368,24 b. Businesses that are at least 51 percent owned by one or more members of a racial minority group and the management and daily business operations of which are controlled by one or more members of a racial minority group.

AB68,1369,3 c. Businesses that are at least 51 percent owned by one or more women and the management and daily business operations of which are controlled by one or more women.

AB68,1369,4 (c) No investment may be made through the program in a lobbying or law firm.

AB68,1369,9 (4) Investment manager. The oversight board shall contract with an investment manager who meets the qualifications established by the corporation. The contract shall establish the investment manager's compensation, including any management fee. A management fee may not annually exceed 1 percent of the total assets under management in the program established under sub. (2).

AB68,1369,13 (5) Venture capital fund requirements. The investment manager shall contract with each venture capital fund that receives moneys through the program established under sub. (2). Each contract shall require the venture capital fund to do all of the following:

AB68,1369,16 (a) Make new investments in an amount equal to the amount of moneys it receives through the program in one or more businesses who are headquartered in this state and whose operations are primarily in this state.

AB68,1369,23 (b) At least match any moneys it receives through the program and invests in a business described in par. (a) with an investment in that business of moneys the venture capital fund has raised from sources other than the program. The investment manager shall ensure that, on average, for every $1 a venture capital fund receives through the program and invests in a business described in par. (a), the venture capital fund invests $2 in that business from sources other than the program.

AB68,1369,25 (c) Provide to the investment manager the information necessary for the investment manager to complete the reports under sub. (6) (a) and (c).

AB68,1370,4 (6) Reports of the investment manager; public disclosures. (a) Annually, no later than 120 days after the end of the investment manager's fiscal year, the investment manager shall submit to the corporation a report for that fiscal year that includes all of the following:

AB68,1370,6 1. An audit of the investment manager's financial statements performed by an independent certified public accountant.

AB68,1370,8 2. The investment manager's internal rate of return from investments made through the program established under sub. (2).

AB68,1370,10 3. For each venture capital fund that contracts with the investment manager under sub. (5), all of the following:

AB68,1370,11 a. The name and address of the venture capital fund.

AB68,1370,13 b. The amounts invested in the venture capital fund through the program established under sub. (2).

AB68,1370,15 c. An accounting of any fee the venture capital fund paid to itself or any principal or manager of the venture capital fund.

AB68,1370,17 d. The venture capital fund's average internal rate of return on its investments of the moneys it received through the program established under sub. (2).

AB68,1370,19 4. For each business in which a venture capital fund held an investment of moneys received through the program established under sub. (2), all of the following:

AB68,1370,20 a. The name and address of the business.

AB68,1370,21 b. A description of the nature of the business.

AB68,1370,22 c. The identification of the venture capital fund.

AB68,1370,24 d. The amount of the investment and the amount invested by the venture capital fund from funding sources other than the program.

AB68,1371,2 e. The internal rate of return realized by the venture capital fund upon the venture capital fund's exit from the investment in the business.

AB68,1371,6 f. A statement of the number of employees the business employed when the venture capital fund first invested moneys received through the program and the number of employees the business employed on the first day and last day of the investment manager's fiscal year.

AB68,1371,9 (b) No later than 10 days after it receives the investment manager's report under par. (a), the corporation shall submit the report to the chief clerk of each house of the legislature, for distribution to the legislature under s. 13.172 (2).

AB68,1371,11 (c) Quarterly, the investment manager shall submit to the oversight board a report for the preceding quarter that includes all of the following:

AB68,1371,13 1. An identification of each venture capital fund under contract with the investment manager under sub. (5).

AB68,1371,16 2. An identification of each business in which a venture capital fund held an investment of moneys received through the program established under sub. (2) and a statement of the amount of the investment in each business.

AB68,1371,20 3. A statement of the number of employees the business employed when the venture capital fund first invested moneys received through the program established under sub. (2) and the number of employees the business employed on the last day of the quarter.

AB68,1371,22 (d) The oversight board shall make the reports under par. (c) readily accessible to the public on the corporation's Internet site.

AB68,1371,24 (7) Policies and procedures. The corporation shall establish policies and procedures to administer this section.

AB68,2550 Section 2550. 238.29 of the statutes is created to read:

AB68,1372,3 238.29 Tribal economic development. The corporation shall establish and administer economic development programs to promote small business economic development benefitting American Indian tribes or bands in this state.

AB68,2551 Section 2551. 238.30 (2m) (a) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB68,1372,11 238.30 (2m) (a) Except as provided in par. (b) and s. 238.308 (1) (b), “full-time job" means a regular, nonseasonal full-time position in which an individual, as a condition of employment, is required to work at least 2,080 hours per year, including paid leave and holidays, and for which the individual receives pay that is equal to at least 150 percent of the federal minimum wage and benefits that are not required by federal or state law. “Full-time job" does not include initial training before an employment position begins.

AB68,2552 Section 2552. 238.306 (3) of the statutes is repealed.

AB68,2553 Section 2553. 238.308 (1) of the statutes is renumbered 238.308 (1) (intro.) and amended to read:

AB68,1372,15 238.308 (1) Definition Definitions. (intro.) In this section,:

AB68,1372,17 (a) “eligible Eligible employee" means a person employed in a full-time job by a person certified under sub. (2).

AB68,2554 Section 2554. 238.308 (1) (b) of the statutes is created to read:

AB68,1372,20 238.308 (1) (b) 1. Except as provided in subd. 2., “full-time job” has the meaning given in s. 238.30 (2m).

AB68,1373,2 2. a. For contracts executed by the corporation under this section after December 31, 2021, “full-time job” means, except as provided in subd. 2. b., a regular, nonseasonal full-time position in which an individual, as a condition of employment, is required to work at least 2,080 hours per year, including paid leave and holidays, and for which the individual receives pay that is equal to at least $27,900 and benefits that are not required by federal or state law. “Full-time job" does not include initial training before an employment position begins.

AB68,1373,8 b. The corporation may grant exceptions to the requirement under subd. 2. a. that a full-time job means a position in which an individual, as a condition of employment, is required to work at least 2,080 hours per year if the annual pay for the position exceeds $27,900 and an individual in the position is offered retirement, health, and other benefits that are equivalent to the retirement, health, and other benefits offered to an individual who is required to work at least 2,080 hours per year.

AB68,2555 Section 2555. 238.308 (4) (a) 1. of the statutes is amended to read:

AB68,1373,22 238.308 (4) (a) 1. An amount equal to up to 10 percent of the amount of wages that the person paid to an eligible employee in the taxable year. For contracts executed by the corporation after December 31, 2021, the amount of wages taken into account under this subdivision may not exceed $123,000 per eligible employee per year. Beginning on January 1, 2023, the dollar amount under this subdivision shall be increased each year by a percentage equal to the percentage change between the U.S. consumer price index for all urban consumers, U.S. city average, for the month of August of the previous year and the U.S. consumer price index for all urban consumers, U.S. city average, for the month of August of the year before the previous year, as determined by the federal department of labor. Each amount that is revised under this subdivision shall be rounded to the nearest multiple of $10 if the revised amount is not a multiple of $10 or, if the revised amount is a multiple of $5, such an amount shall be increased to the next higher multiple of $10.

AB68,2556 Section 2556. 238.308 (4) (a) 3. of the statutes is amended to read:

AB68,1374,6 238.308 (4) (a) 3. An amount equal to up to 50 percent of the person's training costs incurred to undertake activities to enhance an eligible employee's general knowledge, employability, and flexibility in the workplace; to develop skills unique to the person's workplace or equipment; or to develop skills that will increase the quality of the person's product upgrade or improve the job-related skills of an eligible employee, train an eligible employee on the use of job-related new technologies, or provide job-related training to an eligible employee whose employment with the person represents the employee's first full-time job.

AB68,2557 Section 2557. 238.308 (4) (a) 5. of the statutes is amended to read:

AB68,1374,13 238.308 (4) (a) 5. An amount, as determined by the corporation, equal to a percentage of the amount of wages that the person paid to an eligible employee in the taxable year, if the position in which the eligible employee was employed was created or retained in connection with the person's location or retention of the person's corporate headquarters in Wisconsin and the job duties associated with the eligible employee's position involve the performance of corporate headquarters functions.

AB68,2558 Section 2558. 238.308 (4) (a) 6. of the statutes is created to read:

AB68,1374,19 238.308 (4) (a) 6. An amount equal to up to 25 percent of the person's energy efficiency or renewable energy project expenditures on real or personal property located in this state. When making an award under this subdivision, the corporation shall ensure that the percentage of expenditures taken into account positively correlates to the scale of the project.

AB68,2559 Section 2559. 238.399 (1) (am) 2. a. of the statutes is amended to read:

AB68,1374,24 238.399 (1) (am) 2. a. The For contracts executed by the corporation under this section prior to January 1, 2022, the individual is employed in a job for which the annual pay is more than the amount determined by multiplying 2,080 by 150 percent of the federal minimum wage.

AB68,2560 Section 2560. 238.399 (1) (am) 2. c. of the statutes is created to read:

AB68,1375,4 238.399 (1) (am) 2. c. For contracts executed by the corporation under this section after December 31, 2021, the individual is employed in a job for which the annual pay is more than $27,900 in a tier I county or municipality or more than $37,000 in a tier II county or municipality.

AB68,2561 Section 2561. 238.399 (3) (a) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB68,1375,7 238.399 (3) (a) The corporation may designate any number of no more than 30 enterprise zones in this state.

AB68,2562 Section 2562. 238.399 (3) (am) of the statutes is repealed.

AB68,2563 Section 2563. 238.399 (3) (e) of the statutes is created to read:

AB68,1375,14 238.399 (3) (e) If the corporation revokes all certifications for tax benefits within a designated enterprise zone under par. (a), the corporation may cancel the designation of that enterprise zone. After canceling the designation of an enterprise zone, the corporation may designate a new enterprise zone under par. (a) subject to the limits of this subsection.

AB68,2564 Section 2564. 238.399 (4) (title) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB68,1375,16 238.399 (4) (title) Time limits ; reporting.

AB68,2565 Section 2565. 238.399 (4) (b) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB68,1375,20 238.399 (4) (b) If an enterprise zone designation expires under par. (a) or under the contract with a business certified under sub. (5), the corporation may designate a new enterprise zone under par. (a) subject to the limits of sub. (3).

AB68,2566 Section 2566. 238.399 (6) (h) of the statutes is created to read:

AB68,1376,5 238.399 (6) (h) Beginning on January 1, 2023, the dollar amount in sub. (1) (am) 2. c. shall be increased each year by a percentage equal to the percentage change between the U.S. consumer price index for all urban consumers, U.S. city average, for the month of August of the previous year and the U.S. consumer price index for all urban consumers, U.S. city average, for the month of August of the year before the previous year, as determined by the federal department of labor. Each amount that is revised under this paragraph shall be rounded to the nearest multiple of $10 if the revised amount is not a multiple of $10 or, if the revised amount is a multiple of $5, such an amount shall be increased to the next higher multiple of $10.

AB68,2567 Section 2567 . 250.04 (3) (a) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB68,1376,10 250.04 (3) (a) The department shall establish and maintain surveillance activities sufficient to detect any occurrence of acute, communicable , or chronic diseases and threat of occupational or environmental hazards, injuries , or changes in the health of mothers parents and children.

AB68,2568 Section 2568. 250.15 (1) of the statutes is renumbered 250.15 (1) (intro.) and amended to read:

AB68,1376,13 250.15 (1) Definition Definitions. (intro.) In this section, “ community:

AB68,1376,15 (a) “Community health center" means a health care entity that provides primary health care, health education and social services to low-income individuals.

AB68,2569 Section 2569. 250.15 (1) (b) of the statutes is created to read:

AB68,1376,20 250.15 (1) (b) “Free and charitable clinics” means health care organizations that use a volunteer and staff model to provide health services to uninsured, underinsured, underserved, economically and socially disadvantaged, and vulnerable populations and that meet all of the following criteria: