Governor Signs Venture Capital Bill

MILWAUKEE – Last Week, Governor Walker signed Act 41, providing much-needed investment capital support for early-stage Wisconsin companies.

Act 41 makes the state a partner in a larger “fund of funds” that matches the state’s $25 million investment, set aside in the 2013-15 state budget, with at least $50 million in private investment.

Chamber President Zach Brandon praised the bipartisan effort, saying it will make Wisconsin more competitive at fostering entrepreneurial activity and converting new ideas into sustainable businesses and jobs. With this more competitive venture capital program in place, Wisconsin is well-positioned to help companies start, stay, and grow.

Business and Labor Agree on Madison TIF Reform

Unified in support of needed reform to Madison’s Tax Incremental Finance (TIF) policy, the Greater Madison Chamber and the Building and Construction Trades of South-Central Wisconsin issued a joint letter to Mayor Soglin and Madison Alders supporting policy revisions which will grow the city’s property tax base.

Although the existing TIF policy has successfully increased value throughout the city, research also shows that Madison’s created value is lower relative to its tax base compared to neighboring municipalities. Further, Madison’s relative use of TIF has declined, yielding conservative investments within the city at a time when ambitions to redevelop areas of Madison are high. Increased flexibilities within the proposed policy include removing the equity participation payment for profitable projects and modifying the conservative assumptions used to evaluate projects, including the “50% rule” that prohibits more than 50% of the new tax increment generated from being available to the project as gap financing. Further, the policy’s amended “but for” standard, which states that but for city assistance, the project would not otherwise occur, allows for additional competitive factors to be considered for employment-oriented projects.

The EDC’s proposed policy represents a balance of effective and competitive TIF usage, while also providing public protections and discussion to ensure that taxpayer dollars are used prudently and strategically.

Madison’s TIF Policy Review Ad Hoc Committee next meets on August 1 to compare the existing policy and proposed changes and determine their next steps.

“Pay or Play” Delay: What Does It Mean? – Member Commentary from Barbara Zabawa, JD, MPH, Attorney and Health Care Team Leader for Whyte Hirschboeck Dudek

Last week, the US Treasury Department issued a shocking notice that it would delay the employer “pay or play requirement” until 2015.  This delay effectively gives employers more time to determine whether they must offer health coverage to their full-time employees and if they must, how much coverage to offer in order to avoid a $2,000 or $3,000 per full-time employee, depending upon the circumstances.

The Treasury Department’s notice states that it is really postponing the requirement that insurers and employers with 50 or more full-time employees provide the IRS and individuals with notices about the health coverage offered to employees.  Because it is delaying these notices, the Treasury believes that it will be impractical to determine whether employers owe a shared responsibility payment. Because of that impracticality, employers get a reprieve in 2014 from facing any possible financial penalty based on employee health coverage decisions.

The notice indicates that the pay or play  delay does not impact any other part of the Affordable Care Act, such as the individual mandate (i.e., the requirement that each person purchase health insurance coverage by January 1, 2014), the insurance exchange initiatives, or the premium tax credits available to help individuals purchase insurance.

Immediate response to this delay has been mixed.  While many employers have welcomed the additional time to make decisions on offering health coverage, the fact that the individual penalty and insurance exchange provisions remain on track raises some interesting issues. Throughout late Summer and Fall 2013, federal and state efforts will promote the health insurance marketplaces and encourage Wisconsin residents to purchase health insurance to avoid the individual penalty.  Employees who are uninsured and work for employers with more than 50 full-time employees will be directed to the exchanges to meet their individual obligation to purchase insurance.  By the time the employer pay or play mandate takes effect in 2015, many of these employees may have become accustomed to obtaining health coverage through the exchange.  Will this lead to less interest by employees of employer-based coverage?  If so, how will this reduced interest impact the cost of and American society’s reliance on employer-based coverage over the long-term? How will larger employers whose employees obtain coverage in the exchange over the next year lure those employees back to employer-based coverage, if at all? Will less employee interest in employer-based coverage impact the cost of providing coverage to fewer employees who would seek employer-based coverage?

Of course, these questions assume that the exchanges are successful in their marketing efforts and in their operation, which at the time of this writing is not clear.  Ensuring insurance exchange success in 2014 will be a monumental effort by many different players on the state and national level, and public and private spheres.  But, to the extent employee interest in exchanges grows in 2014, employers, employees and the government may need to use the pay or play delay to evaluate the future role of employer-based coverage.

Proposed fetal tissue ban impairs critical research and local jobs

The Greater Madison Chamber opposes an assembly bill that would ban breakthrough medical research taking place at UW-Madison and in our private sector bioscience community. Read the Chamber’s letter to state lawmakers on Assembly Bill 224 and what it would mean for lifesaving medical research, funding at the university and Wisconsin’s image of being a hub of innovation. The Greater Madison Chamber has taken a position opposing such bans since 2001.

Chamber Says Political Disclosure Ordinance Distracts from Real Challenges Facing the City

MADISON – In response to Madison Mayor Paul Soglin’s proposed political disclosure ordinance, Zach Brandon, president of the Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce said:

“The Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce believes in, and demonstrates, transparency of political contributions and supports a fair and equitable awarding of procurement contracts. The Chamber does not support this proposed ordinance given the lack of historical concerns in this area, the barriers it would impose to entrepreneurs attempting to do business with the city, the potential to chill political engagement and the wrong message it sends that politics are important in the Madison procurement process.”

About the Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce:
The Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce is the voice of business with nearly 1,400 organizations – ranging from one-person shops to corporations with more than 6,000 employees – working to bring the Greater Madison area to its full potential. The Greater Madison region is a leader in innovation. From cutting-edge technologies to distinctive retail shops to inventive services and products, Madison businesses vary greatly but are united by the region’s entrepreneurial spirit. More information can be found at www.greatermadisonchamber.com.

Contact: Jo-ell Carson, Communications Director, at 608-443-1952 or 608-213-1799

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