Forward Janesville - TheReport - Third Quarter 2021

Five Things to Know from Our Summer State Legislative Forum 14 • W W W . F O R W A R D J A N E S V I L L E . C O M Here are five things you should know from the forum: The State of Wisconsin is in great shape from a fiscal standpoint. It may seem hard to believe after the events of the last 18 months, but our state’s finances are looking stellar. We are sitting on a rainy-day fund of over $2 billion, and the state will bring in $4.4 billion more than expected in tax collections over the next three years. Given the billions of federal stimulus dollars that are already flowing into Wisconsin, our state is sittin’ pretty. This fiscal good fortune paved the way for the governor and the legislature to agree on the $2 billion income tax cut that was contained in the 2021-23 state budget. Expect to see your state tax bill go down, as individuals making between $24,000 and $263,000 annually (and couples making between $32,000 and $351,000) will see a tax bracket reduction from 6.27 percent to 5.3 percent. State leaders are committed to closing the digital divide. The pandemic underscored the need for all citizens to have reliable and affordable internet access. According to Federal Communications Commission data, nearly half a million people in Wisconsin lacked access to high-speed internet in Wisconsin in 2019. Can you imagine how frustrating life must have been for these citizens when the world went digital? Fortunately, help is on the way. Governor Evers recently announced that $100 million in federal stimulus funding will be used to expand broadband access, and the state budget includes over $125 million for Broadband Expansion Grants. This is addition to the multi-billion broadband investment contained in President Biden’s infrastructure proposal. This funding will put our state well on the way to providing quality broadband access to those who lack it. The workforce crisis is real…but there’s only so much that government can do to help. Our panelists spent a long time talking about our state’s escalating workforce crisis. There was some discussion of what is causing worker shortages, including a dialogue on whether the extra $300 in federal unemployment benefits is keeping people on the sidelines. Lawmakers included several items in the state budget to help address the workforce crisis, including $3 million for the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation to resurrect the state’s talent attraction and retention program, and a $1 million boost for the youth apprenticeship grant program. Governor Evers also plans to use $130 million in federal stimulus funds for a variety of grant programs that will address numerous barriers to the return to work. While this funding and programming may help ease our workforce crisis in Dan Cunningham • Vice President of Government Affairs and Education • danc@forwardjanesville.com On August 9, we welcomed all six members of our area state legislative delegation: State Senators Steve Nass and Janis Ringhand, and Assembly Representatives Sue Conley, Amy Loudenbeck, Mark Spreitzer, and Don Vruwink. For two hours, they broke down the 2021-23 state budget; Wisconsin’s workforce crisis and what can be done about it; the state response to the Covid-19 Delta variant; and a host of other topics.