State and local government agencies are being asked to make more purchases from Wisconsin-based companies.
When government agencies spend money, state Representative Fred Clark (D-Baraboo) says they should be encouraged to consider Wisconsin-based businesses first. That's why he's sponsoring a bill that would call on agencies to make at least five-percent of their purchases from Wisconsin-based companies.
Clark says it would help to instill confidence in businesses based in the Badger State and keep money here in Wisconsin.
The bill would also require the state to start tracking government purchases made from Wisconsin businesses, which concerns state Representative Karl Van Roy (R-Green Bay). He thinks it would add another "chunk of bureaucracy" that would just cost the state more money.
The bill passed out of an Assembly committee on Thursday, on a vote of 9-2.
