A deal to save jobs at Kimberly Clark’s Neenah Cold Spring plant did not get done in the “lame duck” legislative session. It’s a big disappointment to the bill’s author, Representative Jim Steinke. “I’m afraid politics played a role. I was hoping once we got past the politics of the election, there would be more support for it. Obviously, we couldn’t garner any support from the Democrats,” the Kaukauna Republican said.
The $70 million tax incentives package passed the Assembly last spring — but there was no vote in the Senate. “I was really disappointed that Governor-elect Evers didn’t step forward, and at least give his opinion one way or the other, as to whether he thought it was a good idea.”
Ironically, Senate passage of the deal was Governor Scott Walker’s only stated reason for an extraordinary session. Walker said without it, the nearly 400 jobs at the plant will be gone by year’s end