Sen. ScottFitzgerald (R-Juneau)
While the Assembly is forging ahead with an incentive package for Foxconn, the top Republican in the state Senate says he’s not yet sure whether the bill has the votes needed to pass in his chamber.
Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald (R-Juneau) said Wednesday that he has not yet asked his members where they stand on the proposal. “I don’t know where the votes would be on Foxconn,” he told reporters, shortly after meeting with Governor Scott Walker at the Capitol.
The Juneau Republican said he also has not had any input on possible amendments the Assembly plans to consider before it votes on the bill next week. He said he’s not going to dismiss them at this time, but that the Senate will “take a look at each one of them, and see whether or not we agree.”
An Assembly committee is expected to vote next week on possible amendments to the bill that creates nearly $3 billion in tax incentives for the company and makes changes to the permitting process for a factory Foxconn hopes to build in southeast Wisconsin.
While specifics of the amendments have not been released, Assembly Committee on Jobs and the Economy chair Adam Neylon said they will likely include technical changes, along with changes to how the bill handles workforce training and environmental protections. Neylon said Wednesday afternoon that, while the Senate GOP has not been involved in the amendments yet, he expects their feedback will be sought before a vote on the bill takes place in the Assembly.
Fitzgerald said he still believes the Legislature should pass the overdue state budget before it takes up the Foxconn legislation, since aspects of the bill could have an impact on the state’s finances. He continues to believe the budget-writing Joint Finance Committee could meet later this month to finalize the remaining details of the plan.