AB 733

Wisconsin SEED FUND authority

This bill creates an authority to be known as the "Wisconsin Seed Fund

Authority" (authority).

Composition and General Operation

Board of directors

Under the bill, the authority is governed by a seven-member board of directors

(board) that consists of four members from the private sector nominated by the

governor and appointed with the advice and consent of the senate, one member

appointed by the speaker of the assembly, one member appointed by the senate

majority leader, and the chief executive officer of the Wisconsin Economic

Development Corporation (WEDC). Except for the chief executive officer of WEDC,

the members of the board serve staggered four-year terms and must have experience

that qualifies them to serve on the board.

The bill gives the board the powers necessary or convenient to carry out its

duties, as well as specific powers to conduct its corporate business. Under the bill,

the authority is a participating employer in the Wisconsin Retirement System. The

board may hire an executive director. In addition to the members appointed by the

governor, the members of the board appointed by the speaker of the assembly and

the senate majority leader and the executive director of the authority, if any, are

subject to state ethics laws.

Business Seed Fund

The bill directs the authority to establish a fund to be known as the "business

seed fund" (fund).

Financing of the fund

The bill allows a financial institution to designate to the Department of

Revenue that up to 80 percent of its estimated income or franchise tax payment be

deposited into the fund (participant financial institution). The bill defines a financial

institution to be a bank, savings bank, savings and loan association, trust company,

or credit union, whether chartered under the laws of this state, another state or

territory, or under the laws of the United States.

Grants, loans, and investments of business seed fund capital

Moneys in or received from the fund are referred to as "fund capital" in the bill.

Under the bill, the authority may make a grant or loan of fund capital to, or may make

an investment of fund capital in, a business proposed to the authority by a

participant financial institution. The authority may commit fund capital to such a

grant, loan, or investment only if all of the following requirements are satisfied:

1. The business is or will be headquartered in Wisconsin.

2. The business is a seed or early stage business as determined by the authority.

3. The participant financial institution or the business demonstrates to the

satisfaction of the authority that the grant, loan, or investment will assist the