Merger of the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation and the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority and, as the successor of those entities, creation of the Forward Wisconsin Development Authority, establishment of the Wisconsin housing finance fund, accounting and reporting requirements for recipients of economic development grants or loans, and making appropriations. (FE)

The bill also requires the governor to nominate a chief executive officer and chief operating officer of the authority. The chief executive officer must be approved by the board and appointed with the advice and consent of the senate. The chief operating officer is appointed upon approval of the board. Both officers serve at the pleasure of the governor. The board may delegate to the chief executive officer and the chief operating officer any powers and duties the board considers proper.

Under the bill, the board has all powers necessary or convenient to carry out the authority's purposes and other powers specified in the bill. The bill generally does not alter the existing housing and economic development programs that will be administered by the new authority, except as follows. Under current law, a recipient of a WEDC grant or loan of at least $100,000 must provide WEDC a schedule of expenditures within 120 days after the end of the fiscal year in which the grant or loan funds were expended and must engage an independent certified public accountant to determine whether the grant or loan funds and any matching cash or in-kind match were expended in accordance with the grant or loan contract.

Under the bill, any recipient of a grant or loan under an economic development program administered by the authority, regardless of the amount of the grant or loan, must, within the timeframe specified above or at a different time established in policies and procedures approved by the board, submit to the authority an attestation verifying that the grant or loan funds and any matching cash or in-kind match were expended in accordance with the grant or loan contract. The grant or loan recipient must make the documents supporting the attestation available for inspection by the authority. Additionally, the bill requires a recipient of an economic development grant or loan of at least $500,000 to engage an independent certified public accountant to determine whether the grant or loan funds and any matching cash or in-kind match were expended in accordance with the grant or loan contract.

The bill exempts from all of these requirements a state department, independent agency, or authority and the University of Wisconsin System.

The bill also establishes a Wisconsin housing finance fund under the jurisdiction and control of the authority. The primary purpose of fund is to segregate the authority's assets in connection with the authority's housing-related purposes.

The bill transfers most of WHEDA's assets to the Wisconsin housing finance fund.