SB 148

commerce and economic development

Housing and economic development

Under current law, the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC)

is an authority, which is a public body corporate and politic, that has as its primary

function the development, implementation, and administration of economic

development programs in Wisconsin. Also under current law, the Wisconsin Housing

and Economic Development Authority (WHEDA) is an authority whose primary

function is to establish and administer housing programs in Wisconsin, especially

housing programs for persons and families of low and moderate income. Like WEDC,

WHEDA is also tasked with developing, implementing, and administering economic

development programs in the state.

This bill merges WEDC and WHEDA into a new, successor authority to be

known as the Forward Wisconsin Development Authority (authority). Under the

bill, the authority is governed by a 12-member board of directors (board). Eight

members of the board are public members nominated by the governor and appointed

with the advice and consent of the senate to serve four-year terms. Two members

of the board are appointed by the speaker of the assembly, consisting of one majority

and one minority party assembly representative, and two members of the board are

appointed by the senate majority leader, consisting of one majority and one minority

party senator.

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