Call centers relocating to foreign countries, state procurement contracts for call center services, state benefits for call centers, and providing a penalty. (FE)

What it would have done

Summary by the Legislative Reference Bureau, the Legislature's nonpartisan drafting office. It's their wording, not ours.

This bill requires that businesses that operate a 50-person call center, which is defined as a business operation to which phone calls from customers are directed or that makes calls to customers, must notify the Department of Administration if the business relocates to a foreign country at least 30 percent of the call center's volume of calls. A business that violates the requirement is subject to a civil forfeiture of up to $10,000 per day of the violation.

The bill also requires DOA to maintain a list of businesses that have relocated a call center to a foreign country and businesses that have violated the requirement to notify DOA of such a relocation. Under the bill, businesses on the list are ineligible for a grant, loan, certification or other authorization to claim a tax credit, or other similar benefit awarded by a state agency, authority, including the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation, or other body in state government, unless the secretary of administration determines that denying the benefit would likely result in substantial job loss in Wisconsin or substantial harm to the environment.

Who's behind it

10 lawmakers are its authors⁠. 9 are Democrats and 1 is a Republican.

3 more lawmakers signed on in support⁠.