Vos Convening Special Session On State Dairy Crisis

Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos said Monday afternoon that he will convene a special session Tuesday to introduce bills regarding the state’s dairy crisis. The special session bills will be introduced and referred to committee. Public hearings will then be held, Vos said.

“Farmers are already telling us the governor’s package does more to grow the size of government than actually help our rural areas,” Vos said in a written statement. “We’re open to amending the bills or introducing our own proposals in order to do what’s best for rural Wisconsin.”

During the State of the State address last week, Gov. Tony Evers called on lawmakers to hold a special session. Wisconsin lost 10 percent of its dairy farms in 2019, breaking the previous year’s record high.

Vos said Monday during an interview with WPR’s “The Morning Show,” that he agrees the state is undergoing an agriculture crisis, but Evers has gone about it the wrong way.

“There are certainly things that we can work together on, but the normal way (Republicans) have gone about it — take for example our Water Quality Task Force — we actually took the time to meet with Gov. Evers,” Vos said. “He didn’t do it exactly that way. If he would have taken the time like we did, this could have moved faster.”

RELATED: Governor Uses State Of The State Speech To Call Special Legislative Session On Wisconsin’s Dairy Crisis

The governor previously called a special session on gun laws in Wisconsin, which GOP lawmakers gaveled in and adjourned without taking action.

Vos, of Rochester, said Republican lawmakers will meet with their constituents and look at what Evers and Democrats are proposing before moving forward on agriculture legislation.

“From first blush there are some good ideas in there, but it is also a lot of rehashing of ideas he had in the budget, which really just expanded the bureaucrats in Madison and added more state positions,” Vos said.

Evers’ proposal would cost about $8.5 million, which Vos said is something the state could afford.

Vos said that amount could actually be increased, as long as the money is not funding state jobs, rather programs to help farmers, including allowing them to deduct their health insurance premiums.

Vos On Foxconn

During the interview, Vos, who represents a portion of Racine County, was also asked about Foxconn.

He said the project is moving along to his satisfaction and the state has not spent “a single dollar” of state money on Foxconn.

“The only incentives are based on whether they create the jobs that are required, and they make the investments that are also required to trigger the partnership between the state and the private sector that gives a small portion of the investment back,” Vos said.

While Foxconn has not yet received tax credits, as of September 2019, the state Department of Transportation projects state transportation costs related to the development will total $223 million. As of September, the DOT had contracted a total of $135.7 million on the design and construction work on state and local roads related to the development, according to the Legislative Fiscal Bureau. That does not count work done on the Interstate-94 North South Interstate Project.

Foxconn has until April 1 to report its job numbers for 2019. In order to receive tax credits, the company had to create at least 520 jobs last year.

Vos said Monday he’s confident Foxconn met its job goals.

“They have actually announced they will meet it (job goals),” Vos said. “I think that’s one of the best parts of this plan. If they don’t they don’t get any money.”

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to include information on Assembly Speaker Robin Vos calling a special session to address Wisconsin’s dairy crisis.