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Governor updates economic package
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by Carolyn Smith
Tuesday, September 27, 2005
Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle announced an update to a plan to boost the state's economic growth in several cities Monday.
Doyle's initiative, Grow Wisconsin: The 2005 Agenda, is intended to promote investments in state businesses and residents and encourage a competitive business climate in Wisconsin. The 2005 agenda is an addition to Doyle's Grow Wisconsin plan, started in 2003, which Doyle credits for recent economic growth in the state.
"We have accomplished a lot — but there is still more to do," Doyle said in a release. "Too many of our citizens are still out of work, while others are still struggling … It's time to take the next steps of Grow Wisconsin so that every part of the state and every part of the population has a chance to get ahead."
Since 2003, 140,000 new jobs have been created in the state and the minimum wage has been raised. Doyle spokesperson Ethnie Groves said the initiative and economic growth has drawn more people to the state.
"The governor has signed virtually every piece of legislation that Grow Wisconsin has called for — eliminating taxes on creating jobs, streamlining regulations, investing in every industry across the state and fostering a business plan in Wisconsin that promotes growth," Groves said.
The new agenda will cost an estimated $17.5 million.
The agenda includes several incentives for state investment in business, such as the initiation of economic development zones in areas of the state that have been experiencing difficulties.
Namely, Doyle asked for $500 million for the improvement of the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority, or WHEDA, to increase the program's ability to assist in home financing, bolster housing stock and maintain affordable housing for Wisconsin residents.
Doyle's plan to invest in the people of Wisconsin outlines an increase in funding by $1.1 million per year for the Youth Apprenticeship Program and encourages higher paying jobs in the state.
As part of the Grow Wisconsin Initiative, Doyle pledged to give $2 million to Cellular Dynamics International, Inc., a Madison-based biotechnology company.
The funding will be in the form of a dual $1 million technology grant and $1 million development loan intended to cover start-up costs for the company. The state Department of Commerce will provide the money for the grant/loan package, which will help create 33 new jobs in the company.
"The governor is pleased that the state can make this investment," Groves said. "Important research is going on at Cellular Dynamics — it's expanding the biotechnology industry in Wisconsin."
CDI research aims at developing safer, more effective drugs through the screening of stem cells that are exposed to the drugs.
Three University of Wisconsin professors, Timothy Kamp, James Thomson and Craig January, co-founded the biotech company, and continue to work as full-time faculty for the university.
"Obviously we're excited — this comes at a time when it is critical to get the company going," Kamp, an associate professor of medicine, said.
Though the research being conducted at CDI is a "spin-off" of research he has also done at UW, Kamp said CDI itself is a completely separate entity from the university, and thus receives no federal funding.
"CDI is designed to test drugs for toxic and therapeutic effects by using stem cells to study tissues of interest," Kamp said.
In order to keep Wisconsin competitive with other states, Kamp said, he wants "to bring the promise of technology to the state" by developing better pharmaceuticals.
