The Wisconsin Senate and Assembly will meet Tuesday for regular session to consider bills promoting job creation including a bill allowing tax credits from 2010 to be refunded this tax year.

The proposed bill, which will be voted on during Tuesday’s session, will permit businesses to recoup credit for employees hired in 2010 as well as 2011, Whitewater Republican Rep. Steve Nass’ spokesperson Mike Mikalsen said.

“By allowing [businesses] to grab the credit for the last two years for the jobs they’ve already created, [they] will get two years at one time,” Mikalsen said. “The credit will turn cash back to those folks and encourage them to hire more employees in 2012.”

Mikalsen said the bill will benefit employers and businesses by creating “risk protection” against hiring new employees.

Businesses can receive tax credits for each new hire based on 10 percent of the individual’s yearly wages, according to Mikalsen. With the tax credits, an employer can receive up to $10,000 per individual.

Rep. Kelda Roys, D-Madison, said Republicans proposed Assembly Bill 1 after witnessing support for the original law creating tax credits for job creation, which was proposed by Democrats.

“Democrats created this tax credit, and now after Republicans are seeing it was successful, they jumped on board and want to move the payment up one year,” Roys said.

Roys said Republicans in the assembly proposed the bill to hide the fact that the special session on jobs is focused more on special interests than the middle class.

She said Republicans should have proposed the bill earlier in the year for it to have a bigger effect.

“This is too little, too late,” Roys said. “It would be one thing if they had pushed this in January when they said they wanted to create jobs the first time.”

Roys expressed criticism of the current session. She said Republicans spent time paying back special interest groups and are now trying to appear bipartisan as their poll numbers fall.

Mikalsen said Nass also has a critical opinion of proposed bills for the current session, citing an “over reliance” on the belief that the Legislature can create jobs.

“The government does not create jobs. The private sector creates jobs,” Mikalsen said. “All government can do is try to provide incentives or minimize risk to businesses.”

He also said the state has a limited capability to offset the national economic problems, and substantial changes are needed at the federal level.

Gov. Scott Walker’s spokesperson Cullen Werwie also commented on legislative progress on job creation. In an email to The Badger Herald, Werwie said several bills have been receiving hearings in committee and several are ready to be voted on, including Assembly Bill 1.

Werwie said Walker included eight bills sponsored by Democrats in the special session and several other bills are expected to receive bipartisan support.