Gov. Scott Walker released a bill early this month that would transform the Department of Commerce into the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation, raising fears some employees will be out of a job.

If the bill is passed, the WEDC would be run like a corporation. It would be headed by a 12-member board of directors. Walker would appoint 11 of the members and occupy the twelfth seat as chairman. The board of directors would be responsible for, among other things, creating a budget, hiring staff and proposing economic development measures, Walker spokesperson Cullen Werwie said.

A governor-appointed CEO, current secretary of the Department of Commerce Paul Jadin, would be delegated powers by the board, according to a statement from Walker’s office.

Jadin, Werwie said, was interested in the job specifically to oversee the WEDC board and gained relevant experience while president of the Green Bay Area Chamber of Commerce.

How many workers WEDC would employ is still unknown. The final number would be determined by the board and must then pass through the Senate and Assembly before ending up in front of the governor, Werwie said.

The number of workers the board hires would depend on the governor’s state budget. Werwie expects the new WEDC would operate within the current budget of the Department of Commerce.

Agency employees’ future would be determined by their current role in the Department of Commerce.

Regulatory employees within the department would be moved to other departments. Other workers would be transferred directly to  WEDC, said Scott Spector, government relations director for AFT-Wisconsin, a union with 100 members in the Commerce Department.

Werwie confirmed this, saying he expects a number of employees would be transferred automatically with no reapplication process, especially if they were interested in developing commerce.

However, WEDC employees would not have the same civil service protections they had at the Commerce Department because the new entity is private, Spector said.

Civil service protections include requiring a process of review for hiring and firing, and seek to bring transparency, accountability and oversight to decision making, Spector said.

If approved, the transformation from Commerce Department to WEDC is expected to be finished in June.