GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) – Elected officials gathered at the Brown County Democrats Office in Green Bay on Tuesday and voiced their displeasure after the vote for a tax incentive bill was pushed back until after the November mid-terms.
The $100 million bill intended at keeping Kimberly-Clark’s Cold Spring facility open had an original deadline for September 30th, but legislative leaders have now called for an extraordinary session that will take place on November 12, which is after mid-term elections on November 6.
State Senator Dave Hansen doesn’t understand why this hasn’t already been addressed.
“The truth is if they really wanted it to get done, they could do a public hearing now and have a bill,” says Senator Hansen. “Bring forward the legislature to not have to wait until after November 6.”
Democratic Nominee for governor Tony Evers agrees and adds that this has been on everyone’s radar for a while.
“This could have been solved months ago,” claims Evers. “Kimberly-Clark and its difficulties in surviving are not a new issue.”
Senator Hansen spoke towards what Democrats are looking for in the bill.
“We need protection for Marinette and we also need some kind of timeline so they can’t just say OK we’re going to take the money and run,” he says.
While Tony Evers has remained critical in his assessment of Governor Walker’s handling of the situation.
“For the Governor to suddenly decide and the Republicans to say this is going to happen after the election, I think that’s just passing the buck,” says Evers.
The bill has already been passed by the Assembly earlier this year.
