A Democratic legislator on Republican Gov. Scott Walker's jobs creation agency's board said Tuesday that he now believes a $3 billion contract with Foxconn Technology Group will protect taxpayers.
The Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. has been negotiating a contract to implement an unprecedented package of state incentives for a Foxconn plant in southeastern Wisconsin. The agency's board is expected to approve the deal Wednesday.
The board delayed a vote on the deal in October after WEDC officials alerted board members of an unspecified problem. Sen. Tim Carpenter, a Milwaukee Democrat who sits on the board, said taxpayer funds could be exposed if Foxconn doesn't fulfill the deal, calling the issue a "nuclear bomb." Carpenter, who opposes the deal, said the vote was delayed because the contract would have prevented the state from recouping taxpayer funds from Foxconn if the Taiwanese company didn't fulfill its end of the deal.
WEDC officials haven't released the contract publicly and had refused to hand it over to even its own board members until last week amid pressure from Assembly Speaker Robin Vos and Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald.
Carpenter said Tuesday that he has now seen the contract and the language has been revised to "defuse the nuclear bomb." He's comfortable the deal will protect taxpayers, he said.
He added that the contract language is still being revised, saying he was receiving emails with revisions as late as 8 p.m. Monday. He said he feels as if he hasn't had time to fully review the language ahead of Wednesday's vote.
He declined to discuss specifics of the language, saying WEDC CEO Mark Hogan told him the deal was confidential.
Vos told reporters Tuesday that negotiations with Foxconn continued over the weekend, delaying the release of the contract language to board members until Monday. Vos said WEDC was "fighting for the taxpayers until the very last minute," and he trusted the board would get the best deal possible without releasing the contract language to the public before the vote.
"I'm optimistic when they vote, they will use their discretion and their best judgment to make sure we have a good deal for the taxpayers," Vos said.
The board was slated to vote on approving the deal Wednesday. WEDC officials plan to release the contract after Foxconn executives and Walker sign it, something Walker said should happen by the end of the week.
Foxconn is looking to build a massive flat-screen plant in Mount Pleasant. The state incentives totaling $3 billion are contingent upon Foxconn investing $10 billion and hiring 13,000 people to work at the facility.
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Associated Press writer Scott Bauer contributed to this report.
