Legislation could use some truth in labeling

Monday, April 4, 2005 10:26 AM CDT

The legislators were at it again over in Madison last week, giving studious consideration to the "Mom and Apple Pie Creation Act II."

It's not titled that actually, it's Assembly Bill 278 and its semi-official title is the "Job Creation Act Part II."

Nobody in their right mind, of course, would oppose creation of jobs anymore than they would vote against Mom or apple pie.

That goes especially here in southeastern Wisconsin where Racine once again leads the pack of state metropolitan areas with a 7 percent unemployment rate - the same as it was one year ago.

So when we saw the Assembly Judiciary Committee was holding hearings on the proposed legislation we scanned news reports anxiously to see just how many jobs were coming our way in southeastern Wisconsin.

We're still looking.

One of the major provisions of the bill eliminate a state law that allows workers to sue major shareholders of a company - up to the value of their stock - for wages owed. With the Job Creation Act Part II, shareholders would not be liable for the wages owed employees if a company goes out of business.

Frankly, we were a bit baffled how such a change would "create" any jobs at all.

Jim Haney, president of Wisconsin Manufacturer's and Commerce, the state's major business lobbying group, was there to tout the bill's beneficial aspects of the bill.

He said the change would remove the biggest impediment to venture capital in state companies. "It spooks people," Haney was quoted as saying, "While the intention seems noble, the consequences are killing us as a venture capital haven."

Ahhh, now we see. A change in the law would make investors more comfortable knowing they could skip out on paying workers for up to six months of work if the business goes under. Yes, we can see how that would attract all kinds of looting carpetbaggers to the state - secure in the knowledge that their investments would take priority over workers' claims if things got dicey.

Other provisions of the legislation are just as curious.

One would require judges to follow a new standard for deciding who an expert witness is in court proceedings, changing the standard that has been developed by the state Supreme Court and used for two decades. Haney said the change would prevent "junk science" from being used as expert information.

And that would boost Wisconsin's employment statistics by how many jobs?

Another provision in "Job Creation Act Part II" would limit the ability of the attorney general and local governments to bring "public nuisance" lawsuits against businesses if they are complying with applicable laws. Attorney Gen. Peg Lautenschlager said such a change would remove the public's "only remaining safety net" against unregulated nuisances that harm them.

Finally, and perhaps most curious of all, the legislation carries a provision that would let tool and die manufacturers place a lien on equipment they build for a customer until it is paid for. That actually seems to make some sense, but how it relates to job creation in any fashion is a puzzlement.

When we counted up all the jobs that would be created by this legislation we came up with the grand total of zero. No new work and no new workers would be required. The legislation would, however, remove some very basic protections for current state workers.

No doubt the sponsors of this legislation - and Haney - would argue that the bill is about creating a "climate" to nurture companies and help them grow ... and then maybe add jobs. Then call it that - call it the "Business Climate Sunshine and Giveaway Law".

But don't peddle it as creating jobs for struggling workers when it would actually strip away some of their protections.

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