WEDC History, And Irony

As the troubled Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation is set to hold an audit autopsy meeting tomorrow morning in Waukesha, I thought this was the right time to reprint the full text of Scott Walker's WEDC announcement news release from 1/6/2011:

Madison–Governor Walker today released a draft of legislation to transform the Department of Commerce into the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation.

“Our first goal for the state has to be job creation, but our current government structure does not reflect job growth as a priority,” said Governor Scott Walker. “This legislation will create a public-private partnership whose sole mission is to promote economic growth and create jobs for Wisconsinites. Transforming the Department of Commerce will align state government with our most important mission: creating jobs.”

The regulatory duties currently assigned to the Department of Commerce will be reviewed to determine their impact on public safety or public health before being reassigned to other agencies or eliminated. The new authority will be led by a “chief executive officer” and a twelve member board of directors.

The board of directors will be comprised of the Governor, who will serve as chairman, and eleven members appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Senate

The WEDC will be required to report to the Legislature annually on the progress of its economic development initiatives and subject to annual audits by the Legislative Audit Bureau.