Will the political earthquake shake contractors?

By Jim Boullion

The fall elections resulted in the biggest shake-up in American politics since the “Contract with America” helped bring Republicans into power in 1994.

Anger over the slow progress in Iraq swept many Republicans out of office and gave Democrats controlling majorities in both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives.

The political earthquake also gave Democrats control in the Wisconsin state Senate and affected the margins in the state Assembly and race for governor. How will this affect Wisconsin’s construction industry?

Let’s take a look.

Although many people expected a very close race, incumbent Gov. Jim Doyle handily defeated Republican challenger Mark Green. This means that the majority of Doyle’s administration and policies should remain unchanged.

While the construction industry did have a few minor policy disagreements with the governor during his first term, overall we have worked well with him and his administration. One of his strongest positions with the industry is his support of investment in the University of Wisconsin System and other state infrastructure and maintenance projects. We expect that to continue.

J.B. Van Hollen provided the GOP with one of the few bright spots on Election Day with his victory over Democrat Kathleen Falk in the race for attorney general. Van Hollen pledged to enforce existing laws and not to use the office to push his political agenda. This will be much better for Wisconsin’s construction industry than if Falk, who viewed the office as a place to push a zealous environmental and anti-business agenda, had won.

In perhaps the biggest upset of the day, Democrats won control of the state Senate and now hold an 18-15 majority over the Republicans. Democrats swept the four closely contested races without losing any existing seats. Republicans also lost eight seats in the state Assembly but still hold the majority there with a 52-47 lead.

Leaders of both houses are calling for bipartisanship, but the last time the Wisconsin Legislature was split and Assembly Republican Scott Jensen and Senate Democrat Chuck Chvala were in charge, they set a record for the fewest number of bills passed in a legislative session.

The majority parties in both houses will try to pass legislation that appeals to their base voters, but controversial issues, such as the Taxpayers Bill of Rights, will not pass. Split control of the Wisconsin Legislature means that only bills that both sides can reach agreement on will get to Doyle’s desk.

One issue on the campaign agenda of both parties was ethics reform, particularly as it relates to contracting with the state. Expect a wave of proposals that could limit, or even prohibit, contributions to candidates by contractors who do business with the state and expect proposals that require anyone negotiating contracts to register as a lobbyist.

When the new Legislature convenes in January, it will face a budget deficit of $1.6 billion, so spending by the state for infrastructure and building maintenance projects could come under fire. The deficit also will make it more difficult to pass construction-related sales tax reform initiatives, such as letting contractors directly purchase materials for tax-exempt projects.

Finally, the Associated General Contractors of Wisconsin will ask for the introduction of legislation to help expand the number of career academies across Wisconsin. Several industries, including construction, had great success integrating these real-world work experience programs into high schools’ academic curriculums.

This public/private initiative has appeal to both Democrats and Republicans because it is a low-cost item that works within the existing school system and benefits both students and employers statewide.