CARLA VIGUE, THANKS VERY MUCH. >> THANK YOU.
>> IN OTHER NEWS, MICROSOFT HAS FINALIZED THE PURCHASE OF MORE
THAN 100,000 ACRES OF LAND IN RACINE COUNTY, WITH 600 ACRES
PURCHASED FROM THE VILLAGE OF MOUNT PLEASANT THIS WEEK.
THE TECH GIANT SAYS IT PLANS TO SPEND BILLIONS OF DOLLARS TO
CONSTRUCT NEW DATA CENTERS. THIS AS THE NEIGHBORING FOXCONN
TECHNOLOGY GROUP IS SET TO RECEIVE $3W0E $6.3 MILLION FOR G
WORKERS AND INVESTMENTS MADE IN 2022.
THE GROUP HAS RECEIVED ROUGHLY $44 MILLION FROM THE STATE SINCE
2020, A SIGNIFICANTLY SCALED BACK SUM FROM THE ORIGINAL
NEGOTIATED TAX INCENTIVES AFTER FOXCONN'S PROMISE OF 13,000 JOBS
AND AN LCD SCREEN FACTORY NEVER CAME TO FRUITION.
STILL, THE COMPANY SAYS IT IS COMMITTED TO WISCONSIN.
FOR MORE ON ALL OF THIS, WE TURN TO THE C.E.O. AND SECRETARY OF
THE WISCONSIN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION, MISSY
HUGHES. SECRETARY HUGHES, TH ANK YOU FOR
BEING WITH US. >> SO GLAD TO BE HERE.
>> SO FOXCONN HAS NOW QUALIFIED FOR A THIRD ROUND OF STATE TAX
CREDITS, BRINGING THE TOTAL AMOUNT THAT IT HAS RECEIVED FROM
THE STATE TO NEARLY $44 MILLION. DO YOU UNDERSTAND THE LONG-RANGE
PROSPECTS FOR FOXCONN AFTER NOT LIVING UP TO ITS ORIGINAL
PROMISE? >> WELL, FOXCONN HAS REALLY
BECOME LIKE ONE OF THE GREAT COMPANIES THAT WE HAD IN
WISCONSIN, MILWAUKEE. ALL OF THESE COMPANIES THAT ARE
LOCATING HERE AND REALLY SETTLING IN.
SO WITH OVER A THOUSAND EMPLOYEES AND ALMOST $600
MILLION IN INVESTMENT, WE EXPECT THAT FOXCONN IS HERE FOR THE
LONG TERM AND WILL CONTINUE TO PRODUCE AND EMPLOY FOLKS DOWN IN
SOUTHEAST WISCONSIN IN A REALLY PRODUCTIVE WAY.
>> WHAT LESSONS LEARNED FROM FOXCONN IS COMPETING WITH OTHER
COMPANIES WHEN IT COMES TO TAX CREDITS?
>> WELL, IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO WORK WITH THE COMPANY TO
UNDERSTAND THEIR LONG-TERM GOALS, TO SET THEM UP FOR
SUCCESS. SO OUR TAX CREDIT PROGRAMS ARE
BASED ON PERFORMANCE. COMPANIES DON'T RECEIVE A TAX
CREDIT UNTIL THEY PERFORM, CREATE THE JOBS, SPEND THE
CAPEX. AND SO AS WE WORK WI TH FOXCONN
THE SAME WAY WE WORK WITH OTHER COMPANIES, WE WANT THEM TO BE
SUCCESSFUL, AND WITHIN THE PARAMETERS OF WHAT THEY EXPECT
FOR THEIR STRATEGY. >> NOW, THIS MONTH HAD TO
RESPOND TO A STATE AUDIT IN WHICH FOUR OF THE
RECOMMENDATIONS INVOLVED CLOSER TRACKING OF TAX CREDITS THAT
HAVE BEEN AWARDED OR NEED TO HAVE BEEN REVOKED.
SHOULD WE HAVE CONFIDENCE IN THE DISBURSEMENT OF TAXPAYERS' MONEY
TOWARD ATTRACTING BUSINESSES? >> WE HAVE REALLY, OVER THE
YEARS, TIGHTENED UP HOW WE VERIFY COMPANIES AND THEIR
PERFORMANCE AROUND TAX CREDITS. IT'S CRITICALLY IMPORTANT THAT
THE COMPANIES PROVIDE US THEIR PAYROLL INFORMATION AND THEIR
INFORMATION ABOUT CAPEX. WE CONTINUE TO WORK WITH THE
LEGISLATIVE AUDIT BUREAU TO FIND WAYS TO IMPROVE AND NONE OF THE
FINDINGS OF THE L.A.B. WERE AROUND MISMANAGEMENT.
THEY'RE REALLY ABOUT HOW'D CAN WE CONTINUE TO DO THINGS BETTER?
>> SO MEANWHILE, BIG NEWS WITH MICROSOFT'S PURCHASE OF 1,100
ACRES OF LAND THAT WAS ORIGINALLY DESIGNED FOR FOXCONN.
WAS MICROSOFT PLANNING TO BUILD AT LEAST FOUR DATA CENTERS AND
EXPANSION OF ITS PREVIOUSLY ANNOUNCED PROJECT INVESTING
BILLION DOLLARS INTO A SINGLE DATA CENTER.
HOW BIG OF A BOOST IS THIS MICROSOFT DEAL?
>> WELL, HAVING A COMPANY LIKE MICROSOFT, A BLUE CHIP, A TRUE
BLUE CHIP AMERICAN COMPANY DECIDE TO CREATE SUCH AN
OPPORTUNITY IN WISCONSIN IS INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT AND REALLY
EXCITING. IT BRINGS IN HIGH TECH,
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE. ALL OF THESE THINGS THAT WE SEE
IN THE ECONOMY OF THE FUTURE AND SO MICROSOFT CHOOSING WISCONSIN
IS REALLY A TESTAMENT TO WHAT WE'VE DONE TO CREATE THE
WORKFORCE THAT THEY NEED, TO CREATE THE INFRASTRUCTURE THAT
THEY NEED, AND WE'RE SO EXCITED TO HAVE THEM HERE.
>> I UNDERSTAND THAT THEIR DATA CENTERS ARE EXPECTED TO EMPLOY
HUNDREDS OF TECH PEOPLE, BUT POTENTIALLY THOUSANDS OF
CONSTRUCTION WORKERS. WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT WHETHER
OR NOT THOSE ARE EXPECTED TO BE WISCONSIN WORKERS?
>> WELL, WHAT WE'VE ALREADY SEEN IS MICROSOFT HAS STARTED THEIR
WORK ON A $500 MILLION DATA CENTER. THEY ARE WORKING W
ITH A NUMBER OF WISCONSIN COMPANIES, AND, OF
COURSE, DOWN THERE ON THE BORDER OF ILLINOIS, WE WILL SEE SOME
ILLINOIS COMPANIES EXPERIENCING OPPORTUNITIES WITH MICROSOFT,
BUT WE KNOW THAT MICROSOFT WANTS WISCONSIN TO SUCCEED.
BRAD SMITH TALKED ABOUT THIS LONG-TERM RELATIONSHIP THAT WE
ARE CREATING AND SO IT'S IMPORTANT TO MICROSOFT.
THEY'VE ALREADY STARTED WORKING WITH UW MILWAUKEE, WITH GATEWAY
TECH, SO WE KNOW THAT THEY'RE COMMITTED TO WISCONSIN.
>> I DON'T HAVE TO TELL YOU THAT WISCONSIN HAS SEEN A LOT OF
ATTENTION IN THE WORLD OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT THIS YEAR,
INCLUDING BEING AWARDED AS A úREGIONAL TECHNOLOGY HUB WITH TE
ABILITY TO APPLY FOR UP TO $70 MILLION IN FEDERAL FUNDING.
WHAT WILL THIS MEAN FOR THE STATE? >> THIS IS ONE OF THE
MOST EXCITING THINGS THAT'S HAPPENED
THIS YEAR. THIS IS A DESIGNATION BY THE
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. THERE ARE 31 AROUND THE COUNTRY,
BUT WHAT'S EXCITING ABOUT WISCONSIN IS IT'S REALLY BASED
ON BIOHEALTH, AND WE SEE BETWEEN MILWAUKEE AND MADISON REAL
OPPORTUNITIES FOR COMPANIES TO WORK TOGETHER AND CREATE THIS
AMAZING CORRIDOR AROUND PERSONALIZED MEDICINE.
REALLY DETERMINING HOW YOU CAN HELP SOMEONE WITH THE EXACT
TREATMENT THEY NEED AT THE EXACT TIME THAT THEY NEED IT, AND WE
SEE OPPORTUNITIES AROUND ADVANCED MANUFACTURING WITH
THAT, RESEARCH, AND ENTREPRENEURISM. SO ALL OF TH
ESE THINGS WILL COME TOGETHER AS PART OF THIS
REGIONAL TECH HUB. WE'LL SEE BENEFITS EXTENDING UP
TO GREEN BAY AND EAU CLAIRE, SO IT'S REALLY AN ALL-WISCONSIN
EFFORT. >> ALL RIGHT. SECRETARY MISSY HUGHES, THANKS
VERY MUCH. >> THANK YOU.
>> FOR MORE ON THIS AND OTHER ISSUES FACING WISCONSIN, VISIT
OUR WEBSITE AT PBSWISCONSIN.ORG OUR WEBSITE AT PBSWISCONSIN.ORG