Bill aims at cutting red tape on permits
9:31 PM 10/30/03
Marv Balousek Business reporter

Randall Knox of W.D. Hoard & Sons said it took the Fort Atkinson company, publisher of Hoard's Dairyman magazine, three years to get a state permit for a new piece of equipment. <

"The company that sold the equipment was out of business by the time the permit arrived," he said, adding that the delay caused lost sales and jobs. <

Red tape like that is the target of a jobs-creation initiative announced Thursday by Republican legislative leaders. <

Senate Majority Leader Mary Panzer, R-West Bend, and Assembly Speaker John Gard, R-Peshtigo, said the Jobs Creation Act of 2003 is aimed at streamlining Wisconsin's business and industrial permit process, which they say drives jobs out of the state and discourages businesses from locating here. <

"For far too long, we have had a culture of red tape and big government," Gard said. "The government is the only business in this state that hasn't changed the way it does business." <

Panzer said the legislation would not alter Wisconsin's environmental standards, but would reduce the time required to get permits. <

Gov. Jim Doyle, a Democrat, is willing to work on a bipartisan basis to get regulatory reform, said spokesman Dan Leistikow. <

"The governor said at the UW Economic Summit that he wants the strongest, most aggressive regulatory reform in the Midwest," Leistikow said. "He wants to get it done by the end of the year, whether through legislative or administrative action. He's looking forward to working with the sponsors of the bill as they present their plan." <

The legislation would: <