WisconsinEye is reporting that Republican state Rep. Jeff Stone is calling for Scott Walker’s flagship agency, the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation, to comply with state law, calling it a “top priority,” despite yesterday voting against a resolution that would have required WEDC to do just that.
Stone’s sudden change of heart came this morning at a WEDC board meeting, where Scott Walker and other members of the WEDC board were reviewing a scathing audit from the nonpartisan Legislative Audit Bureau that revealed that the scandal-plagued WEDC failed to follow state law and have basic accountability measures in place to track taxpayer-funded loans.
Assembly Democrats yesterday introduced a resolution that would have required WEDC to follow state law and create a committee tasked with holding WEDC accountable to the taxpayers. The measure was voted down 39-57, with all Assembly Republicans in attendance, including Stone, voting against.
“Scott Walker Republicans had an opportunity to take a small, common-sense step towards correcting the epic failures at Scott Walker’s flagship jobs agency by simply requiring WEDC to follow state law, but they refused to even consider that basic level of accountability,” Democratic Party of Wisconsin Chair Mike Tate said Wednesday. “If Jeff Stone really believes that compliance with state law is a “top priority” he should have voted to require it yesterday when he had the chance.”
