By State Representative Dan Knodl Representing the 24th Assembly District.

Ever since I was first elected to the Wisconsin State Assembly in 2008, I have been arguing that our state is badly in need of a change in direction in the State Capitol. From the legislature to the governor and the many executive branch state agencies, our state government has served as a punisher of businesses large and small – not as a partner.

It is imperative that our businesses thrive and develop the jobs of the future. It will be these jobs – and the income and sales tax revenues they create – that will fund the priorities of our state government into the future. To put it bluntly, our state finances are only as secure as the private sector businesses and taxpayers who pay the bills.

I am hopeful that this negative attitude toward private sector growth and development is finally ending. As soon as he assumed office on January 3, 2011, Governor Scott Walker called a Special Session of the newly-elected State Legislature in an effort to address our state's ongoing economic problems.

I am pleased to report that this Special Session has been a tremendous success thus far, and I wanted to share a list of bills that have been approved by the Assembly and are awaiting the consideration of the Senate or Governor Walker's signature:

Lawsuit Reform (Special Session Senate Bill 1) – Reforming Wisconsin's legal climate to discourage damaging, frivolous lawsuits that hurt small businesses and discourage job creation in our state;

HSA Deductibility (SS SB 2) – Making Health Savings Accounts more affordable by creating a nonrefundable individual income tax deduction of 6.5 percent for HSAs that may be deducted or exempted from federal income taxes (signed into law by Governor Walker); Wisconsin Business Relocation Tax Holiday (Special Session Assembly Bill 3) - Allowing for a two-year tax holiday for businesses that relocate to Wisconsin;

Additional Economic Development Fund Credits (SS AB 4) – Increasing by $25 million the amount of credits available under Wisconsin's economic development tax credit program;

Two-Thirds Supermajority for Tax Increases (SS AB 5) – Requiring that increases in state sales, excise and income taxes be approved with a two-thirds supermajority in the Assembly and Senate. Under current law, a simple majority of legislators may pass tax increases;

Small Business Tax Credit (SS AB 7) – Incentivizing small business job creation with a new direct tax deduction of $4,000 per-job for businesses with less than $5 million in gross receipts and a $2,000 perjob tax deduction for businesses with more than $5 million in gross receipts.

I anticipate that the Special Session will continue with additional proposals from Governor Walker being deliberated in the Assembly and Senate over the next couple of weeks. No single one of these proposals is going to magically turn around our ailing economy. With the deep and lasting damage that was done by our state government over the past few years, it is going to take some time to restore widespread prosperity. But needed changes are happening in Madison as we speak, and the debate is shifting. We are beginning an exciting time for Wisconsin.