WC Wisconsin News

Gov. Tony Evers vetoed a bill that would have loaned $65 million to allow paper mills to be bought in Wisconsin Rapids and Park Falls. 

The Wisconsin Rapids Tribune reports that this comes after a bill was passed to allow loans for the purchase to aid in rebuilding for industry and economy after the pandemic. 

"Gov. Tony Evers vetoes bill awarding $65 million in federal loans for purchase of two paper mills," journalist Jeff Bollier said in a post to his Twitter account on July 9. 

It is unclear whether a third party could be involved in repurchasing the mills, or if they would become profitable again. The loans would have come from the federal government through the Federal Rescue Act of 2021, as opposed to the state of Wisconsin. The proposed bill passed the Wisconsin Assembly and Senate during the prior few weeks before being vetoed by Evers. 

The COVID-19 pandemic has been cited as the reason the mills closed in the first place. Evers and legislative Democrats lobbied for other funding sources besides the federal government to be available to fund the mils. This was not embraced by Republicans, leading to the governor's veto of the bill. 

Evers believed the state had enough revenue to finance the mills itself and had hoped for a bipartisan agreement. Some Democrats who supported the amendments did end up voting for the bill without them, despite the veto from Evers.