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People who lost their homes to Hurricane Helene or California’s raging wildfires could get a healthy tax break to move to Wisconsin.
Republican legislators in the Dairy State have proposed a bill that would give anyone who moves to Wisconsin from North Carolina or Los Angeles County because they were displaced by one of the states’ disasters a $10,000 income tax credit for the 2025 tax year.
People who have been convicted of felonies would not be eligible.
It’s a unique way for a state so far largely spared by the extreme weather incidents of hurricanes and drought-driven wildfires amid climate change could capitalize on their better fortune.
The bill’s authors, state Rep. Cindi Duchow and state Sen. Dan Feyen, said in memo to their colleagues that the tax credit could draw people to the state and help alleviate chronic workforce shortages, particularly in the healthcare sector.
A task force that Democratic Gov. Tony Evers formed to study Wisconsin’s worker shortage released a report in August showing a potential deficit of up to 19,000 registered nurses in the state by 2040 and nearly 32,000 annual openings in the healthcare field over the next five years.
“Hurricane Helene created massive flooding issues in Appalachia, and the devastating wildfires affecting Los Angeles County have displaced thousands of people from their homes,” the lawmakers noted in their memo.
“Many have lost nearly all possessions and will need to rebuild in the wake of this tragedy. Some highly skilled workers may consider or be forced to leave North Carolina or California, so why not incentivize them to settle in Wisconsin?”
Duchow told The Associated Press that came up with the idea after looking at photos of the wildfire destruction and thinking, “Where do these people go?”
But the bill’s prospects look murky.
Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos said that the bill is an interesting concept and that he’d like lawmakers to learn more about how it could boost the state’s workforce.
But Democratic Governor Tony Evers hasn’t commented. It’s unlikely he would sign it into law given the ugly rift that has developed between him and Republican legislative leaders since he first took office in in 2019.
Helene caused widespread damage Helene caused devastating damage in parts of the southeastern U.S. in September. More than 230 people died, including at least 106 in North Carolina, according to that state’s Department of Health and Human Services.
At least 29 people were kill last month when wildfires in California burned thousands of homes, businesses and cars in Los Angeles County last month.
