Gov. Tony Evers yesterday signed Senate Bill 894, now 2023 Wisconsin Act 96, which provides necessary funding to leverage federal funding for the development of Wisconsin’s biohealth and technology sectors.
In October, Wisconsin was designated as a Regional Technology Hub (RTH) by the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA), which cleared the way for Wisconsin to compete for up to $75 million in funding under the federal CHIPS and Science Act of 2022. The EDA also announced it was awarding Wisconsin a $350,000 strategic development grant as part of the designation.
Last year, 15 public and private partners in the field of biohealth technology and personalized medicine formed the Wisconsin Biohealth Tech Hub Consortium to increase collaboration and to seek the RTH designation. The Wisconsin Biohealth Tech Hub Consortium has designated BioForward Inc. as the lead consortium member for the program, and under the bill Gov. Evers signed, WEDC would award a grant to BioForward Inc. in its capacity as the lead consortium member, to match a federal regional technology and innovation hub grant. State matching grants are required to compete for awards under the federal program.
Senate Bill 894, now 2023 Wisconsin Act 96:
- Provides $7.5 million GPR for a grant to BioForward Inc. to provide a match to a federal grant that designates it as the lead consortium member for purposes of a receiving a federal regional technology and innovation hub grant; and
- Requires the WEDC and BioForward Inc. to make annual reports to the Joint Committee on Finance for a three-year period detailing the uses of the grant money.
