Current law requires a $16 annual fee for appointment or renewal of a resident
insurance agent and a $30 annual fee for appointment or renewal of a nonresident
insurance agent. The commissioner of insurance may require, by rule, payment of
a higher appointment or renewal fee than the statutory fee. This bill increases the
statutory annual fee for nonresident agent appointment or renewal to $40.
JUSTICE
Powers of the attorney general
This bill repeals changes made to the powers of the attorney general in
2017
Wisconsin Act 369 relating to the power to compromise or discontinue civil actions
prosecuted by DOJ and the power to compromise and settle actions in cases where
DOJ is defending the state. This bill reestablishes these settlement powers as they
existed under the law before Act 369 was enacted.
The bill allows the attorney general to compromise or discontinue actions
prosecuted by DOJ a) when directed by the officer, department, board, or commission
that directed the prosecution; or b) with the approval of the governor when the action
is prosecuted by DOJ on the initiative of the attorney general or at the request of any
individual. The bill eliminates the requirement for approval of compromise or
discontinuance from a legislative intervenor or JCF. It also eliminates the
requirement, in certain circumstances, for the attorney general to obtain approval
of a settlement or discontinuance by the Joint Committee on Legislative
Organization before submitting a proposed plan to JCF.
Under the bill, when DOJ is representing the defense, the attorney general may
compromise and settle the action as the attorney general determines to be in the best
interest of the state. The bill eliminates the requirement under current law that, in
actions for injunctive relief or if there is a proposed consent decree, the attorney
general obtain approval of any legislative intervenor or, if there is no intervenor, JCF.
The bill also eliminates the requirement, in certain circumstances, that the attorney
general obtain approval from JCLO before submitting a proposed plan of settlement
or compromise to JCF.
2. Moving office of school safety to DPI
This bill moves the Office of School Safety from DOJ to DPI. The office of school
safety was created in
2017 Wisconsin Act 143 to create model practices for school
safety, to compile blueprints and geographic information system (GIS) maps of
schools for use by law enforcement agencies, to award grants to schools for
expenditures related to improving school safety, and to offer training to school staff
on school safety. Under the bill, all of those duties, except for the duty to offer training
to school staff on school safety move with the office to DPI. Under the bill, DOJ
retains the duty to offer such training.
3. Grants for community policing officers
Under current law, DOJ must award grants to cities with a population of at
least 25,000 to pay salaries and fringe benefits of beat patrol law enforcement officers
so that the cities may employ additional officers or to reimburse overtime hours for
the officers. DOJ must award the grants to eligible cities that apply that have the
highest rates of violent crime, and recipients must provide matching funds of at least
25 percent of the grant. This bill adds that DOJ may, using the same criteria for the
current law grants, also award grants to pay salaries and fringe benefits of law
enforcement officers who are assigned to community policing so that the cities may
employ additional officers who perform such services or to reimburse overtime hours
for those officers.
This bill also changes the funding source for these grants from an annual sum
certain program receipts appropriation to an annual sum certain GPR appropriation
in the 2019-21 fiscal biennium, and transfers the remaining moneys that had been
appropriated to the grants in the 2017-19 fiscal biennium to an appropriation to be
used at the discretion of the attorney general.
4. Alternatives to incarceration grant program
Under current law, DOJ must award grants to counties and to tribes to enable
them to establish and operate programs, including suspended and deferred
prosecution programs and programs based on principles of restorative justice, that
provide alternatives to prosecution and incarceration for criminal offenders who
abuse alcohol or other drugs. This bill expands the grant program by creating an
appropriation to provide grant funds to counties that are not yet a recipient of a grant
under the program on the effective date of this bill.
5. Nonviolent offender treatment diversion pilot program
2017 Wisconsin Act 32 created a nonviolent offender treatment diversion pilot
program that expires on July 1, 2019. This bill continues the nonviolent offender
treatment diversion pilot program until July 1, 2021, and requires that in each fiscal
year of the 2019-21 biennium, $250,000 of the moneys appropriated to the program
be allocated to police departments in cities of the first class.
6. Settlement funds
This bill creates two appropriations in which all moneys received from
settlement funds must be deposited to carry out the purposes for which the
settlement was received or, if no purpose was specified in the settlement, to be used
at the discretion of the attorney general. The bill also requires DOJ to submit to DOA
and JCF a semiannual report on the receipt and use of settlement funds.
The bill also creates an appropriation to hold all money received by DOJ that
is owed to a relator, to provide payments to relators. A relator is a type of party in
a lawsuit.
7. DNA Surcharges transfer
This bill transfers from DOJ's appropriation for DNA analysis surcharges to
DOJ's appropriation for investigating Internet crimes against children $750,000 in
each fiscal year of the 2019-21 fiscal biennium.
local government
Levy limits
Generally, under current law, local levy limits are applied to the property tax
levies that are imposed in December of each year. Current law prohibits any political
subdivision from increasing its levy by a percentage that exceeds its valuation factor,
which is the greater of either 0 percent or the percentage change in the political
subdivision's equalized value due to new construction, less improvements removed
(net new construction). Current law also contains a number of exceptions to the levy
limit, such as amounts a county levies for a countywide emergency medical system,
for a county children with disabilities education board, and for certain bridge and
culvert construction and repair.
Minimum increase factor
Under the bill, the valuation factor is increased to the greater of either 2 percent
or the percentage change in net new construction.
2. Adjustment for shared emergency services and joint fire departments
The bill creates an exception to local levy limits for shared emergency services.
Under the bill, fee increases apportioned to each political subdivision operating a
joint emergency dispatch center do not apply to the levy limits, but only if the fees
would cause the political subdivisions to exceed the levy limits, and only if the total
charges imposed by the center for the current year, compared to the previous year,
are less than or equal to the rate of inflation plus 1 percent. In addition, all member
political subdivisions of a center must adopt a resolution in favor of exceeding the
levy limit.
Also under current law, a similar exception applies to municipalities operating
a joint fire department. Currently, under this provision, the exception applies only
if the total charges imposed by the joint fire department for the current year,
compared to the previous year, increase by less than or equal to the rate of inflation
plus 2 percent. This bill reduces the permitted yearly increase to the rate of inflation
plus 1 percent.
3. Exclusion for cross-municipality transit routes
The bill creates an exception to local levy limits for certain transit services.
Under the bill, amounts levied by a political subdivision for costs related to new or
enhanced transit services that cross adjacent county or municipal borders do not
apply to the limit if the political subdivisions between which the routes operate have
entered into an agreement to provide for the services and if the agreement is
approved in a referendum.
4. Negative adjustment for certain service revenues
Under current law, a political subdivision must reduce its allowable levy by the
estimated amount of any revenue from fees or payments in lieu of taxes if the revenue
is received for providing certain “covered services" that were funded with property
tax revenues in calendar year 2013. The “covered services" are certain garbage
collection, fire protection, snow plowing, street sweeping, and storm water
management.
This bill repeals the requirement that a political subdivision must reduce its
allowable levy by the estimated amount of revenues received for providing covered
services that were funded with property tax revenues in calendar year 2013.
Tax incremental financing
Under the current tax incremental financing program, a city or village may
create a tax incremental district in its territory to foster development. Currently,
towns and counties also have a limited ability to create a TID. Before a city or village
may create a TID, several steps and plans are required. These include public
hearings on the proposed TID, preparation and adoption of a proposed project plan
for the TID, approval of the proposed project plan by the common council or village
board, approval of the proposed TID by a joint review board that consists of members
who represent the overlying taxation districts, and adoption of a resolution by the
common council or village board that creates the TID. Also under current law, once
a tax incremental district has been created, DOR calculates the “tax incremental
base" value of the TID, which is the equalized value of all taxable property within the
TID at the time of its creation. If the development in the TID increases the value of
the property in the TID above the base value, a “value increment" is created. That
portion of taxes collected on the value increment in excess of the base value is called
a “tax increment." The tax increment is placed in a special fund that may be used
only to pay back the project costs of the TID.
Developer cash grant limitations
Currently, a TID project plan must include information regarding all proposed
public works or improvements within the district, an economic feasibility study, a
detailed list of estimated project costs, and a description of financing methods for the
project costs. Generally, project costs are defined to include public works such as
sewers, streets, and lighting systems; financing costs; site preparation costs; and
professional service costs. Current law authorizes a political subdivision to make
cash grants, which are included in project costs, to owners, lessees, or developers of
land in a TID if the grant recipient has entered into a development agreement with
the political subdivision.
Under this bill, the total of all such cash grants may not exceed 20 percent of
the total project costs of a TID, including financing costs attributable to the grants.
2. Tax incremental district project plan stress tests
This bill requires that a TID's project plan also include alternative economic
projections of the TID's finances and feasibility under different economic situations,
including a slower pace of development and lower rate of property value growth than
expected in the TID.
3. Erroneous reporting of value increments
Under this bill, for property values reported in 2018, if a city or village
erroneously reports a higher value increment for its TIDs by an aggregate amount
of at least $50 million, the city's or village's TIDs may transfer the excess tax
increment collections resulting from this error to the city's or village's general fund
to reimburse taxpayers for the higher property tax rates imposed on them due to this
error. Before making any such transfers, the city or village must verify with DOR
the amounts involved.
General local government
State and local employment regulations; repeal preemption of local
government regulations
This bill repeals the preemption of local governments enacting or enforcing
ordinances related to the following:
a. Regulations related to wage claims and collections.
b. Regulation of employee hours and overtime, including scheduling of
employee work hours or shifts.
c. The employment benefits an employer may be required to provide to its
employees.
d. An employer's right to solicit information regarding the salary history of
prospective employees.
The bill also repeals a prohibition against a political subdivision from imposing
an occupational licensing requirement on an individual that is more stringent than
the state requirement. The bill also repeals a provision under which neither the state
nor a local government may enact a statute or ordinance, adopt a policy or regulation,
or impose a contract, zoning, permitting, or licensing requirement, or any other
condition, that would require any person to accept any provision that is a subject of
collective bargaining under state or federal labor laws. Current law defines “federal
labor laws” as the National Labor Relations Act. Finally, the bill repeals a
prohibition under which the state and local governments, and their employees, could
require any person to waive the person's rights under state or federal labor laws as
a condition of any other approval by the state or local governmental unit.
2. Municipality construction, ownership, or operation of broadband
facilities
Current law prohibits, with several exceptions, a municipality from
constructing, owning, or operating a facility for providing video service,
telecommunications service, or broadband service to the public unless a) the
municipality holds a public hearing on the proposed action, b) notice of the public
hearing is given, and c) the municipality prepares and makes available for public
inspection a report estimating the total costs of, and revenues derived from,
constructing, owning, or operating the facility for a period of at least three years.
Current law specifies the costs that must be estimated under item c. This bill
eliminates that specification of costs when the facility is a broadband facility
intended to serve an underserved or unserved area.
Currently, under one of the exceptions, the public hearing and cost report do not
apply to a facility for providing broadband service if a) the municipality offers use of
the facility on a nondiscriminatory basis to persons who provide broadband service
to end users of the service, b) the municipality itself does not use the facility to
provide broadband service to end users, and c) the municipality determines that, at
the time of authorization, the facility does not compete with more than one provider
of broadband service. This bill eliminates the requirements under items b and c for
facilities that are intended to serve an underserved or unserved area. That is, under
the bill, for facilities that are intended to serve an underserved or unserved area, the
public hearing and cost report do not apply to a facility for providing broadband
service if the municipality offers use of the facility on a nondiscriminatory basis to
persons who provide broadband service to end users of the service.
Currently, under another of the exceptions, the public hearing and cost report
do not apply to a facility for providing broadband service to an area within the
boundaries of a municipality if the municipality asks, in writing, each person that
provides broadband service within the boundaries of the municipality whether the
person currently provides broadband service to the area or intends to provide
broadband service to the area within nine months and a) does not receive an
affirmative response within 60 days, b) the municipality determines that a person
who responded does not currently provide broadband service to the area, and no
other person makes the response to the municipality, or c) the municipality
determines that a person who responded that the person intended to provide
broadband service to the area within nine months did not actually provide the service
within nine months and no other person makes the response to the municipality.
Under the bill, for this exception in the case of an underserved or unserved area,
rather than asking whether a person plans to provide broadband service to the area
within nine months, the municipality must ask whether the person intends or
actively plans to provide broadband service to the area within the relevant time
period.
Military affairs
Emergency management
This bill changes the appropriations for fire, crash, and rescue emergencies and
for the emergency management assistance compact from sum certain annual
appropriations to continuing appropriations. An annual sum certain appropriation
is expendable only for the fiscal year for which the appropriation is made and only
up to the dollar amount shown in the schedule for that fiscal year. A continuing
appropriation is expendable until fully depleted, and the moneys held therein do not
lapse. Therefore, the effect of this change is to allow the moneys in the
appropriations to continue to be spent until depleted.
2. Washington Island disaster assistance
This bill requires DMA to pay up to $1,000,000 in each fiscal year of the 2019-21
fiscal biennium from the state disaster assistance appropriation to the Washington
Island Electric Cooperative for the costs incurred for the replacement of the cables
that bring electricity to Washington Island.
3. Emergency management assistance compact
This bill creates an appropriation account to receive reimbursement funds for
emergency services provided under the state and province emergency management
assistance compact.
natural resources
Conservation
Warren Knowles-Gaylord Nelson Stewardship 2000 Program
This bill reauthorizes the Warren Knowles-Gaylord Nelson Stewardship 2000
Program until 2021-22 and maintains the amount that DNR may obligate under the
program and each of its subprograms in each fiscal year. Current law authorizes the
state to incur public debt for certain conservation activities under the stewardship
program, which is administered by DNR. The state may incur this debt to acquire
land for the state for conservation purposes and for property development activities
and may award grants to others to acquire land for these purposes. Current law
establishes the amounts that DNR may obligate in each fiscal year through fiscal
year 2019-20 for expenditure under each of these subprograms.
Fish, game, and wildlife
Bureau of natural resources science
This bill creates in DNR, under the division responsible for fish, wildlife, and
parks, a bureau of natural resources science and requires DNR to convert the
existing office of applied science into the bureau of natural resources science. Under
the bill, the bureau director reports to and serves as the science advisor to the
secretary of natural resources.
2. Hunting, fishing, and trapping approvals
This bill authorizes DNR to develop a system under which, when a person
purchases an approval, the person may opt to automatically purchase the same
approval for subsequent years. Under current law, “approval” is defined as any type
of hunting, fishing, or trapping approval, privilege, or authorization issued or
conferred by DNR, including any license, permit, certificate, card, stamp, preference
point, or tag, but not including a conservation card. Under the bill, DNR may
contract with a third party to store customer information in order to carry out this
system.
Recreation
Snowmobile enforcement
Under current law, funding for certain DNR functions pertaining to
snowmobiles, including enforcement, safety training, and fatality reporting, is
provided from the conservation fund and from tribal gaming compact program
revenues. Under this bill, the funding amounts currently provided from gaming
revenues are replaced with general program revenue.
Navigable waters
Bonding authority for dam safety projects
This bill increases from $25,500,000 to $29,500,000 the amount of public debt
that the state may contract for the dam safety financial assistance program
administered by DNR. Under that program, DNR provides financial assistance to
counties, cities, villages, towns, and public inland lake protection and rehabilitation
districts for dam safety projects.
retirement and group insurance
Health insurance
Stipend in lieu of health insurance
This bill expands the eligibility of certain state employees to receive a stipend
in lieu of health insurance coverage under the group health insurance program.
Current law provides that state employees who were eligible for coverage in calendar
year 2015 and who did not elect coverage for 2015 are not eligible to receive a stipend
in lieu of health care coverage. This bill removes that prohibition if the employee
elects to take state health care coverage in any calendar year following calendar year
2015.
2. Employee health clinics
This bill allows the Group Insurance Board to enter into contracts with entities
to provide health and wellness services at health clinics to be located in state
facilities to individuals who are covered by a state group health insurance plan.
3. Premium subsidy study
