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LRB-4749/1
KP&MES:amn
2019 - 2020 LEGISLATURE
November 22, 2019 - Introduced by Senators Testin, Schachtner, Smith and L.
Taylor
, cosponsored by Representatives Oldenburg, Spreitzer, Novak,
Kolste, Tranel, Shankland, Bowen, Cabrera, Considine, Doyle, Emerson,
Gruszynski, Kitchens, Krug, Kulp, Mursau, Neubauer, Ramthun, Schraa,
Skowronski, Subeck, Summerfield, C. Taylor, Tusler, VanderMeer and
Vruwink. Referred to Committee on Agriculture, Revenue and Financial
Institutions.
SB575,1,6 1An Act to amend 20.115 (7) (dm), 20.115 (7) (tm), 71.613 (2) (intro.), 71.613 (2)
2(a), 71.613 (2) (b), 71.613 (2) (c), 91.04 (intro.) and 91.62 (1) (a); and to create
371.613 (1) (h) 4., 71.613 (2) (am), 71.613 (2) (bm), 71.613 (2) (cm), 71.613 (2) (d),
471.613 (2e), 91.04 (2) (bm) and 91.10 (7) of the statutes; relating to: farmland
5preservation implementation grants, agreements, and tax credits and making
6an appropriation.
Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau
This bill makes the following changes involving farmland preservation
implementation grants and agreements and farmland preservation tax credits:
1. Decreases the minimum required length of a farmland preservation
agreement between the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection
and a farmland owner to 10 years from 15 years. Under current law, farmland
owners who enter into a farmland preservation agreement with DATCP may be
eligible to receive farmland preservation tax credits for their qualifying acres of
farmland.
2. Requires DATCP to include in a report submitted to the Board of Agriculture,
Trade and Consumer Protection, the Joint Committee on Finance, the standing
committees of the legislature with jurisdiction over agriculture, the Department of
Revenue, and the Department of Administration a review of the tax credit amounts
for qualifying acres for the farmland preservation tax credit and recommendations

for the tax credit levels for qualifying acres of farmland. Current law requires
DATCP to submit a report about farmland and the farmland preservation program
once every two years to the board, DOR, and DOA.
3. Under the farmland preservation tax credit, increases from $7.50 to $10.00
the amount that may be claimed, per qualifying acre, for qualifying acres that are
located in a farmland preservation zoning district but are not subject to a farmland
preservation agreement.
4. Under the farmland preservation tax credit, increases from $5.00 to $10.00
the amount that may be claimed, per qualifying acre, for qualifying acres that are
subject to a farmland preservation agreement but not located in a farmland
preservation zoning district.
5. Under the farmland preservation tax credit, increases from $10.00 to $12.50
the amount that may be claimed, per qualifying acre, for qualifying acres that are
located in a farmland preservation zoning district and are subject to a farmland
preservation agreement.
6. Adds a new category of farmland that qualifies for the farmland preservation
tax credit. A credit of $10 per acre may be claimed for farmland that is located in a
farmland preservation area, but only to the extent that the acres are covered by an
agriculture conservation easement.
7. Authorizes DATCP to award grants to cities, villages, towns, counties,
regional planning commissions, and tribal governments for various purposes related
to implementing a county's certified farmland preservation plan. Under the bill,
DATCP must enter into a contract with a grant recipient before distributing grant
funds, and the contract must identify costs eligible for reimbursement through the
grant for the following activities: 1) certifying a farmland preservation zoning
ordinance for the first time; 2) enrolling land in farmland preservation agreements;
3) designating an agricultural enterprise area or facilitating agricultural
preservation and development; 4) monitoring compliance with land and water
conservation standards; and 5) farmland preservation program outreach.
The bill also indexes the farmland preservation tax credit dollar amounts
described above for inflation.
For further information see the state and local fiscal estimate, which will be
printed as an appendix to this bill.
The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do
enact as follows:
SB575,1 1Section 1 . 20.115 (7) (dm) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB575,2,42 20.115 (7) (dm) Farmland preservation planning and implementation grants.
3The amounts in the schedule for farmland preservation planning grants under s.
491.10 (6) and for farmland preservation implementation grants under s. 91.10 (7).
SB575,2
1Section 2. 20.115 (7) (tm) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB575,3,52 20.115 (7) (tm) Farmland preservation planning and implementation grants,
3working lands fund.
From the working lands fund, the amounts in the schedule for
4farmland preservation planning grants under s. 91.10 (6) and for farmland
5preservation implementation grants under s. 91.10 (7)
.
SB575,3 6Section 3 . 71.613 (1) (h) 4. of the statutes is created to read:
SB575,3,127 71.613 (1) (h) 4. The farm is wholly or partially covered by an agricultural
8conservation easement purchased under s. 93.73, except that if the farm is only
9partially covered, the qualifying acres calculation includes only those acres that are
10covered by the agricultural conservation easement and located in a farmland
11preservation area, as defined in s. 91.01 (16), at the end of the taxable year to which
12the claim relates.
SB575,4 13Section 4 . 71.613 (2) (intro.) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB575,3,2314 71.613 (2) Filing claims. (intro.) Subject to sub. (2e) and to the limitations and
15conditions provided in sub. (3), a claimant may claim as a credit against the tax
16imposed under s. 71.02, 71.23, or 71.43, an amount calculated by multiplying the
17claimant's qualifying acres by one of the following amounts, and if the allowable
18amount of the claim exceeds the income taxes otherwise due on the claimant's income
19or if there are no Wisconsin income taxes due on the claimant's income, the amount
20of the claim not used as an offset against income taxes shall be certified by the
21department of revenue to the department of administration for payment to the
22claimant by check, share draft, or other draft from the appropriation under s. 20.835
23(2) (do):
SB575,5 24Section 5 . 71.613 (2) (a) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB575,4,3
171.613 (2) (a) Ten dollars Except as provided in par. (am), $10, if the qualifying
2acres are located in a farmland preservation zoning district and are also subject to
3a farmland preservation agreement that is entered into after July 1, 2009.
SB575,6 4Section 6 . 71.613 (2) (am) of the statutes is created to read:
SB575,4,65 71.613 (2) (am) For taxable years beginning after December 31, 2019, the
6amount that may be claimed per qualifying acre under par. (a) shall be $12.50.
SB575,7 7Section 7. 71.613 (2) (b) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB575,4,118 71.613 (2) (b) Seven dollars and 50 cents Except as provided in par. (bm), $7.50,
9if the qualifying acres are located in a farmland preservation zoning district but are
10not subject to a farmland preservation agreement that is entered into after July 1,
112009.
SB575,8 12Section 8. 71.613 (2) (bm) of the statutes is created to read:
SB575,4,1413 71.613 (2) (bm) For taxable years beginning after December 31, 2019, the
14amount that may be claimed per qualifying acre under par. (b) shall be $10.
SB575,9 15Section 9. 71.613 (2) (c) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB575,4,1816 71.613 (2) (c) Five dollars Except as provided in par. (cm), $5.00, if the
17qualifying acres are subject to a farmland preservation agreement that is entered
18into after July 1, 2009, but are not located in a farmland preservation zoning district.
SB575,10 19Section 10. 71.613 (2) (cm) of the statutes is created to read:
SB575,4,2120 71.613 (2) (cm) For taxable years beginning after December 31, 2019, the
21amount that may be claimed per qualifying acre under par. (c) shall be $10.
SB575,11 22Section 11 . 71.613 (2) (d) of the statutes is created to read:
SB575,4,2523 71.613 (2) (d) For taxable years beginning after December 31, 2019, $10, if the
24qualifying acres are subject to sub. (1) (h) 4., but only to the extent that such acres
25are covered by an agricultural conservation easement purchased under s. 93.73.
SB575,12
1Section 12. 71.613 (2e) of the statutes is created to read:
SB575,5,152 71.613 (2e) Indexing for inflation. (a) Except as provided in par. (b), in
3August 2021, and every August thereafter, the department, in consultation with the
4department of agriculture, trade and consumer protection, shall increase the dollar
5amounts in sub. (2) (am), (bm), (cm), and (d) by a percentage equal to the percentage
6change over the previous 12 months of an index of prices paid by farmers, as
7determined by the the national agricultural statistics service of the U.S. department
8of agriculture. The adjustment may occur only if the resulting dollar amounts are
9greater than the corresponding amounts that were calculated for the previous year.
10If an adjustment is not made in a previous year due to a negative change in the index,
11any subsequent adjustment shall be based on the percentage change in the index
12since August of the year that an adjustment under this paragraph last occurred,
13except that following a negative change in the index, no adjustment may occur under
14this paragraph until the current level of the index exceeds the highest level that the
15index had previously reached.
SB575,5,2316 (b) In August 2021, and every August thereafter, if the department is unable
17to administer the prices paid by farmers approach described in par. (a), the
18department shall increase the dollar amounts in sub. (2) (am), (bm), (cm), and (d) by
19a percentage equal to the percentage change over the previous 12 months of the
20consumer price index for all urban consumers, U.S. city average, as determined by
21the federal department of labor. The adjustment may occur only if the resulting
22dollar amounts are greater than the corresponding amounts that were calculated for
23the previous year.
SB575,13 24Section 13 . 91.04 (intro.) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB575,6,8
191.04 Department to report. (intro.) At least once every 2 years, beginning
2not later than December 31, 2011, the department shall submit a farmland
3preservation report to the joint committee on finance, the standing committees of the
4legislature with jurisdiction over agriculture under s. 13.172 (3), and
the board of
5agriculture, trade and consumer protection and provide copies of the report to the
6department of revenue and the department of administration. The department shall
7prepare the report in cooperation with the department of revenue and shall include
8all of the following in the report:
SB575,14 9Section 14. 91.04 (2) (bm) of the statutes is created to read:
SB575,6,1110 91.04 (2) (bm) The amount of the tax credits per qualifying acre, and the
11recommendations of the department for the tax credit amounts.
SB575,15 12Section 15 . 91.10 (7) of the statutes is created to read:
SB575,6,1713 91.10 (7) (a) From the appropriation under s. 20.115 (7) (dm) or (tm), the
14department may award a grant to a city, village, town, county, regional planning
15commission, or tribal government for implementing a county's certified farmland
16preservation plan. In determining priorities for awarding grants under this
17subsection, the department shall first consider requests for grants under sub. (6) (a).
SB575,6,2018 (b) The department may award an implementation grant under par. (a) for the
19costs of any of the following activities in an area that is planned for farmland
20preservation in a county's certified farmland preservation plan:
SB575,6,2221 1. Certifying a farmland preservation zoning ordinance under s. 91.36 for the
22first time.
SB575,6,2323 2. Entering into farmland preservation agreements under s. 91.60.
SB575,7,3
13. Designation of an agricultural enterprise area under s. 91.84 or development
2of a project to facilitate agricultural preservation and development consistent with
3s. 91.84 (1) (a) 1.
SB575,7,44 4. Monitoring compliance under s. 91.82.
SB575,7,55 5. Targeted farmland preservation program outreach.
SB575,7,106 (c) The department shall enter into a contract with a city, village, town, county,
7regional planning commission, or tribal government to which it awards an
8implementation grant under par. (a) before the department distributes any grant
9funds to the recipient. In the contract, the department shall identify the costs for the
10activities under par. (b) that are eligible for reimbursement through the grant.
SB575,7,1611 (d) The department may distribute grant funds under this subsection only after
12the city, village, town, county, regional planning commission, or tribal government
13shows that it has incurred costs that are eligible for reimbursement under par. (c).
14The department may not distribute more than 50 percent of the amount of a grant
15under this subsection for an implementation project under par. (a) prior to the point
16of completion defined in the contract entered into under par. (c).
SB575,7,1817 (e) The department may require a recipient of an implementation grant under
18par. (a) to contribute matching funds up to 50 percent of the amount of the grant.
SB575,7,2019 (f) The department may consider the following factors when awarding grants
20under par. (a):
SB575,7,2321 1. The recipient's demonstrated commitment to implementing the county's
22certified farmland preservation plan, and the strength of documentation supporting
23the plan.
SB575,8,3
12. The recipient's demonstrated commitment and capacity to implement and
2maintain farm conservation practices promulgated by the department under ss.
392.05 (3) (c) and (k), 92.14 (8), and 281.16 (3) (b) and (c).
SB575,8,64 3. The likelihood that activities funded by the grant address goals in the
5county's certified farmland preservation plan or grow participation in a local
6farmland preservation program.
SB575,8,87 4. The relative cost-effectiveness of activities funded by the grant in locally
8implementing the farmland preservation program.
SB575,8,99 5. The timeliness and completeness of plans and applications.
SB575,8,1110 6. The recipient's demonstrated cooperation and commitment to manage and
11implement funded projects.
SB575,8,1412 7. A county's annual financial contribution for soil and water resource
13management programs or funding awarded to county land conservation committees
14as a part of an annual grant under s. 92.14.
SB575,8,1515 8. Any other factor relevant to administering this chapter.
SB575,16 16Section 16. 91.62 (1) (a) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB575,8,1717 91.62 (1) (a) Specifies a term of at least 15 10 years.
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