Withdrawal of county forest lands for sale to American Indian tribes
Under current law, a county board may designate certain land as a county forest
and enter that designation by application to DNR. The county must manage the
county forest for recreational use, timber harvesting, and other specified purposes
and DNR must make payment to the county based on the acreage of county forest the
county maintains. A county may subsequently apply to DNR to withdraw the entry
of land as a county forest and sell the land. If the sale is to be to a person other than
the state or a local unit of government, DNR must establish a minimum value for the
land to be withdrawn. Under the bill, county forest that is withdrawn to be sold to
an American Indian tribe or band is also excluded from the requirement that DNR
establish the minimum value of the land to be withdrawn.
Emergency rule making for the urban forestry grant program
Under current law, DNR administers an urban forestry grant program to
provide grants to municipalities and NCOs to undertake various tree projects in
urban areas. The bill allows DNR to promulgate emergency rules to incorporate new
priorities and categories of grants and recipients and to increase the minimum
amount of urban forestry grants, without finding that an emergency exists or
providing evidence that promulgating an emergency rule is necessary to preserve
public peace, health, safety, or welfare.
Fish, game, and wildlife
Use of ID card to establish residency for DNR approvals
Under current law, DNR issues approvals that authorize the holder of the
approval to engage in certain activities, such as hunting wild animals. In general,
residents of the state are issued a different approval, for a lower fee, than
nonresidents of the state. Current law provides that a resident is anyone who has
maintained a permanent abode in the state for at least 30 days prior to applying for
an approval, which must be established by demonstrating domiciliary intent. Under
current law, evidence of domiciliary intent includes voting, paying personal income
taxes, or obtaining a driver's license at a location in the state. The bill provides that
domiciliary intent may also be satisfied by obtaining an identification card issued by
DOT. Under current law, an identification card issued by DOT is required to contain
the same information that is required for an operator's license, including the license
holder's name, address, and photograph, but must be clearly labeled as providing
only identification of the card's holder.
Waterfowl stamp fee and uses
Under current law generally, no person may hunt waterfowl unless he or she
is issued a conservation patron license, a hunting license authorizing the hunting of
small game and a waterfowl hunting stamp, or a sports license and a waterfowl
hunting stamp. The bill raises the fee for a waterfowl hunting stamp from $6.75 to
$11.75. Current law requires DNR to spend 67 percent of the money received from
fees for waterfowl hunting stamps for developing, managing, preserving, restoring,
and maintaining wetland habitat and for producing waterfowl and ecologically
related species of wildlife. Under the bill, DNR may also provide those moneys to
NCOs and local units of government for developing and restoring wetland habitat.
Aquatic plant management
Under current law, without a valid aquatic plant management permit issued
by DNR, no person may introduce nonnative aquatic plants into waters of this state,
manually remove aquatic plants from navigable waters, or control aquatic plants in
waters of this state by the use of chemicals or by introducing biological agents, by
using a process that involves dewatering, desiccation, burning, or freezing, or by
using mechanical means. Under current law, DNR establishes fees for aquatic plant
management permits, and those fees are deposited into a general fund appropriation
used for facilities, materials, or services provided by DNR relating to its
environmental quality functions and to the management of the state's water
resources. Under the bill, those fees are deposited into a general fund appropriation
used solely for the aquatic plant management permit program.
Deer carcass disposal sites
The bill requires DNR to provide financial assistance to local governments,
individuals, businesses, and conservation organizations to purchase large metal
containers for the disposal of deer carcasses.
Public Utilities
Broadband line extension grants
The bill requires PSC to make grants to residents of properties that are not
served by a broadband service provider to assist in paying the customer costs
associated with line extension necessary to connect broadband service to the
properties. The maximum amount of a broadband line extension grant is $4,000.
The bill also requires PSC to give priority to primary residences and to establish
other criteria for awarding the grants.
Broadband planning grants
The bill requires PSC to make grants to cities, villages, towns, counties, school
districts, tribal governments, regional planning commissions, nonprofit
organizations, and local economic development councils for the following: 1)
broadband planning; 2) feasibility engineering related to broadband infrastructure
construction; 3) broadband adoption planning; and 4) digital inclusion activities.
The maximum amount of a broadband planning grant is $50,000. The bill also
requires PSC to provide training, technical assistance, and information on
broadband infrastructure construction, broadband adoption, and digital inclusion.
Creating an appropriation for the state broadband office
The bill creates an appropriation to fund the operations of the state broadband
office within PSC. Currently, the state broadband office enhances the availability,
adoption, and use of broadband across the state.
Funding for broadband expansion grant program
The bill appropriates general purpose revenue for the broadband expansion
grant program administered by PSC.
Eligibility for broadband expansion grants
The bill makes a city, village, town, or county (political subdivision) eligible to
apply for a broadband expansion grant from PSC if the political subdivision is
underserved or located in an unserved area. Under current law, underserved means
served by fewer than two broadband service providers, and an unserved area is an
area not served by an Internet service provider that meets certain standards for the
service provided and for upload and download speeds. Under current law, a political
subdivision is only eligible to apply for a broadband expansion grant if its application
is submitted in partnership with a nonprofit organization or a telecommunications
utility.
Broadband mapping
Under the bill, PSC must require Internet service providers, annually by April
1, to disclose to PSC the properties they serve, the average minimum download and
upload speeds at which they provide Internet service to those properties, and a
description of their existing service areas. The bill requires PSC to use this
information to conduct broadband mapping and facilitate the deployment of
broadband infrastructure and access to broadband service. The bill adds an
exception to the public records law by requiring PSC to withhold from public
inspection any information disclosed by Internet service providers that would aid a
competitor in competing with that provider if PSC determines that public disclosure
is not necessary to conduct broadband mapping or facilitate the deployment of
broadband infrastructure and access to broadband service.
Allowing electric providers to use easements for broadband service
The bill allows electric providers to use easements that they hold to do the
following: 1) install or maintain broadband infrastructure; and 2) lease or provide
excess capacity in broadband infrastructure to a supplier of broadband services.
Under the bill, “electric provider” includes both electric public utilities and electric
cooperatives. The bill also provides that except for an easement that expressly
prohibits, by its terms, using the easement for those purposes, the terms or
conditions of an easement held by an electric provider that inhibit it from using the
easement for those purposes do not apply.
Before an electric provider uses an easement for the purposes allowed under the
bill, it must provide notice to the owner of the property subject to the easement. After
providing notice, an electric provider may record a memorandum including certain
information in the office of the register of deeds of the county where the property
subject to the easement is located. The bill also establishes requirements for actions
brought by a property owner against an electric provider, subsidiary of an electric
provider, or supplier of broadband services because of the electric provider's use of
an easement for a purpose allowed by the bill, and the bill prohibits owners from
bringing such actions if the bill's requirements are not satisfied.
Focus on Energy funding
The bill makes changes to the funding of statewide energy efficiency and
renewable resources programs, known as Focus on Energy, that current law requires
investor-owned electric and natural gas utilities to fund. Under the bill, PSC must
require those utilities to spend 2.4 percent of their annual operating revenues
derived from retail sales to fund Focus on Energy and related programs. Under
current law, the amount those utilities must spend is 1.2 percent of their annual
operating revenues from retail sales.
Focus on Energy initiatives for low-income households
The bill requires statewide energy efficiency and renewable resources
programs, known as Focus on Energy, to include programs that promote energy
efficiency and renewable energy measures for low-income households and that
address the energy needs and decrease the energy burden of low-income households.
Current law requires investor-owned electric and natural gas utilities to fund Focus
on Energy and related programs.
Social cost of carbon
The bill requires PSC to consider the social cost of carbon in determining
whether to issue certificates required to construct large electric generating facilities
or high-voltage transmission lines or to engage in certain other public utility
projects. The bill defines “social cost of carbon” as a measure of the economic harms
and other impacts expressed in dollars that result from emitting one ton of carbon
dioxide into the atmosphere. The bill requires PSC to evaluate and set the social cost
of carbon emissions as a dollar amount per ton of carbon dioxide emitted into the
atmosphere. The bill requires PSC to evaluate and adjust as necessary that dollar
amount every two years. In making the evaluations, PSC must use integrated
assessment models and consider appropriate discount rates. The bill requires any
adjustment by PSC to be consistent with the international consensus on the social
cost of carbon. The bill requires PSC to consult with DNR in making the evaluations.
The bill also requires that, beginning no later than December 31, 2021, PSC
must submit a report every odd-numbered year to the legislature describing PSC's
evaluation of the social cost of carbon. If PSC adjusts the previously set dollar
amount, the report must specify the social cost of carbon as adjusted by PSC.
Nonutility-owned electric vehicle charging stations
The bill exempts from regulation as a public utility a person who supplies
electricity through an electric vehicle charging station to users' electric vehicles.
Under current law, a person who directly or indirectly provides electricity to the
public is regulated as a public utility by PSC.
Compensation for participants in PSC proceedings
The bill requires PSC to require investor-owned electric and natural gas public
utilities to provide funding to a “consumer advocate,” which is defined as the Citizens
Utility Board. All actions by the consumer advocate that are funded under the bill
must be directed toward a duty to represent and protect the interests of residential,
small commercial, and small industrial energy customers of the state. The bill
requires the consumer advocate to annually file with PSC a budget, which PSC must
approve if it is consistent with the foregoing duty and covers reasonable annual costs.
The bill allows PSC to approve the budget with conditions and modifications that
PSC determines are necessary.
The bill limits the total annual funding for the consumer advocate to a
maximum of $900,000. Each energy utility's share of that total is based on an
individual energy utility's proportionate share of residential, small commercial, and
small industrial customer meters in the state. The bill requires PSC to ensure in
rate-making orders that energy utilities recover the funding from their customers.
The bill also limits the amount that PSC may compensate the consumer for
participating in PSC proceedings to $100,000 annually. Under current law, if certain
requirements are satisfied, PSC is allowed to compensate participants in
proceedings who are not public utilities.
The bill also requires PSC to reserve $50,000 annually to compensate
equity-focused participants who review economic and environmental issues
impacting low-income populations.
Residential energy improvement program
The bill authorizes PSC to establish and implement a program under which a
public utility may finance energy improvements at a specific dwelling for a
residential customer. Under the bill, a public utility may recover the costs of such
an energy improvement through a surcharge periodically placed on the customer's
account.
Model ordinance and marketing related to efficiency and renewable
resource improvements
Under current law, a political subdivision may make a loan to, or enter into a
repayment agreement with, an owner or lessee of a premises for installing certain
energy or water efficiency improvements or renewable resource improvements
(known as the property assessed clean energy or PACE program). The bill requires
PSC to develop and make available a model ordinance that addresses political
subdivisions making loans or entering into agreements under the PACE program for
installing certain energy or water efficiency improvements or renewable resource
improvements.
The bill also authorizes activities advertising the availability of PACE program
loans to be conducted as part of Focus on Energy programs. Under current law, Focus
on Energy programs are a set of statewide energy efficiency and renewable resources
programs that investor-owned electric and natural gas utilities are required to fund.
Energy utility innovative technology programs
The bill allows investor-owned energy utilities to establish innovative
technology programs. Under the bill, a program must first be approved by PSC, and
an energy utility may pay for the program by charging its customers or by another
method approved by PSC. The bill also requires PSC to promulgate rules and
establish goals, priorities, and measurable targets related to these programs.
Penalties for gas pipeline safety violations
The bill increases the maximum penalties for persons who fail to operate and
maintain gas production, transmission, and distribution facilities in a reasonably
adequate and safe manner. Current law requires gas production, transmission, and
distribution facilities to be operated and maintained in a reasonably adequate and
safe manner and authorizes PSC to issue orders and rules to promote safety of those
facilities. Under current law, a person who violates one of these PSC orders or rules
or fails to operate and maintain gas production, transmission, and distribution
facilities in a reasonably adequate and safe manner is subject to a forfeiture of up
$25,000 per day and a total forfeiture of up to $500,000 for a single persisting
violation. Under the bill, a violator is subject to a forfeiture of up to $200,000 per day
and a total forfeiture of up to $2,000,000 for a single persisting violation.
Securitization of retiring power plants
Under current law, an energy utility is allowed to apply to PSC for an order
allowing the utility to finance the costs of the following activities by issuing bonds:
1) the construction, installation, or otherwise putting into place of environmental
control equipment in connection with a plant that, before March 30, 2004, has been
used to provide service to customers; and 2) the retiring of any existing plant, facility,
or other property to reduce, control, or eliminate environmental pollution in
accordance with federal or state law. Current law defines these activities as
“environmental control activities.” If approved by PSC, the bonds, which are referred
to as “environmental trust bonds,” are secured by revenues arising from charges paid
by an energy utility's customers for the utility to recover the cost of the activities, as
well as the cost of financing the bonds.
The bill adds the retiring of any existing electric generating facility fueled by
nonrenewable combustible energy resources as an environmental control activity,
the costs of which may be financed by an environmental trust bond.
High-voltage transmission line fees
The bill requires PSC to administer annual impact and onetime environmental
impact fees paid under current law by persons authorized by PSC to operate
high-voltage transmission lines. Under current law, DOA administers the fees.
retirement and group insurance
Domestic partners
Benefits for domestic partners
2017 Wisconsin Act 59, the 2017 biennial budget act, removed from the statutes
certain benefits provided to domestic partners of public employees who receive
benefits through the Wisconsin Retirement System (WRS), the Group Insurance
Board (GIB), and the Deferred Compensation Program. The bill reestablishes those
benefits.
Specifically, Act 59 did all of the following: 1) for purposes of WRS, limited
domestic partners to only those individuals who submitted an affidavit of domestic
partnership to ETF before January 1, 2018; 2) prohibited GIB from covering an
eligible employee's domestic partner or stepchild under a domestic partnership in a
group health insurance plan offered by GIB; 3) eliminated the option for a surviving
domestic partner to purchase health insurance coverage under a group health
insurance plan offered by GIB; and 4) for deaths occurring on or after January 1,
2018, provided that a surviving domestic partner is not a default beneficiary for
purposes of a deferred compensation plan and is not eligible to receive duty disability
survivorship benefits. The bill reverses, prospectively, those changes to those
benefits.
Wisconsin Retirement System
Rehired teacher annuitants in the Wisconsin Retirement System
Under current law, certain people who receive a retirement or disability
annuity from WRS and who are hired by an employer that participates in WRS must
suspend that annuity and may not receive a WRS annuity payment until the person
is no longer in a WRS-covered position. This suspension applies to a person who 1)
has reached his or her normal retirement date; 2) is appointed to a position with a
WRS-participating employer or provides employee services as a contractor to a
WRS-participating employer; and 3) is expected to work at least two-thirds of what
is considered full-time employment by ETF.
The bill creates an exception to this suspension if 1) the person retired from
WRS-covered employment as a teacher; 2) at least 15 days have elapsed from the
date the person left WRS-covered employment with a school district; 3) the person
is hired as a teacher; 4) at the time the person initially retires from a school district,
the person does not have an agreement with any school district to return to
employment as a teacher or a contractor providing employee services as a teacher;
and 5) the person elects to not become a participating employee at the time the person
is rehired or enters into a contract after retirement. In other words, the bill allows
a WRS teacher annuitant who is either hired as a teacher or provides employee
services as a teacher with a school district that is a participating employer to return
to work as a teacher and elect to not become a participating employee for purposes
of WRS and instead continue to receive his or her annuity.
Health insurance
Waiting period for state employees
Under current law, most state employees, other than limited-term employees,
may become covered under the state group health insurance plan on the first day of
the first month after becoming employed with the state by filing an election within
30 days of being hired. However, most state employees are ineligible for an employer
contribution towards the premiums for the health insurance for the first three
months of employment. The bill changes the date to the first day of the second month
for most state employees other than limited-term appointments hired on or after the
effective date of the bill.
Actuarial study of mandatory participation by school districts
The bill requires GIB to conduct a study of the potential costs and savings to
school districts and current participants in group health insurance plans offered by
GIB of mandating participation by all school districts in this state in a group health
insurance plan offered by GIB. The bill also requires GIB to submit a written report
of the study to the governor and JCF by June 30, 2022.
Disability plans
Oversight of group disability benefit insurance plans
Under current law, GIB oversees the group income continuation insurance plan
and the group long-term disability insurance (LTDI) plan. The bill transfers
oversight of those plans to the Employee Trust Funds Board (ETFB). The bill
provides explicit statutory authority for ETFB to establish the LTDI plan.
Employee trust funds boards
Board consolidation
Under current law, ETF is under the direction and supervision of ETFB, which
has 11 appointed or elected members, serving four-year terms, and two members
appointed by virtue of another office each holds (ex officio members). Eight of the
board members are appointed by two boards attached to ETF, four members from the
Wisconsin Retirement Board (WRB) and four members from the Teachers
Retirement Board (TRB).
ETFB sets policy for ETF; appoints the secretary of employee trust funds;
approves tables used for computing benefits, contribution rates, and actuarial
assumptions; authorizes all annuities except for disability; approves or rejects ETF
administrative rules; and oversees the benefit programs for state and local
government employees, except the group insurance and deferred compensation
programs.
Under current law, WRB advises ETFB on matters relating to retirement;
approves or rejects administrative rules; authorizes or terminates disability benefits
for WRS members who aren't teachers; and hears appeals of disability rulings. WRB
appoints one member to the separate State of Wisconsin Investment Board (SWIB).
All members of WRB are ex officio members or appointed by the governor.
Also under current law, TRB advises ETFB on retirement and other benefit
matters involving teachers at public schools, technical schools, community colleges,
and state universities; acts on administrative rules; authorizes or terminates
teacher disability benefits; and hears disability benefit appeals. Nine members of
TRB are elected, and four are appointed by the governor.
The bill eliminates WRB and TRB and transfers their property, contracts,
orders, and pending matters to ETFB on the effective date of the bill. The bill also
transfers the duties of WRB and TRB to ETFB. Between the effective date of the bill
and April 30, 2026, all current members of ETFB will transition off ETFB at a rate
of two to three members per year, and they will be replaced by new members. The
membership of ETFB will remain 13, with a mix of ex officio, elected, and appointed
members.
State of Wisconsin Investment Board and membership
Under the bill, the secretary of employee trust funds or his or her designee and
one WRS participant appointed by ETFB are members of SWIB. Under current law,
two WRS participants are members of SWIB, one of which is a teacher participant
appointed by TRB and the other is a participant appointed by WRB who is not a
teacher.
Administrative changes
Internal auditor
The bill creates the Office of Internal Audit attached to ETF. Under the bill, the
office plans and conducts audits of activities and programs administered by ETF,
among other responsibilities, while following policies, principles, and directives
established by ETFB.
The bill requires ETFB to appoint an internal auditor and internal audit staff
within the classified service who report directly to ETFB. Currently, the internal
auditor for ETF reports to the secretary of employee trust funds, and internal audit
staff report to the internal auditor.
Trust funds earnings allocations
Under current law, investment gains and losses of the core and variable
retirement investment trust funds are distributed in a ratio of each participating
account's average daily balance to the total average daily balance of all participating
accounts. SWIB invests assets of the core and variable investment trust funds,
which are commingled under current law, but all activity is not recorded on a daily
basis for the separate participating accounts. SWIB provides certified annual
earnings reports for the core and variable trust funds.
The bill provides that ETF may distribute the earnings to each participating
account by calculating a simple average balance, which uses beginning and
end-of-year balances for each participating account, and comparing that average
balance to the total average balance of all participating accounts.
