Office of Educational Opportunity
The bill eliminates the OEO in the UW System. Under current law, the OEO
authorizes and monitors charter schools, and the OEO is managed by a director
appointed by the president of the UW System. After the effective date of the bill, the
former OEO's monitoring duties related to existing charter schools are transferred
to the chancellor of UW-Madison, but the chancellor may not authorize new charter
schools.
Investment of certain UW System moneys by the Investment Board
The bill allows the Board of Regents to designate UW System revenues and to
manage those designated revenues by directing the State of Wisconsin Investment
Board (SWIB) to invest these moneys according to investment policies established
by the Board of Regents.
Current law specifies that SWIB has control of the investment of certain state
moneys, including those in the general fund. SWIB manages the State Investment
Fund (SIF), which operates as an investment trust for managing certain state
moneys. Current law prescribes the types of permissible investments that SWIB can
make with SIF assets. The SIF functions as a cash management fund under which
idle cash balances are pooled and invested in liquid, low-risk investments until these
moneys are needed.
Also under current law, the Board of Regents may invest revenues from gifts,
grants, and donations by doing any of the following: 1) directly employing a financial
manager; 2) selecting a private investment firm using a competitive proposal
process; or 3) contracting with SWIB to manage the investment of these moneys. If
the Board of Regents invests these moneys in this manner, the moneys are not
required to be deposited in the SIF. If the Board of Regents contracts with SWIB to
invest these moneys under item 3 above instead of managing these moneys in the
SIF, SWIB must invest the moneys in accordance with the terms of its contract with
the Board of Regents and SWIB's general standard of investment prudence.
Under the bill, if the Board of Regents has designated moneys to be managed
by SWIB under investment policies established by the Board of Regents, SWIB must
invest and manage these moneys in accordance with the investment directives and
policies of the Board of Regents. However, SWIB remains subject to its general
standard of investment prudence and SWIB may decline to follow any investment
directive or policy that SWIB considers to involve unreasonable risk or to be in
violation of this standard of investment prudence. SWIB invests these moneys
outside the SIF.
UW foster youth support programs
The bill provides funding to establish or maintain support programs at UW
institutions for students who formerly resided in a foster home or group home.
Support programs may offer these students scholarships, jobs, emergency funds,
basic supplies, mentorships, career planning, and other forms of support.
UW System student health services
The bill provides funding to the UW System for additional or improved student
health services related to mental and behavioral health.
UW freshwater collaborative
The bill provides funding for a UW freshwater collaborative involving each UW
institution. Freshwater collaborative funding shall be used to devise new
watercentric training programs focused on undergraduates; provide scholarships
and student support to retain and attract new talent; amplify marketing and
recruiting relating to Wisconsin's role in freshwater science; enhance workforce
development programming; and recruit new faculty and staff to advance training
programs, research, and innovation.
Partnership program for the Lake Superior Research Institute
The bill requires the Board of Regents to establish a partnership program
between UW-Superior's Lake Superior Research Institute and northern Wisconsin
communities. The program must be designed to accomplish specified objectives. The
bill creates an appropriation to provide funding for the program.
Extension services provided by UW state specialists
The bill requires the Board of Regents to recognize as teaching hours time spent
by state specialists providing certain extension services.
Under current law, the Board of Regents must develop and implement a plan
that includes 1) policies for monitoring teaching workloads of faculty and
instructional academic staff, including requirements for reporting the number of
hours each spends teaching; and 2) policies for rewarding faculty and instructional
academic staff who teach more than a standard academic load. These teaching hours
reported are included, as aggregate data, in an accountability report submitted to the
governor and legislature and are included, as aggregate data or individually
reported data, directly or by link on the accountability dashboard portion of the UW
System's website.
The bill requires the Board of Regents' plan to recognize as teaching hours, for
state specialists who provide extension services in the field of applied agricultural
research at UW institutions, the time spent by these state specialists teaching
graduate students and teaching Wisconsin farmers.
Agriculture-focused positions at UW-Madison
The bill specifies that the Board of Regents must provide funding for 20
agriculture-focused positions at UW-Madison, comprised of 15 county-based
agriculture agent positions, three applied agriculture research positions, and two
agriculture and climate change research positions. The positions must be filled
using existing, currently vacant positions but must also reflect an increase in the
total number of agricultural agent positions and agriculture-related research
positions at UW-Madison. The bill also requires UW-Madison to submit a report
to the governor and to JCF containing specified information related to these
positions.
UW Missing-in-Action Recovery and Identification Project
Under the bill, the Board of Regents must provide funding to the UW
Missing-in-Action Recovery and Identification Project (MIA Recovery Project) for
missions to recover and identify Wisconsin veterans who are missing in action. At
the conclusion of the mission for which funding is provided, the MIA Recovery Project
must submit to the Board of Regents, JCF, each legislative standing committee
dealing with veterans matters, the governor, DVA, and DMA a report on the mission's
findings and an accounting of expenditures for the mission. The Board of Regents
must provide the funding through a new UW System appropriation.
HEAB service funds appropriation
The bill creates a program revenue-service appropriation for HEAB. The
appropriation authorizes HEAB to expend money that HEAB receives from other
state agencies to carry out the purpose for which the money is received.
elections
Automatic voter registration
The bill requires the Elections Commission to use all feasible means to facilitate
the registration of all individuals eligible to vote in this state and to maintain the
registration of all eligible electors for so long as they remain eligible. Under the bill,
the commission must attempt to facilitate the initial registration of all eligible
electors as soon as practicable. To facilitate that initial registration, the bill directs
the commission and DOT to enter into an agreement so that DOT may transfer
specified personally identifying information in DOT's records to the commission.
The bill requires the commission to maintain the confidentiality of any information
it obtains under the agreement and allows a driver's license or identification card
applicant to opt out of DOT's transfer of this information to the commission.
Once the commission obtains the information required under current law to
complete an eligible elector's registration, the commission adds the elector's name
to the statewide registration list. The bill also permits an individual whose name is
added to the registration list or who wishes to permanently exclude his or her name
from the list to file a request to have his or her name deleted or excluded from the
list or to revoke a deletion or exclusion request previously made. In addition, the bill
directs the commission to notify an individual by first class postcard whenever the
commission removes his or her name from the registration list or changes his or her
status on the list from eligible to ineligible.
The bill also directs the commission to report to the legislature and the
governor, no later than July 1, 2023, its progress in initially registering eligible
electors under the bill. The report must contain an assessment of the feasibility and
desirability of integration of registration information with information maintained
by DHS, DCF, DWD, DOR, DSPS, and DNR; the UW System; and the Technical
College System Board, as well as with the technical colleges in each technical college
district.
Under current law, a qualified elector with a current and valid driver's license
or identification card issued by DOT may register to vote electronically on a secure
website maintained by the commission. To register electronically under current law,
a qualified elector must also authorize DOT to forward a copy of his or her electronic
signature to the commission. The authorization affirms that all information
provided by the elector is correct and has the same effect as a written signature on
a paper copy of the registration form. Finally, current law requires the commission
and DOT to enter into an agreement that permits the commission to verify the
necessary registration information instantly by accessing DOT's electronic files.
Residency requirement for voting
Under current law, with limited exceptions, an otherwise eligible voter must be
a resident of Wisconsin and of the municipality and ward, if any, where the voter is
voting for 28 days before an election in order to vote in the election in that
municipality and ward. The bill shortens that residency requirement from 28 days
to 10 days.
Proof of identification for voting
Current law allows an individual to use as voter identification an unexpired
identification card issued by a technical college, college, or university in this state if
the card meets certain criteria. The card must have an expiration date that is no later
than two years after the date it was issued, and the individual must establish proof
of enrollment. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit held that the
requirement to present both an unexpired identification card and proof of enrollment
had no rational basis and was therefore unconstitutional. See, Luft v. Evers, 963 F.3d
665 (2020). The bill allows a student to use an expired student identification card
under certain circumstances. Under the bill, a student does not need to present proof
of enrollment if using an unexpired identification card but must provide proof of
enrollment if using an expired identification card. In addition, the bill requires each
technical college in this state and each UW System institution to issue student
identification cards that meet the criteria to be used as voter identification no later
than August 1, 2021.
Current law also allows an individual to use as voter identification an
identification card issued by DOT. DOT may issue a receipt as a temporary
identification card to use for voting and other purposes to an individual who is
waiting for the permanent card. The receipt expires in 60 days. The bill extends the
expiration date to 180 days.
Voting absentee in person
Current law allows an individual to complete an absentee ballot in person no
earlier than 14 days preceding the election and no later than the Sunday preceding
the election. The bill eliminates the restriction on how soon a person may complete
an absentee ballot in person and provides that a person must complete such a ballot
no later than 7 p.m. on the Friday preceding the election.
Early canvassing of absentee ballots
Under current law, absentee ballots may not be canvassed until election day.
The bill authorizes a municipal clerk or municipal board of election commissioners
to begin the canvassing of absentee ballots on the day before an election, subject to
the following requirements:
1. The municipality must use automatic tabulating equipment to process
absentee ballots.
2. Prior to the early canvassing of absentee ballots, the municipal clerk or
municipal board of election commissioners must notify the Elections Commission in
writing and must consult with the Elections Commission concerning administration
of early canvassing of absentee ballots.
3. Early canvassing of absentee ballots under the bill may be conducted only
between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m. on the day before the election, and ballots may not be
tallied until after polls close on election day.
4. Members of the public must have the same right of access to a place where
absentee ballots are being canvassed early as is provided under current law for
canvassing absentee ballots on election day.
5. When not in use, automatic tabulating equipment used for canvassing
absentee ballots and the areas where the programmed media and the absentee
ballots are housed must be secured with tamper-evident security seals in a
double-lock location such as a locked cabinet inside a locked office.
6. Subject to criminal penalty, no person may act in any manner that would give
him or her the ability to know or to provide information on the accumulating or final
results from the ballots canvassed early under the bill before the close of the polls on
election day.
7. Certain notices must be provided before each election at which the
municipality intends to canvass absentee ballots on the day before the election.
Special elections to fill vacancies in the office of U.S. senator and
representative in Congress
Under current law, a vacancy in the office of U.S. senator or representative in
Congress occurring prior to the second Tuesday in April in the year of the general
election must be filled at a special primary and special election. A vacancy occurring
in one of these offices between the second Tuesday in April and the second Tuesday
in May in the year of the general election is filled at the partisan primary and general
election.
Current law provides that a special primary be held four weeks before the day
of the special election. However, if the election is held on the same day as the spring
election, the special primary is held concurrently with the spring primary. Under
current law, with regard to an election for a national office, the period between a
special primary and special election or between the spring primary or spring election
does not provide sufficient time to canvass and certify the primary results and
prepare ballots to send to overseas voters as required by federal law.
Under the bill, a vacancy in the office of U.S. senator or representative in
Congress is filled in the following manner:
1. At a special election to be held on the third Tuesday in May following the first
day of the vacancy with a special primary to be held concurrently with the spring
primary on the third Tuesday in February.
2. At a special election to be held on the second Tuesday in August following
the first day of the vacancy with a special primary to be held on the third Tuesday
in May.
3. At a special election to be held on the Tuesday after the first Monday in
November following the first day of the vacancy with a special primary to be held on
the second Tuesday in August.
However, under the bill, a November special election is not held in any year in
which the general election is held for that office; instead, the vacancy is filled at the
partisan primary and general election.
Reimbursement of counties and municipalities for certain election costs
The bill requires the Elections Commission to reimburse counties and
municipalities for certain costs incurred in the administration of special primaries
and special elections for state or national office. A cost is eligible for reimbursement
only if certain conditions are met, including that the commission determines the cost
is reasonable and the rate paid by the county or municipality for the cost does not
exceed the rate customarily paid for similar costs at a primary or election that is not
a special primary or election. Under the bill, only the following costs may be
reimbursed:
1. Rental payments for polling places.
2. Election day wages paid to election officials working at the polls.
3. Costs for the publication of required election notices.
4. Printing and postage costs for absentee ballots and envelopes.
5. Costs for the design and printing of ballots and poll books.
6. Purchase of ballot bags or containers, including ties or seals for chain of
custody purposes.
7. Costs to program electronic voting machines.
8. Purchase of memory devices for electronic voting machines.
9. Wages paid to conduct a county canvass.
10. Data entry costs for the statewide voter registration system.
Voter bill of rights
The bill creates a voter bill of rights that municipal clerks and boards of election
commissioners must post at each polling place. The bill of rights informs voters that
they have the right to do all of the following:
1. Vote if registered and eligible to vote.
2. Inspect a sample ballot before voting.
3. Cast a ballot if in line when the polling place closes or, if voting by in-person
absentee ballot on the last day for which such voting is allowed, when the municipal
clerk's office closes.
4. Cast a secret ballot.
5. Get help casting a ballot if disabled.
6. Get help voting in a language other than English as provided by law.
7. Get a new ballot, up to three ballots in all, if the voter makes a mistake on
the ballot.
8. Cast a provisional ballot as provided by law.
9. Have the voter's ballot counted accurately.
10. Vote free from coercion or intimidation.
11. Report any illegal or fraudulent election activity.
Recount fees
Current law requires the Elections Commission to reimburse the counties for
the actual costs of conducting a recount. The reimbursement comes from the fees
that the commission collects from the person that filed the recount petition. The bill
changes the appropriation for reimbursing the counties from an annual
appropriation to a continuing appropriation.
Voter registration list
Under current law, all moneys received from the federal government under the
Help America Vote Act and from the sale of copies of the official statewide voter
registration list are deposited into the election administration trust fund. Copies of
the list are typically used for political purposes such as voter or constituent outreach.
The Elections Commission spent all HAVA moneys from the fund as of April 2019.
However, the moneys received from sales of the registration list have not been
appropriated and, therefore, cannot be spent. The bill creates an appropriation for
the moneys received from selling the registration list and authorizes the commission
to spend the moneys for election security and maintenance of the statewide voter
registration system.
Lobbying fees
Under current law, a person who employs a lobbyist (a principal) and who
spends more than $500 in a calendar year on lobbying activities must file a principal
registration form with the Ethics Commission and pay a fee. In addition, in order
for a lobbyist to represent a principal, either the lobbyist or the principal must file
an authorization statement with the commission and pay a fee.
The bill increases the principal registration fee from $375 to $430 and the
authorization statement fee from $125 to $180. The increase first applies to lobbying
that occurs during the 2023-24 legislative session.
The bill also imposes a $55 surcharge applicable to lobbying during the 2021-22
legislative session that is in addition to the fees collected for filing the principal
registration form and the authorization statement.
EMINENT DOMAIN
