2023 WISCONSIN ACT 221
An Act to create 323.29 (2) (g) and 323.29 (5) of the statutes; relating to: creating a grant program for public safety interoperable communication system upgrades.
The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do enact as follows:
221,1Section 1. 323.29 (2) (g) of the statutes is created to read: 323.29 (2) (g) Advise the department on appropriate purposes and eligibility criteria for grants under sub. (5).
221,2Section 2. 323.29 (5) of the statutes is created to read: 323.29 (5) Grant program for public safety interoperable communication system upgrades. (a) The department shall award grants to local units of government that have participating agencies and entities identified under sub. (2) (a), using the criteria under par. (b) 2.
(b) The department shall establish guidelines for grants under par. (a) that are based on the recommendations of the council under sub. (2) (g). Notwithstanding s. 227.10 (1), guidelines under this paragraph need not be promulgated as rules under ch. 227 and shall specify all of the following:
1. Appropriate purposes for the grants, which shall relate to public safety interoperable communication system upgrades.
2. Eligibility criteria for the grants, which shall include, at a minimum, all of the following:
a. A requirement that a local unit of government’s governing body submit a resolution or other written commitment indicating the local unit of government’s intention to spend, of its own funds, an amount equal to 20 percent of the total grant awarded under par. (a) on the public safety interoperable communication system upgrades.
b. If a local unit of government whose agencies or entities under sub. (2) (a) are not currently daily users of the statewide public safety interoperable communication system, but would like to be considered daily users for the purpose of receiving a grant under par. (c), a requirement that the local unit of government’s governing body submit a resolution or other written commitment indicating its intention to join the replacement statewide public safety interoperable communication system required under 2021 Wisconsin Act 58, section 9131 (1) (c), when that system becomes available.
c. Authorized uses for the grant funding, including that any radios purchased with the grant funding must be 700/800 MHz P25 Phase II-compliant and capable of operating on the state’s upgraded public safety interoperable communication system.
(c) Beginning on the effective date of this paragraph .... [LRB inserts date], and for 4 years thereafter, the department shall award 70 percent of the grants under par. (a) to local units of government whose agencies or entities identified under sub. (2) (a) are daily users of the statewide public safety interoperable communication system, and the department shall award 30 percent of the grants under par. (a) to local units of government whose agencies or entities identified under sub. (2) (a) are not daily users of the statewide public safety interoperable communication system.
(d) Grants under par. (a) may be prioritized to correlate the timing of the receipt of grant funding with the timing of infrastructure for the replacement statewide public safety interoperable communication system required under 2021 Wisconsin Act 58, section 9131 (1) (c), becoming available in the geographic area of the grant recipient.
