I am partially vetoing this provision because the Department of Administration is already working with the chief clerk of each house of the Legislature and the Legislative Technology Services Bureau in developing plans and specifications for the project. I object to specifying this requirement in the bill because it is not necessary.
24. Lac Courte Oreilles Decision – Aid Payments
Sections 152, 163, 164, and 9451
These sections create two annual PR appropriations to make payments to counties impacted by the 2022 federal court decision that exempted from property taxes property covered under the 1854 Treaty of La Pointe that is owned by a Tribe or Tribal member within certain reservations in Wisconsin, regardless of any prior non-Tribal ownership. Included in these sections is a provision that sunsets the two PR appropriations created for the purpose of disbursing these payments on July 1, 2025. A separate provision in the budget bill places $3,613,000 in the Joint Committee on Finance PR supplemental appropriation from which funds may be allocated for making these payments.
I am partially vetoing section 163 to remove the provision that restricts the payments to only counties because I object to excluding municipalities impacted by the federal court decision from the opportunity to receive aid payments. I have heard from local elected officials who are impacted by this court decision, and I believe it is important to maintain flexibility as we continue conversations with local stakeholders on the best way to address both local needs and the impact on property taxpayers. I am also vetoing sections 152, 164, and 9451 that sunset the two appropriations on July 1, 2025, because I object to unnecessarily limiting the availability of the funds to the 2023-25 biennium. With my vetoes, the state will have flexibility to potentially provide assistance to both counties and municipalities, and the appropriation framework will remain in place to potentially allow these payments to continue beyond the 2023-25 biennium.
25. Town of Sanborn Levy Limits
Sections 315, 320, and 9144 (12)
These sections include provisions that prohibit the town of Sanborn from imposing a property tax levy above five mills, prohibit the town from requesting a chargeback of property tax refunds issued by the town, and remove the town’s ability to use the levy limit debt service exclusion for debt service on general obligation bonds issued after July 1, 2005.
I am vetoing these sections because I object to such distinct and constraining limits on local control for one specific municipality in perpetuity. While I share the concern regarding impacts to local property taxpayers, this approach of restricting local control may unnecessarily hinder the town of Sanborn’s flexibility to address its own unique fiscal circumstances as well as unanticipated future expenses needed to maintain quality of service for the local community. These decisions are best left to local residents and town officials who know best how to balance the needs of their own community.
26. Annual Transfer of Local Government Fund Balance
Section 39 [as it relates to the creation of s. 16.5186 (3)] This section requires the Department of Administration to transfer from the general fund to the newly created local government fund the funding amount for the innovation planning grants account and innovation account and an amount equal to 20 percent of sales and use taxes, which will fund new and existing shared revenue programs beginning in fiscal year 2024-25, as outlined under 2023 Wisconsin Act 12. The budget bill also specifies that, in fiscal year 2025-26 and thereafter, the amount transferred from the general fund to the local government fund for these programs will be equal to the amount transferred the year before, plus an amount necessary to allow both existing and supplemental county and municipal aid funding levels to increase by the percentage change in estimated sales tax collections. This section also requires the Department of Administration to transfer back to the general fund the unencumbered balance of the local government fund at the end of each fiscal year (other than amounts credited to the innovation grants account, the innovation planning grants account, and a required reserve amount). I am partially vetoing this section to remove the provision requiring the local government fund to transfer the unencumbered balance back to the general fund at the end of each fiscal year because I object to diverting any funds transferred to the local government fund away from our local governments. While the combination of 2023 Wisconsin Act 12 and this budget have resulted in historic investments in county and municipal aids, we should honor our commitment to send 20 percent of the state’s sales tax revenue back to local communities to support public safety, law enforcement, and other county and municipal needs. We should work together to invest these funds back into communities large and small across Wisconsin. The fiscal effect of this veto is a reduction in GPR-earned of $17,173,200 in fiscal year 2024-25 and an increase in the local government fund’s ending balance of this same dollar amount.
27. Innovation Grants and Innovation Planning Grants Appropriations
Sections 167 and 168
These sections create two continuing SEG appropriations for the distribution of innovation grants and innovation planning grants, created under 2023 Wisconsin Act 12 and funded from the newly created local government fund, to be awarded to counties and municipalities. Separate provisions of the budget bill transfer a total of $303 million from the general fund to the local government fund to provide funding for these two appropriations. Included in these sections are provisions that require any unencumbered balances in these appropriations to lapse back to the general fund at the end of the fourth fiscal year after the date that the Department of Revenue has promulgated rules pertaining to these programs. I am partially vetoing these sections to remove the provisions that lapse the unencumbered balances of both the innovation grants appropriation and the innovation planning grants appropriation back to the general fund because I object to depriving the local government fund of revenues that could be used to either extend these programs in the future or to increase other state aids to counties and municipalities. While the combination of 2023 Wisconsin Act 12 and this budget have made the first progress in increasing county and municipal aids in over 20 years, the needs of our local governments have not been fully addressed. Consequently, the unencumbered balances of the innovation grant and innovation planning grant appropriations should remain in the local government fund to provide the state with the necessary budget flexibility to address unmet county and municipal needs. 28. Municipal Sales Tax Appropriation
Section 156
This section creates a continuing PR appropriation under the Department of Revenue for the administration of municipal sales taxes. Under 2023 Wisconsin Act 12, the city of Milwaukee is allowed to adopt a 2.0 percent local sales tax if approved by two-thirds of the common council. This appropriation would receive 1.75 percent of the local sales tax collections in the city to support department costs associated with administering the local sales tax. Included in this section is a provision that requires any unencumbered balance in this appropriation to lapse to the general fund at the end of each fiscal year. I am partially vetoing this section to remove the provision that lapses the unencumbered balance of the municipal sales tax administrative appropriation to the general fund. I am vetoing this lapse provision because I object to transferring local sales tax collections in excess of the department’s administrative costs within a state fiscal year to the general fund for an unspecified purpose. The city of Milwaukee sales tax has been authorized by the state for a specific purpose, namely to address Milwaukee’s significant and unique financial challenges. While it is reasonable for the state to receive funds necessary to accomplish its work administering this local sales tax, the state should not financially benefit from the city’s sales tax beyond the amount required for this work. These local sales tax dollars, paid locally in the community, should be returned to the city of Milwaukee for local purposes if they exceed the state’s administrative needs. As a result of my veto, unencumbered department administrative fee collections over the department’s costs will remain in this appropriation and thus could be later distributed to the city of Milwaukee for the purposes provided for this local tax under 2023 Wisconsin Act 12. The distribution of excess department administrative fee collections back to the local entity imposing the tax from which the fee is derived is consistent with the treatment of the Milwaukee exposition taxes, premier resort area taxes, and the previous football and baseball stadium taxes. 29. Increases in Mileage Aid Payments
This section increases the mileage aid payments in the general transportation aids program to $2,789 in calendar year 2024 and $2,845 in calendar year 2025 – thereby providing 2 percent increases to the mileage reimbursement rate in both of these calendar years. This section also includes 2 percent increases in calendar year 2024 and calendar year 2025 for the general transportation aids program for both counties and municipalities.
I am partially vetoing the section to delete the mileage aid payment increases because I object to providing further increases to mileage aid when the disparate impact of 2011 Wisconsin Act 32 on the mileage aid versus share of cost aid components of the general transportation aids formula remains unaddressed. The nearly 6.0 percent reduction signed into law by 2011 Wisconsin Act 32 fell entirely on share of cost awardees in the formula. As a result of my veto, this disparate treatment based on the formula component that a locality relies upon is reduced. My veto also retains the 2 percent increases in funding for both calendar year 2024 and calendar year 2025 for the general transportation aids program as provided by this section. 30. Dignitary Protection Unit
Section 387
This section requires the Department of Transportation to maintain a dignitary protection unit. The section further identifies Justices of the Supreme Court of Wisconsin as state officers eligible for protection by the dignitary protection unit.
Ensuring the safety of all public officials and institutions, including our judges and our courts, must be a top priority. Under current law, the department may already assign state traffic officers to protect state officers, including Justices of the Supreme Court. I support ensuring that state traffic officers may be assigned to protect Justices of the Supreme Court, and I believe more can be done to bolster this important work, including providing the necessary resources to meet the Legislature’s intent. I am vetoing this section as I object to creating redundant directives for the Division of State Patrol that would ultimately limit its flexibility to respond to the dynamic public safety needs of Wisconsin. Further, I object to the fact that this section does not provide additional resources for the State Patrol if the intent is that it provide additional officer assignments.
I welcome the Legislature to continue to work on this critically important issue in partnership with my administration and our courts during this biennium to ensure appropriate security can be provided and properly funded to protect the Justices of the Supreme Court.
31. Freight Rail Preservation Program
Section 9144 (1)
This provision requires the Department of Transportation to conduct a cost-benefit analysis of the freight rail preservation program and further requires the department to submit a report of this analysis to the Joint Committee on Finance no later than June 30, 2025.
I am vetoing this provision because I object to the Legislature mandating analyses when the department is already able to undertake such actions at its own discretion. I also object to this additional reporting requirement. In lieu of the actions that would have been required under this provision, I am directing the department to update the department’s Intermodal Facility Study.
32. Mississippi River Parkway Commission Administrative Support
Section 9144 (11)
This provision requires the Department of Transportation to assign the equivalent of a 0.1 FTE position from the duties of the bicycle and pedestrian coordinator position to the Mississippi River Parkway Commission for the purpose of providing administrative support to the commission.
I am vetoing this provision because I object to this level of micromanaging of the department. In addition, I am vetoing this section because I object to a legislative mandate of such a limited scale.
33. Fee for Identification Stickers for Electric Vehicles
Section 460
This section creates a $1 fee to pay for the costs of manufacture and distribution of stickers or decals to identify both hybrid electric vehicles and nonhybrid electric vehicles. These stickers or decals are intended to alert emergency personnel of the unique safety concerns of these vehicles.
I am vetoing this section to eliminate the $1 fee that this section would charge the owners of these vehicles because I object to this unnecessary fee. Because of existing registration fees for these vehicles, including an increase to the registration fee for nonhybrid electric vehicles in this budget bill, there is no need to set this fee to cover Department of Transportation costs for these stickers. In addition, a fee of this magnitude would simply be an irritant to state residents owning these vehicles.
34. Opening Avenues to Reentry Success Program
Section 9108 (2)
This provision directs that $2,272,300 GPR from the appropriation under s. 20.410 (1) (ds) in the 2023- 25 biennium be utilized to expand the original Opening Avenues to Reentry Success (OARS) program. I am vetoing this provision because I object to preventing the Department of Corrections from funding the continuation of the Opening Avenues to Reentry Success 2 (OARS2) pilot program. With this veto, the Department of Corrections will be able to both expand the OARS program and continue the OARS2 pilot program. I continue to be supportive of both the OARS and OARS2 programs and request that the Department of Corrections utilize these additional funds for those programs.
35. Community Reentry Centers
Section 100
This section would create a new appropriation under s. 20.410 (1) (df) for the Department of Corrections to establish and operate community reentry centers. I am partially vetoing this section because I object to including an unworkable appropriation in the budget. My partial veto will remove the reference to s. 301.098 because there is no s. 301.098 under current law nor does this bill create it. While pending legislation on this topic was prepared for the Legislative Council Study Committee on Increasing Offender Employment Opportunities and introduced in the Legislature, there is no language in this bill to identify it. 36. Law Enforcement Overtime Grants
Sections 123 and 423
These sections would eliminate the law enforcement overtime grants program and repeal the corresponding law enforcement overtime grants appropriation under s. 20.455 (2) (jc). I am vetoing these sections because I object to eliminating a program that supports efforts to help keep our kids, our communities, and our state safe by helping our police departments with overtime costs. My budget recommended providing expenditure authority for the Department of Justice to issue law enforcement overtime grants and retaining the appropriation will allow the program to potentially be funded in the future.
37. Consolidated Court Automation Programs
This section provides $12,349,500 PR in fiscal year 2023-24 and $12,248,500 PR in fiscal year 2024-25 in the appropriation under s. 20.680 (2) (j) for the consolidated court automation program. Although there is no language in the budget bill to identify it, the dollar amounts reflect a Joint Committee on Finance motion increasing this appropriation by $2,188,000 PR in each fiscal year to reestimate expenditure authority. I am partially vetoing section 51 [as it relates to s. 20.680 (2) (j)] by lining out the amounts under s. 20.680 (2) (j) and writing in a smaller amount to reduce the appropriation by $2,188,000 PR in each fiscal year because I object to a funding reestimate of this size. I am also requesting the Department of Administration secretary not allot these funds. It is important that reestimates accurately reflect anticipated revenues in order to avoid a deficit in the appropriation. The effect of this veto is to delete the funding increase added by the Legislature and instead implement my recommendation regarding expenditure authority estimates for the consolidated court automation program. As a continuing program revenue appropriation, the expenditure authority for the court information systems appropriation under s. 20.680 (2) (j) may continue to be adjusted under current law procedures. E. PROTECTING & CONSERVING OUR NATURAL RESOURCES
38. Unobligated Stewardship Authority
Section 194
This section sets aside $2,500,000 in unobligated bonding authority from fiscal years 2021-22 and 2022-23 from the Warren Knowles-Gaylord Nelson Stewardship 2000 program for drilling new wells, facility maintenance, upgrades and renovations, and construction of new buildings at the Les Voigt State Fish Hatchery and the Brule State Fish Hatchery.
I am partially vetoing this section to remove the specific fiscal years and the specific projects because I object to having unobligated Stewardship bonding authority available only for earmarks at the discretion of the Legislature. Due to the Legislature’s obstruction through the Joint Committee on Finance anonymous objection process, many valuable Stewardship projects have been delayed or denied leaving unused and unobligated bonding authority at the end of each year. It is my sincere desire that we work together to fix this broken system for approval of beneficial conservation projects. This veto will allow the Department of Natural Resources to access all unobligated Stewardship bonding authority to invest in critical projects that will protect, preserve, and provide access to Wisconsin's natural resources.
39. Echo Lake Dam
These sections create a new continuing appropriation and provide $1,000,000 GPR in the 2023‑25 biennium for providing a grant to the city of Burlington for the restoration of a dam on Echo Lake.
I am partially vetoing section 51 [as it relates to s. 20.370 (4) (jc)] and vetoing section 75 in its entirety because I object to providing additional state funding for a project that already received a $1,000,000 grant under the Municipal Dam Grant Program during the 2021-23 grant period. 40. Department of Natural Resources Position Reallocations
Section 9132 (1)
This provision directs the Department of Natural Resources to reallocate 1.0 FTE existing position as a conservation warden supervisor and 2.0 FTE existing positions as conservation wardens, for the purpose of all-terrain vehicle and utility terrain vehicle law enforcement.
I am partially vetoing this provision to remove the specific number of FTE and job classifications because I object to the Legislature requiring the Department of Natural Resources to reassign a set number of existing positions to specific job classifications. This veto will allow the department to determine how to best allocate positions for conservation purposes. The department will report any reallocations to the Department of Administration and the Legislative Fiscal Bureau for inclusion in the final Chapter 20 schedule. 41. Pattison and Amnicon Falls State Parks Earmarks
Section 9132 (3)
This provision earmarks $2,161,300 SEG for development and maintenance projects at Amnicon Falls and Pattison State Parks. The provision specifies projects that the Department of Natural Resources must complete at both properties.
I am vetoing this provision because I object to limiting the department's flexibility to prioritize projects based on areas of highest need. This veto will provide the department the ability to utilize the funding for development and maintenance projects throughout the state park system.
42. Tribal Gaming Transfer
Section 144
This section increases the annual transfer of Tribal gaming revenue to the conservation fund from $3,000,000 to $4,000,000.
I am vetoing this section because I object to this additional transfer of Tribal gaming revenue to the conservation fund. I believe Tribal gaming revenue should be retained for investments in Tribal communities and that those communities should be partners in any discussion that increases the transfer to the conservation fund.
43. Steve Creek Dam
Section 76
This section creates a new continuing appropriation in the 2023-25 biennium for providing a grant to Pierce County for repairs of a dam on Steve Creek. It should be noted that there is no body of water known as Steve Creek in Pierce County; however, there is a dam on Steve Creek in Price County. It appears from the motion that was adopted by the Joint Committee on Finance that the intent of this provision was to provide Price County with a grant.
I am partially vetoing this section to eliminate the reference to Pierce County because I object to providing funding to a county for a project that is located in a different county. With this veto, I am directing the Department of Natural Resources to work with Price County to issue this grant.
44. Lake Mallalieu Dredging Grant
These sections create a new continuing appropriation and provide $2,000,000 GPR in the 2023-25 biennium for providing a grant to the Lake Mallalieu Association for dredging Lake Mallalieu.
I am partially vetoing section 51 [as it relates to s. 20.370 (4) (jf)] and partially vetoing section 78 to remove the word dredging because I object to limiting the grant recipient to spending these funds only on the physical dredging of the lake. The association will likely incur ancillary costs related to the project, such as costs related to studies and permitting, and it is my intent to allow the grant to be utilized for these costs in addition to the physical dredging of the lake. 45. Division Administrator Positions at the Department of Natural Resources
