A statewide RTA is created if any two or more political subdivisions located
within a metropolitan statistical area adopt resolutions authorizing the political
subdivision to become members of the RTA. Once created, the members of a
statewide RTA consist of all political subdivisions that adopt resolutions authorizing
participation. Any political subdivision located in whole or in part within a
metropolitan statistical area located in whole or in part within a statewide RTA's
jurisdiction may join the statewide RTA. The jurisdictional area of an authority
created under this paragraph is the geographic area formed by the combined
territorial boundaries of all participating political subdivisions.
An RTA's authority is vested in its board of directors. Directors serve four-year
terms. An RTA's bylaws govern its management, operations, and administration and
must include provisions specifying all of the following:
1. The functions or services to be provided by the RTA.
2. The powers, duties, and limitations of the RTA.
3. The maximum rate of the sales and use tax, not exceeding the statutory limit,
that may be imposed by the RTA.
An RTA may do all of the following:
1. Establish or acquire a comprehensive unified local transportation system,
which is a transportation system comprised of bus lines and other public
transportation facilities generally within the jurisdictional area of the RTA.
“Transportation system" is defined to include land, structures, equipment, and other
property for transportation of passengers, including by bus, rail, or other form of
mass transportation. The RTA may operate this transportation system or provide
for its operation by another. The RTA may contract with a public or private
organization to provide transportation services in lieu of directly providing these
services and may purchase and lease transportation facilities to public or private
transit companies. With two exceptions, an RTA may not directly or by contract
provide services outside the RTA's jurisdictional area.
2. Coordinate specialized transportation services for persons who are disabled
or aged 60 or older.
3. Own or lease real or personal property.
4. Acquire property by condemnation.
5. Enter upon highways to install, maintain, and operate the RTA's facilities.
6. Impose, by the adoption of a resolution by the RTA's board of directors, a sales
and use tax in the RTA's jurisdictional area at a rate of not more than 0.5 percent of
the sales price.
7. Impose a fee of $2 per transaction on the rental of passenger cars without
drivers.
8. Incur debts and obligations. An RTA may issue tax-exempt revenue bonds,
secured by a pledge of any income or revenues from any operations or other source
of moneys for the RTA. The bonds of an RTA are not a debt of its member political
subdivisions and neither the member political subdivisions nor the state are liable
for the payment of the bonds.
9. Set fees and charges for functions, facilities, and services provided by the
RTA.
10. Adopt bylaws and rules to carry out the powers and purposes of the RTA.
11. Sue and be sued in its own name.
12. Employ agents, consultants, and employees; engage professional services;
and purchase furniture, supplies, and materials reasonably necessary to perform its
duties and exercise its powers.
13. Invest funds not required for immediate disbursement.
14. Do and perform any authorized acts by means of an agent or by contracts
with any person.
15. Exercise any other powers that the board of directors considers necessary
and convenient to effectuate the purposes of the RTA, including providing for
passenger safety.
The board of directors of an RTA must annually prepare a budget for the RTA.
Rates and other charges received by the RTA must be used only for the general
expenses and capital expenditures of the RTA, to pay interest, amortization, and
retirement charges on the RTA's revenue bonds, and for specific purposes of the RTA
and may not be transferred to any political subdivision. The RTA must maintain an
accounting system in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles and
must have its financial statements and debt covenants audited annually by an
independent certified public accountant.
An RTA must provide, or contract for the provision of, transit service within the
RTA's jurisdictional area. An RTA that acquires a transportation system for the
purpose of operating the system must assume all of the employer's obligations under
any contract between the employees and management of the system to the extent
allowed by law. An RTA that acquires, constructs, or operates a transportation
system must negotiate an agreement with the representative of the labor
organization that covers the employees affected by the acquisition, construction, or
operation to protect the interests of employees affected, and that agreement must
include specified provisions. Employees of the RTA are participatory employees
under the Wisconsin Retirement System (WRS) if the RTA elects to join the WRS.
A member political subdivision for which joinder into an RTA is optional may
withdraw from an RTA if the governing body of the political subdivision adopts a
resolution requesting withdrawal from the RTA and the political subdivision has
paid, or made provision for the payment of, all obligations of the political subdivision
to the RTA. A member of the SE RTA that must become a member as a result of the
membership of the county in which the municipality is located must withdraw from
the SE RTA if the county in which the municipality is located withdraws from the SE
RTA.
Current law provides limited immunity for cities, villages, towns, counties, and
other political corporations and governmental subdivisions, and for officers, officials,
agents, and employees of these entities, for acts done in an official capacity or in the
course of employment. Claimants must generally follow a specified claims
procedure, and liability for damages is generally limited to $50,000, except that no
liability may be imposed for performance of a discretionary duty or for punitive
damages. If a person suffers damage resulting from the negligent operation of a
motor vehicle owned and operated by a county, city, village, town, school district,
sewer district, or other political subdivision of the state in the course of its business,
the person may file a claim for damages following this claims procedure, and the
amount of damages recoverable is limited to $250,000. The bill specifies that this
provision related to claims and liability for negligent operation of a motor vehicle by
a political subdivision applies to an RTA.
The bill also allows RTAs to participate in organizing municipal insurance
mutuals to provide insurance and risk management services.
Professional baseball park districts
Under current law, a professional baseball park district is created in each
county with a population of at least 600,000 (presently, only Milwaukee County) and
all counties that are contiguous to that county (in relation to Milwaukee County,
these counties are Ozaukee County, Racine County, Washington County, and
Waukesha County). A district has a variety of powers. Among these, a district may
acquire, construct, equip, maintain, improve, operate, and manage baseball park
facilities and may set standards governing the use of, and the conduct within,
baseball park facilities. A district is authorized to impose a sales tax and a use tax
at a rate of no more than 0.1 percent. Also, a district may issue bonds for the purpose
of purchasing, acquiring, leasing, constructing, extending, adding to, improving,
conducting, controlling, operating, or managing baseball park facilities. Bonds
issued by the district must be secured only by the district's interest in any baseball
park facilities, by income from these facilities, and by the sales tax and use tax that
the district is authorized to levy. The district may not collect sales taxes after the
calendar quarter in which the district certifies to DOR that the district has retired
all of its bonds. The sales tax ended on March 31, 2020. The district continues to have
outstanding bonds, but these bonds are fully defeased.
The bill eliminates a district's authority to impose a sales tax as of April 30,
2024. The bill also requires the district to establish a facilities enhancement fund
into which it must deposit certain grant payments received from DOA. Moneys from
this fund may be used only for purposes related to the development, construction,
improvement, repair, and maintenance of baseball park facilities, and specifically
may not be used for the securitization or retirement of bonds.
The bill also does the following:
1. Authorizes a district to acquire and manage property related to “baseball
park development,” which is defined as “property, other than baseball park facilities,
tangible or intangible, operated by a professional baseball team on real estate leased
or subleased from a district that is part of the operations of the professional baseball
team for any legally permissible use, including retail facilities, hospitality facilities,
commercial and residential facilities, health care facilities, and any other
functionally related or auxiliary facilities or structures.”
2. Defines what constitutes a “professional baseball team” and limits the
establishment of new professional baseball park districts to counties with
populations over 600,000 that are the site of baseball park facilities that are home
to a professional baseball team.
3. Alters the district termination procedure. Currently, if a district is
terminated, the property of the district is transferred to the counties within the
jurisdiction of the district. Under the bill, upon termination all district property is
transferred to the state. The state then apportions the properties to the constituent
counties and the state based on a statutory formula.
Local government civil service system and grievance procedure
requirements
The bill modifies the requirements for any grievance system established by
local governmental units, including adding a requirement for any civil service
system or grievance procedure to include a just cause standard of review for
employee terminations. Under current law, a local governmental unit that did not
have a civil service system before June 29, 2011, must have established a grievance
system. In order to comply with the requirement to have established a grievance
system, a local governmental unit may establish either 1) a civil service system under
any provision authorized by law, to the greatest extent practicable, if no specific
provision for creation of a civil service system applies to the governmental unit or 2)
a grievance procedure as set forth in the statutes. Current law requires that any civil
service system established or grievance procedure created must contain a grievance
procedure that addresses employee terminations, employee discipline, and
workplace safety. The bill does not eliminate the requirement for these provisions
but instead adds a requirement for a provision relating to a just cause standard of
review for employee terminations, including a refusal to renew a teaching contract.
Current law also requires that if a local governmental unit creates a grievance
procedure, the procedure must contain certain elements, including a written
document specifying the process that a grievant and an employer must follow; a
hearing before an impartial hearing officer; and an appeal process in which the
highest level of appeal is the governing body of the local governmental unit. The bill
provides that the hearing officer must be from the Wisconsin Employment Relations
Commission and adds the following two required elements in the grievance
procedure: 1) a provision indicating the grievant is entitled to representation
throughout the grievance process and 2) a provision indicating that the employer
must bear all fees and costs related to the grievance process, except the grievant's
representational fees and costs.
Employment regulations
The bill repeals the preemptions of local governments from enacting or
enforcing ordinances related to the following:
1. Regulations related to wage claims and collections.
2. Regulation of employee hours and overtime, including scheduling of
employee work hours or shifts.
3. The employment benefits an employer may be required to provide to its
employees.
4. An employer's right to solicit information regarding the salary history of
prospective employees.
5. Regulations related to minimum wage.
6. Occupational licensing requirements that are more stringent than a state
requirement.
The bill also repeals the following:
1. The prohibition of the state and local governments from requiring any person
to waive the person's rights under state or federal labor laws as a condition of any
approval by the state or local government.
2. A provision under which neither the state nor a local government may enact
a statute or ordinance, adopt a policy or regulation, or impose a contract, zoning,
permitting, or licensing requirement, or any other condition, that would require any
person to accept any provision that is a subject of collective bargaining under state
labor laws or the federal National Labor Relations Act.
Project labor agreements
Under current law, the state and local units of government are prohibited from
engaging in certain practices in letting bids for state procurement or public works
contracts. Among these prohibitions, as established by
2017 Wisconsin Act 3, the
state and local governments may not do any of the following in specifications for bids
for the contracts: 1) require that a bidder enter into an agreement with a labor
organization; 2) consider, when awarding a contract, whether a bidder has or has not
entered into an agreement with a labor organization; or 3) require that a bidder enter
into an agreement that requires that the bidder or bidder's employees become or
remain members of a labor organization or pay any dues or fees to a labor
organization. The bill repeals these limitations related to labor organizations.
Nonmetallic quarry hours of operation
The bill prohibits a political subdivision from limiting the times that activities
related to extracting or processing minerals at a quarry occur if the minerals will be
used in a public works project that requires nighttime construction or an emergency
repair.
Exception to law enforcement officer citizenship requirement
Under current law, no person may be appointed as a deputy sheriff of any
county or police officer of any city, village, or town unless that person is a citizen of
the United States. The bill allows the sheriff of a county or the appointing authority
of a local law enforcement agency to elect to authorize the appointment of noncitizens
who are in receipt of valid employment authorization from the federal Department
of Homeland Security as deputy sheriffs or police officers. The bill also prevents the
Law Enforcement Standards Board from preventing such a noncitizen from
participating in a law enforcement preparatory training program.
Premier resort area exceptions
The bill allows the city of Prescott and the village of Pepin to become premier
resort areas notwithstanding the fact that they do not meet the generally applicable
requirement that at least 40 percent of the equalized assessed value of the taxable
property within a political subdivision be used by tourism-related retailers (the
40-percent requirement). “Tourism-related retailers" is defined to include certain
retailers who are classified in the Standard Industrial Classification Manual that
is published by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget. The statutory definition
lists 21 types of retailers, including variety stores, dairy product stores, gasoline
service stations, eating places, drinking places, and hotels and motels.
Currently, a number of cities and villages are authorized to enact an ordinance
or adopt a resolution to become a premier resort area notwithstanding the fact that
none of these cities or villages meet the 40 percent requirement. As is the case with
the villages of Sister Bay, Ephraim, and Stockholm, and the city of Rhinelander, the
premier resort area tax may not take effect in Prescott or Pepin unless it is approved
in a referendum of the voters.
A premier resort area may impose a tax at a rate of 0.5 percent of the gross
receipts from the sale, lease, or rental of goods or services that are subject to the
general sales and use tax and are sold by tourism-related retailers. The proceeds
of the tax may be used only to pay for infrastructure expenses within the jurisdiction
of the premier resort area. The definition of “infrastructure expenses" includes the
costs of purchasing, constructing, or improving parking lots; transportation
facilities, including roads and bridges; sewer and water facilities; recreational
facilities; exposition center facilities; fire fighting equipment; and police vehicles.
Marijuana legalization and regulation
General; marijuana legalization and regulation
Under the bill, a person who is at least 21 years old may legally possess
marijuana. A person who is at least 18 may possess marijuana if the person has
certain medical conditions. Under the bill, a person may produce, process, or sell
marijuana if the person has a permit. The bill creates an excise tax for the privilege
of producing, processing, distributing, or selling marijuana in this state, and all of
the revenue collected from the tax is deposited into a segregated fund called the
“community reinvestment fund.” Under the bill, a person who may possess medical
marijuana is not subject to sales or excise taxes on the purchase or use of the
marijuana. The bill does not affect federal law, which generally prohibits persons
from manufacturing, delivering, or possessing marijuana and applies to both
intrastate and interstate violations.
Legalizing the possession of marijuana
Current law prohibits a person from manufacturing, distributing, or delivering
marijuana; possessing marijuana with the intent to manufacture, distribute, or
deliver it; possessing or attempting to possess marijuana; using drug paraphernalia;
or possessing drug paraphernalia with the intent to produce, distribute, or use a
controlled substance. The bill changes state law to allow a resident of this state who
is at least 21 to possess no more than two ounces of marijuana and to allow a
nonresident of this state who is at least 21 to possess no more than one-quarter ounce
of marijuana. The bill also allows a qualifying patient to possess marijuana for
medical purposes. Under the bill, generally, a qualifying patient is an individual who
has been diagnosed by a physician as having or undergoing a debilitating medical
condition or treatment and who is at least 18 years old. The bill also eliminates the
prohibition on possessing or using drug paraphernalia that relates to marijuana
consumption.
Under the bill, a person who possesses more marijuana than the maximum
amount the person is allowed is subject to a penalty, which varies depending on the
amount of overage. A person who exceeds the amount by not more than one ounce
is subject to a civil forfeiture not to exceed $1,000. A person who exceeds the
maximum amount by more than one ounce is guilty of a misdemeanor and subject
to a fine of not more than $1,000 or imprisonment not to exceed 90 days or both. The
person is guilty of a Class I felony if the person also takes action to hide the amount
of marijuana he or she has and has in place a security system to alert him or her to
the presence of law enforcement or a method to intimidate, or a system that could
injure or kill, a person approaching the area containing the marijuana.
Regulating the production, processing, and sale of marijuana
Under the bill, no person may sell, distribute, or transfer marijuana unless the
person has a permit from DOR. A person who violates this prohibition is guilty of
a Class I felony if the intended recipient is an adult and is guilty of a Class H felony
if the intended recipient is a minor and the person is at least three years older than
the minor.
The bill requires a person to obtain separate permits from DOR to produce,
process, distribute, or sell marijuana, and requires marijuana producers and
processors to obtain additional permits from DATCP. The requirements for
obtaining these permits differ based on whether the permit is issued by DOR or
DATCP but, in general, a person may not obtain such a permit if he or she is not a
resident of this state, is under the age of 21, or has been convicted of certain crimes
or committed certain offenses. In addition, a person may not operate under a DOR
or DATCP permit within 500 feet of a school, playground, recreation facility, child
care facility, public park, public transit facility, or library. A person who holds a
permit from DOR must also comply with certain operational requirements.
Under the bill, a permit applicant with 20 or more employees may not receive
a permit from DATCP or DOR unless the the applicant certifies that the applicant
has entered into a labor peace agreement with a labor organization. The labor peace
agreement prohibits the labor organization and its members from engaging in any
economic interference with persons doing business in this state, prohibits the
applicant from disrupting the efforts of the labor organization to communicate with
and to organize and represent the applicant's employees, and provides the labor
organization access to areas in which the employees work to discuss employment
rights and the terms and conditions of employment. Current law prohibits the state
and any local unit of government from requiring a labor peace agreement as a
condition for any regulatory approval. The permit requirements under the bill are
not subject to that prohibition.
The bill also requires DATCP and DOR to use a competitive scoring system to
determine which applicants are eligible to receive permits. Each department must
issue permits to the highest scoring applicants that it determines will best protect
the environment; provide stable, family-supporting jobs to local residents; ensure
worker and consumer safety; operate secure facilities; and uphold the laws of the
jurisdictions in which they operate. Each department may deny a permit to an
applicant with a low score.
The bill prohibits a DOR permittee from selling, distributing, or transferring
marijuana to a person who is under the age of 21 (a minor) and from allowing a minor
to be on premises for which a permit is issued. If a permittee violates one of those
prohibitions, the permittee may be subject to a civil forfeiture of not more than $500
and the permit may be suspended for up to 30 days.
Under the bill, a minor who does any of the following is subject to a forfeiture
of not less than $250 nor more than $500: procures or attempts to procure marijuana
from a permittee; falsely represents his or her age to receive marijuana from a
permittee; knowingly possesses marijuana; or knowingly enters any premises for
which a permit has been issued without being accompanied by his or her parent,
guardian, or spouse who is at least 21 years of age or at least 18 years of age if a
qualifying patient.
Under the bill, an individual may cultivate as many as six marijuana plants.
Only a person who has a permit from DATCP may produce or process more
marijuana plants. A person without a permit who possesses more than six but not
more than 12 marijuana plants that have reached the flowering stage is subject to
a civil forfeiture not to exceed twice the permitting fee ($250 under the bill). If the
person possesses more than 12 plants that have reached the flowering stage, the
person is guilty of a misdemeanor and subject to a fine not to exceed $1,000 or
imprisonment not to exceed 90 days or both. The person is guilty of a Class I felony
if the person also takes action to hide the number of plants he or she has and the
person also has in place a security system to alert him or her to the presence of law
enforcement or a method to intimidate, or a system that could injure or kill, a person
approaching the area containing the plants.
The bill requires DOR to create and maintain a medical marijuana registry
program whereby a person who is a qualifying patient may obtain a registry
identification card and purchase marijuana from a retail establishment without
having to pay the sales or excise taxes imposed on that sale. A qualifying patient is
a person who is at least 18 and has been diagnosed by a physician as having a
debilitating medical condition such as cancer, glaucoma, AIDS, or another specified
condition or is undergoing a debilitating medical treatment.
Previous convictions relating to marijuana
The bill creates a process to review convictions for acts that have been
decriminalized under the bill. If the person is currently serving a sentence or on
probation for such a conviction, the person may petition a court to dismiss the
conviction and expunge the record. If the person has completed a sentence or period
of probation for such a conviction, the person may petition a court to expunge the
record or, if applicable, redesignate it to a lower crime. Any conviction that is
expunged under the bill is not considered a conviction for any purpose under state
or federal law.
Registration for THC testing labs
The bill requires DATCP to register entities as tetrahydrocannabinols
(THC)-testing laboratories. The laboratories must test marijuana for contaminants;
research findings on the use of medical marijuana; and provide training on safe and
efficient cultivation, harvesting, packaging, labeling, and distribution of marijuana,
security and inventory accountability, and research on medical marijuana.
Discrimination based on marijuana use
Under the fair employment law, no employer or other person may engage in any
act of employment discrimination against any individual on the basis of the
individual's use or nonuse of lawful products off the employer's premises during
nonworking hours, subject to certain exceptions, one of which is if the use impairs
the individual's ability to undertake adequately the job-related responsibilities of
that individual's employment. The bill specifically defines marijuana as a lawful
product for purposes of the fair employment law, such that no person may engage in
any act of employment discrimination against an individual because of the
individual's use of marijuana off the employer's premises during nonworking hours,
subject to those exceptions.
Under current law, an individual may be disqualified from receiving
unemployment insurance (UI) benefits if he or she is terminated because of
misconduct or substantial fault. The bill specifically provides that an employee's use
of marijuana off the employer's premises during nonworking hours does not
constitute misconduct or substantial fault unless termination for that use is
permitted under one of the exceptions under the fair employment law.
Unless federal law requires otherwise, the bill prohibits a hospital, physician,
organ procurement organization, or other person from determining the ultimate
recipient of an anatomical gift on the sole basis of a positive test for the use of
marijuana by a potential recipient.
Drug screening and testing
The bill exempts THC, including marijuana, from drug testing for certain
public assistance programs. Currently, a participant in a community service job or
transitional placement under the Wisconsin Works program (W2) or a recipient of
the FoodShare program, also known as the food stamp program, who is convicted of
possession, use, or distribution of a controlled substance must submit to a test for
controlled substances as a condition of continued eligibility. DHS is currently
required to request a waiver of federal Medicaid law to require drug screening and
testing as a condition of eligibility for the childless adult demonstration project in the
Medical Assistance program. Current law also requires DHS to promulgate
administrative rules to develop and implement a drug screening, testing, and
treatment policy for able-bodied adults without dependents in the FoodShare
employment and training program. The bill exempts THC from all of those
drug-testing requirements and programs. In addition, because THC is not a
controlled substance under state law under the bill, the requirement under current
law that DCF promulgate administrative rules to create a controlled substance
abuse screening and testing requirement for applicants for the work experience
program for noncustodial parents under W2 and the Transform Milwaukee Jobs and
Transitional Jobs programs does not include THC.
Under current law, DWD must establish a program to test claimants who apply
for UI benefits for the presence of controlled substances, as defined under federal law.
If a claimant tests positive for a controlled substance, the claimant may be denied
UI benefits, subject to certain exceptions and limitations. The bill excludes THC for
purposes of this testing requirement. As such, under the bill, an individual who tests
positive for THC may not be denied UI benefits.
Grants to counties to support behavioral health services
The bill directs DHS to promulgate administrative rules to establish grants to
counties to support mental health and substance use disorder services, to be paid
from the revenue generated from the excise tax on marijuana that is deposited into
the community reinvestment fund.
military affairs
Changes to the Wisconsin Code of Military Justice
The bill makes a number of changes to the Wisconsin Code of Military Justice
(WCMJ), including 1) the codification of offenses that have been included as offenses
in the federal Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) related to retaliation, sexual
harassment, and engagement in prohibited sexual activity with a recruit or trainee;
2) articulation of the limits of punishment under the WCMJ; 3) clarifications as to
which courts-martial have primary jurisdiction over certain offenses; 4) removal of
certain gender-specific language from the WCMJ; 5) requiring that the adjutant
general prescribe rules of procedure for courts-martial arising under the WCMJ;
and 6) requiring that the adjutant general prescribe and implement a policy that
ensures that a victim of an offense under the WCMJ is treated with dignity, respect,
courtesy, sensitivity, and fairness.
