The bill provides that unencumbered amounts of this appropriation revert to
the appropriation account to which Indian gaming receipts are credited.
Funding from Indian gaming receipts
Current law requires DOA to transfer portions of Indian gaming receipts to
certain DNR appropriations annually. The bill eliminates the requirement to
transfer these amounts to an appropriation that funds snowmobile law enforcement
operations and safety training and fatality reporting and eliminates that
appropriation. The bill makes no change to an appropriation funding the same
purposes from the conservation fund.
Forestry
Public forest regeneration grants
The bill requires DNR to establish a public forest regeneration grant program.
Under that program, DNR awards grants from moneys received for forestry
activities for projects involving reforestation, forest regeneration, and forest
management on public land. The bill provides that a project is eligible for a grant
if it is located on public land owned by a local government or school district or by this
state, except for land under the jurisdiction and control of DNR.
Forestry-industry-wide strategic plan
The bill requires DNR to develop a forestry-industry-wide strategic plan and
road map and to submit a final report on this plan to the Council on Forestry no later
than September 16, 2024.
County forest administration grants and county sustainable forestry
program
The bill separates the existing biennial appropriation for county sustainable
forestry grants and county forest administration grants into two separate biennial
appropriations.
Public utilities
Telecommunications
Broadband expansion grant program
The bill makes various changes to the broadband expansion grant program.
Current law requires PSC to administer the broadband expansion grant
program, under which PSC designates as “underserved” areas of the state that are
served by fewer than two broadband service providers and awards grants to eligible
applicants for the purpose of constructing broadband infrastructure in underserved
areas. The bill changes the purpose of the grant program to constructing broadband
infrastructure in unserved areas. Under current law, “unserved areas” are areas not
served by an Internet service provider (ISP) that 1) is a fixed wireless service or wired
service and 2) provides service at actual speeds of at least 20 percent of the upload
and download speeds for advanced telecommunications capability as designated by
the Federal Communications Commission. The bill adds that the service must be
available, reliable, and affordable and changes the speed standard for an unserved
area to at least actual download speeds of 100 megabits per second and upload speeds
of 20 megabits per second. The bill also allows PSC to adjust those speed standards
every two years if it determines there is good cause to do so in order to align with
changes in technology and actual market conditions, in which case it must publish
the adjusted speed thresholds on its website.
Current law requires PSC to establish criteria for evaluating applications and
awarding grants under the broadband expansion grant program and requires that
the criteria give priority to projects meeting various standards, such as including
matching funds and involving public-private partnerships. Under the bill, the
criteria must require that projects serve unserved areas. The bill specifies that the
criteria must give priority to projects with at least 40 percent matching funds and
higher priority to projects with more than 40 percent matching funds. The bill
specifies that the criteria must give priority to projects that are capable of offering
service at actual download speeds of 100 megabits per second or greater and upload
speeds of 100 megabits per second or greater and higher priority to projects capable
of exceeding those speeds, but allows PSC to adjust these speeds every two years,
similar to the threshold speeds in the definition of “unserved area.” The bill changes
a requirement under current law that the criteria prioritize projects in a large
geographic area to projects in a geographic area that is difficult to connect. The bill
removes a requirement to prioritize projects that will not result in delaying the
provision of broadband service to areas that neighbor areas to be served by the
proposed project.
When evaluating a grant application, the bill requires PSC to consider the
affordability of the service and all federal funding for broadband facilities in the
project area of the proposed project.
The bill adds a procedure by which an ISP in or near a project area proposed
in an application for a broadband expansion grant may challenge the awarding of
that grant. An ISP may challenge the grant if that ISP currently provides available,
reliable, and affordable fixed wireless or wired broadband service to any part of the
project area at minimum download and upload speeds or if that ISP commits to
completing construction of broadband infrastructure and providing available,
reliable, and affordable broadband service to any part of the project area at minimum
download and upload speeds no later than 24 months after the date of the PSC order
awarding grants. The bill requires such a challenger to allow PSC to inspect its
broadband infrastructure to ensure it meets minimum service requirements. The
bill requires PSC to evaluate the challenge and prohibits it from funding any portion
of a project relating to the area that is the subject of the challenge if it determines
as credible the challenging ISP's commitment to provide broadband service that
meets the requirements. If PSC denies funding as a result of such a challenge and
the ISP does not fulfill its commitment, PSC is prohibited from awarding grant
funding to that ISP and the ISP is prohibited from participating in the challenge
process for the following two grant cycles.
The bill provides funding from the general fund for the broadband expansion
grant program in addition to its current funding from the universal service fund,
which consists of moneys that are required to be contributed by certain
telecommunications providers and used to promote access to telecommunications
service, among other purposes. The bill requires PSC to award in each fiscal year
no less than 10 percent of the amount in the schedule under the new appropriation
in fiscal year 2023-24 for the broadband expansion grant program (minimum
amount). However, if the balance in the appropriation is less than the minimum
amount, the bill requires PSC to award the entire remaining balance. Further, if
PSC does not receive sufficient broadband expansion grant applications that meet
the eligibility criteria to award the minimum amount or, if applicable, the remaining
balance, the bill requires PSC to award the maximum amount of broadband
expansion grants possible that fiscal year.
Municipality construction, ownership, or operation of broadband facilities
Current law prohibits, with several exceptions, a municipality from
constructing, owning, or operating a facility for providing video service,
telecommunications service, or broadband service to the public unless 1) the
municipality holds a public hearing on the proposed action, 2) notice of the public
hearing is given, and 3) the municipality prepares and makes available for public
inspection a report estimating the total costs of, and revenues derived from,
constructing, owning, or operating the facility for a period of at least three years. The
bill eliminates the requirement that a municipality prepare and make available for
public inspection that report if the facility is a broadband facility intended to serve
an area designated as unserved by PSC.
Currently, under one of the exceptions, the public hearing and cost report do not
apply to a facility for providing broadband service if 1) the municipality offers use of
the facility on a nondiscriminatory basis to persons who provide broadband service
to end users of the service, 2) the municipality itself does not use the facility to
provide broadband service to end users, and 3) the municipality determines that, at
the time of authorization, the facility does not compete with more than one provider
of broadband service. The bill eliminates the requirements under items 2 and 3 for
facilities that are intended to serve an unserved area. As a result, a municipality is
not required to hold a public hearing or prepare a report for a broadband facility
intended to serve an unserved area if the municipality offers use of the facility on a
nondiscriminatory basis to persons who provide broadband service.
Currently, under another of the exceptions, the public hearing and cost report
do not apply to a facility for providing broadband service to an area within the
boundaries of a municipality if the municipality asks, in writing, each person that
provides broadband service within the boundaries of the municipality whether the
person currently provides broadband service to the area or intends to provide
broadband service to the area within nine months and 1) the municipality does not
receive an affirmative response within 60 days, 2) the municipality determines that
a person who responded does not currently provide broadband service to the area,
and no other person makes the response to the municipality, or 3) the municipality
determines that a person who responded that the person intended to provide
broadband service to the area within nine months did not actually provide the service
within nine months and no other person makes the response to the municipality.
Under the bill, for this exception in the case of an unserved area, rather than
asking whether a person plans to provide broadband service to the area within nine
months, the municipality must ask whether the person intends or actively plans to
provide broadband service to the area within three months.
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 size 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.
Digital equity program
The bill requires PSC to administer a digital equity program under which it
may provide outreach and assistance to promote digital equity, coordinate the
administration of federal and state digital equity funding, provide digital navigation
services, and implement digital inclusion activities. Under the bill, “digital equity”
means all individuals and communities have the information technology capacity
needed to fully participate in society. The bill allows PSC to use moneys in the
universal service fund to administer the digital equity program.
Energy
Electric utility integrated resource plans
The bill requires investor-owned and municipal electric utilities to file
integrated resource plans with PSC. An integrated resource plan must describe the
resources an electric utility could use to meet the service needs of its customers over
the next 5-year, 10-year, and 15-year periods, and must contain certain other
information, including forecasts of electricity demand under various reasonable
scenarios and plans and projected costs for meeting that electricity demand. PSC
must establish requirements for the contents and filing of the plans, and PSC must
approve, reject, or modify an electric utility's integrated resource plan consistent
with the public interest. The bill also requires PSC to review the integrated resource
plans filed by electric utilities to inform its biennial strategic energy assessment.
Under current law, the strategic energy assessment evaluates the adequacy and
reliability of the state's current and future energy supply.
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.
Residential and commercial energy improvements
The bill allows PSC to authorize a public utility to finance energy
improvements at a specific dwelling for a residential or commercial 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. The bill requires PSC to
promulgate administrative rules establishing requirements for this financing,
which must include that the surcharge is assigned to a location, not to an individual
customer; that energy improvements are eligible for financing only if they are
estimated to save an amount that exceeds the surcharge; and that the financing
offered may not increase a customer's risk or debt.
Equity-focused intervenor compensation
The bill requires PSC to reserve $50,000 annually to compensate
equity-focused participants in PSC proceedings who review economic and
environmental issues affecting low-income populations. Current law authorizes
PSC to compensate certain participants in proceedings who provide significant
contributions to the record.
Focus on Energy
Current law requires investor-owned electric and natural gas utilities to fund
statewide energy efficiency and renewable resources programs, known as Focus on
Energy, with 1.2 percent of their annual operating revenues from retail sales. The
bill increases the amount utilities must spend to 2.4 percent of their annual
operating revenues from retail sales. The bill also expands the definition of “energy
efficiency program” to include a program that deploys electric technologies to meet
energy needs currently served by other fuels in order to 1) reduce the usage of energy,
increase the efficiency of usage of energy on a fuel-neutral basis, or reduce adverse
environmental impacts, including carbon dioxide emissions and 2) reduce costs for
electric public utilities and retail electric cooperatives or their customers or
members.
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, 2023, 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.
Recovery of cost of low-income assistance programs
Under current law, a public utility must charge rates that are just and
reasonable. The bill provides that it is not unreasonable or unjustly discriminatory
for a public utility to implement low-income assistance programs if approved in a
rate case in which PSC reviewed the program eligibility criteria and program credits
or rebates and if that cost is incorporated in the public utility's published schedules
or tariffs.
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.
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.
Water and sewer
Remove size limit on grants for lead service line replacement
The bill allows water public utilities to make grants that cover the full cost of
replacing lead-containing customer-side water service lines. Under current law,
water public utilities may, after applying to and receiving approval from PSC, make
grants and loans to property owners to assist replacement of customer-side water
service lines containing lead. Current law prohibits PSC from approving a water
public utility's application to provide these grants unless grants are limited to no
more than one-half of the total cost of replacing lead-containing customer-side
water service lines.
retirement and group insurance
Benefits for domestic partners
2017 Wisconsin Act 59, the 2017-19 biennial budget act, repealed 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.
WRS annuitants returning to work
Under current law, if a WRS annuitant, or a disability annuitant who has
attained his or her normal retirement date, is appointed to a position with a
WRS-participating employer or provides employee services to a WRS-participating
employer in which he or she is expected to work at least two-thirds of what is
considered full-time employment by ETF, the annuity must be suspended and no
annuity payment is payable until after the participant again terminates covered
employment.
The bill removes the requirement that an annuitant suspend his or her annuity
and instead allows an annuitant to elect to suspend the annuity and again become
a participating employee or elect to not suspend his or her annuity and not become
a participating employee. In other words, the bill allows an annuitant who returns
to work for a participating employer but elects not to become a participating
employee for purposes of the WRS to continue to receive his or her annuity.
Under current law, a WRS participant who has applied to receive a retirement
annuity must wait at least 75 days between terminating covered employment with
a WRS employer and returning to covered employment again as a participating
employee. The bill reduces that period to 30 days.
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.
Income continuation insurance
Under current law, GIB must offer employees group income continuation
insurance (ICI) coverage that pays for lost earnings as a result of injury or illness
with separate provisions for short-term insurance with a benefit duration of no more
than one year and long-term insurance covering injury or illness of indefinite
duration.
The bill transfers oversight of the group ICI plan to the Employee Trust Funds
Board (ETFB). The bill also provides that, as of January 1, 2025, ETFB must provide
a group ICI plan, but ETFB is not required to provide separate short-term and
long-term insurance or a particular benefit duration.
Under current law, an employee is eligible for benefits under the group ICI plan
only after exhausting accumulated sick leave not to exceed 130 days. The bill
eliminates that requirement and instead allows an employee to select among waiting
periods determined by ETFB.
Employer and employee share of ICI premium payments
The bill changes how the employer and employee shares of premium payments
for ICI are determined. Under current law, the employer pays part of an employee's
ICI premium, and the employee pays the remainder. The employer's share is a
certain percentage of the total premium cost that increases as an employee
accumulates unused sick leave. For certain employees subject to collective
bargaining agreements and for faculty and staff of the UW System, the employer and
employee shares may be different from the prescribed formula that is based on the
employee's accumulation of sick leave.
Under the bill, beginning January 1, 2025, for all employees, including UW
System faculty and staff, unless a collective bargaining agreement provides
otherwise, the employer pays the premium for the longest waiting period available
to the employee under the ICI contract. If an employee elects a shorter waiting
period, the employee pays the difference in premium amounts between the longest
waiting period and the waiting period selected by the employee.
Group long-term disability insurance plan
Under current law, ETFB may determine that GIB must establish a group
insurance plan to provide certain disability annuity or death benefits. Under this
authority, GIB currently oversees a group long-term disability insurance (LTDI)
plan. The bill provides explicit statutory authority for ETFB to establish the LTDI
plan and transfers oversight of the LTDI plan from GIB to ETFB.
Internal auditor
The bill creates an 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 the ETF board to appoint an internal auditor and internal
audit staff within the classified service who report directly to the board. 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. The State of Wisconsin Investment Board (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 must 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.
2025-27 budget request for pension administration system
The bill requires ETF to include in its 2025-27 biennial budget request a
request for funding for modernization of ETF's pension administration system.
safety and professional services
Advanced practice registered nurses
Licensure of advanced practice registered nurses
Under current law, a person who wishes to practice professional nursing must
be licensed by the Board of Nursing as a registered nurse (RN). The bill creates an
additional system of licensure for advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs), to
be administered by the board. Under the bill, in order to apply for an APRN license,
a person must 1) hold an RN license; 2) have completed an accredited graduate-level
or postgraduate-level education program preparing the person to practice as an
APRN in one of four recognized roles and hold a current national certification
approved by the board; 3) possess malpractice liability insurance as provided in the
bill; 4) pay a fee determined by DSPS; and 5) satisfy certain other criteria specified
in the bill. The bill also allows a person who has not completed an accredited
education program described above to receive an APRN license if the person 1) on
January 1, 2023, is both licensed as an RN in Wisconsin and practicing in one of the
four recognized roles and 2) satisfies additional practice or education criteria
established by the board. The bill also, however, automatically grants licenses to
certain RNs, as further described below. The four recognized roles, as defined in the
bill, are 1) certified nurse-midwife; 2) certified registered nurse anesthetist; 3)
clinical nurse specialist; and 4) nurse practitioner. The bill requires the board, upon
granting a person an APRN license, to also grant the person one or more specialty
designations corresponding to the recognized role or roles for which the person
qualifies.
Under the bill, all APRNs, except APRNs with a certified nurse-midwife
specialty designation, must practice in collaboration with a physician or dentist.
However, under the bill, an APRN may practice without being supervised by a
physician or dentist if the Board of Nursing verifies that the APRN has completed
3,840 hours of professional nursing in a clinical setting and has completed 3,840
clinical hours of advanced practice registered nursing practice in his or her
recognized role while working with a physician or dentist during those 3,840 hours
of practice. APRNs may count additional hours practiced as an APRN in
collaboration with a physician or dentist towards the 3,840 required hours of
professional nursing. APRNs with a certified nurse-midwife specialty designation
are instead required, if they offer to deliver babies outside of a hospital setting, to file
and keep current with the board a proactive plan for involving a hospital or a
physician who has admitting privileges at a hospital in the treatment of patients
with higher acuity or emergency care needs, as further described below.
Additionally, under the bill, an APRN may provide pain management services only
while working in a collaborative relationship with a physician who specializes in
pain management or, if the APRN has qualified to practice independently, in a
hospital or clinic associated with a hospital.
The bill allows an APRN to delegate a task or order to another clinically trained
health care worker if the task or order is within the scope of the APRN's practice, the
APRN is competent to perform the task or issue the order, and the APRN has
reasonable evidence that the health care worker is minimally competent to perform
the task or issue the order under the circumstances. The bill requires an APRN to
adhere to professional standards when managing situations that are beyond the
APRN's expertise.
The holder of an APRN license may append the title “A.P.R.N." to his or her
name, as well as a title corresponding to whichever specialty designations that the
person possesses. The bill prohibits any person from using the title “A.P.R.N.," and
from otherwise indicating that he or she is an APRN, unless the person is licensed
by the board as an APRN. The bill also prohibits the use of titles and abbreviations
corresponding to a recognized role unless the person has a specialty designation for
that role.
Under the bill, when an APRN renews his or her APRN license, the board must
grant the person the renewal of both the person's RN license and the person's APRN
license. The bill requires all APRNs to complete continuing education requirements
each biennium in clinical pharmacology or therapeutics relevant to the APRN's area
of practice and to satisfy certain other requirements when renewing a license.
Practice of nurse-midwifery
