Under the bill, no grant moneys awarded under the above grant programs may be used to pay gaming-related expenses.
Other tribal grants
The bill requires DOA to do all of the following:
1. Award grants to the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin to support the Menominee Indian Tribe’s transit services, in an amount not to exceed $266,600 annually.
2. Award grants to the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin to conduct an intergovernmental training program, available to all tribal governments in Wisconsin, to improve consultations and communication between the tribes and the state. The grants may not total more than $60,000 annually.
3. Award grants to the Wisconsin Indigenous Housing and Economic Development Corporation to support tribal economic development and housing programs in Wisconsin. The grants may not total more than $3,890,000 in the 2025-26 fiscal year and $2,540,000 annually thereafter.
4. Award grants to American Indian tribes or bands in this state to support strategic planning concerning cybersecurity, in an amount up to $250,000 annually.
5. Award grants to American Indian tribes or bands in this state to support home repairs that reduce energy burdens and improve health outcomes, in an amount up to $1,000,000 annually.
Community climate engagement grant program
The bill requires DOA to establish and administer a community climate engagement grant program. Under the program, DOA is required to award grants to local nongovernmental organizations in Wisconsin for the purpose of promoting local climate and clean energy community engagement. Additionally, under the program, DOA is itself required to conduct and support outreach across Wisconsin concerning climate change, climate resilience, and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.
Community climate action grants
The bill requires DOA to create a grant program to assist local governmental units and governing bodies of federally recognized American Indian tribes and bands in this state with the development of climate risk assessment and action plans or to implement emission reduction and action projects. Under the bill, DOA is required to assist local governments and tribal governments with the development of climate risk assessment and action plans.
Grants to provide civil legal services
The bill requires DOA to award grants to the Wisconsin Trust Account Foundation, Inc., for the purpose of providing civil legal services.
Translation services
The bill provides that DOA may provide assistance to state agencies for costs related to translation services that are provided to a state agency through a state contract. The bill also appropriates GPR for the purpose.
Artificial intelligence tools and infrastructure support
The bill requires DOA to develop and maintain artificial intelligence tools and infrastructure for the benefit of state agencies, including the legislature and the courts.
Cybersecurity
Under current law, DOA is required to ensure that an adequate level of information technology services is made available to state agencies. The bill requires that DOA additionally conduct cybersecurity emergency incident response for state agencies. The bill funds those activities with up to $10,000,000 each fiscal year in moneys from the general fund that are allocated to sum sufficient appropriations of state agencies. A sum sufficient appropriation is expendable in the amounts necessary to accomplish the purpose specified in the appropriation.
The bill also creates an annual appropriation of GPR for DOA’s cybersecurity activities generally.
Cybersecurity insurance
The bill requires DOA to undertake planning and preparation to have a cybersecurity insurance program for executive branch agencies by the 2027–29 fiscal biennium.
Closed meetings to consider information technology security issues
Under current law, a governmental body is generally required to meet in open session. Open session is a meeting that is held in a place reasonably accessible to members of the public and open to all citizens at all times.
The bill allows a governmental body to go into closed session for the purpose of considering information technology security issues affecting information technology systems over which the governmental body has jurisdiction or exercises responsibility.
Funding for the Division of Alcohol Beverages
The bill creates a program-revenue appropriation to fund the Division of Alcohol Beverages (DAB) in DOR.
Under current law, the DAB administers and enforces the state’s alcohol beverage laws, including issuing alcohol beverage permits. The DAB is currently funded from multiple DOR appropriations, including an appropriation that receives proceeds from an administrative fee of 11 cents per gallon on taxed distilled spirits.
The bill creates, for DAB, a single PR appropriation consisting of DAB permit fees and associated administrative fees and liquor tax administrative fees.
Public records location fee
Current law allows an authority to impose a fee on any person requesting a public record to cover the cost of locating that record, if the cost is $50 or more. The location fee may not exceed the actual, necessary, and direct cost of locating the record. Current law defines an “authority” to include any elective official or state or local government agency that has custody of a public record.
Under the bill, the cost of locating a public record must be $100 or more before an authority may impose a fee to cover the actual, necessary, and direct cost of locating the record.
Lobbying fees
Under current law, fees paid to the Ethics Commission for lobbying activities are appropriated to the commission for the administration of the lobbying laws. The bill eliminates that appropriation and requires that all fees paid to the commission for lobbying activities be deposited in the general fund.
First class city school district audit response funding
The bill directs DOA to provide payments to a first class city school district (currently only Milwaukee Public Schools) to implement recommendations from audits of the school district initiated by the governor. The payments may be used for items addressed in the audits, financial reporting software, and data compatibility with state and local finance systems. Additionally, the payments may be made only if, at the time of payment, the secretary of administration is satisfied that the school district is already making substantial progress on implementation of the audit recommendations.
TEACH program; GPR funding
Under current law, DOA administers the Technology for Educational Achievement (TEACH) program. The TEACH program offers telecommunications access to school districts, private schools, cooperative educational service agencies, technical college districts, independent charter school authorizers, juvenile correctional facilities, private and tribal colleges, and public library boards at discounted rates. Currently, the TEACH program is funded from the universal service fund. The bill provides additional GPR for the TEACH program.
TEACH; broadband speed threshold
As part of TEACH, current law requires DOA to establish an educational telecommunications access program to provide educational agencies with access to data lines. Under current law, DOA must require an educational agency to pay not more than $250 per month for each data line provided under the program. However, the maximum amount DOA may charge an educational agency for a data line is not more than $100 per month if the data line relies on a transport medium that operates at a speed of 1.544 megabits per second. The bill increases the threshold speed for the $100 per month maximum payment to 100 megabits per second.
State AmeriCorps scholarship program
Under current law, an individual who completes a term of service in the AmeriCorps program may receive a Segal AmeriCorps education award to pay for post-secondary educational expenses. The bill creates a program that provides a matching scholarship to individuals who are residents of Wisconsin or who complete their AmeriCorps service in Wisconsin. Under the bill, the matching amounts are subject to availability of monies. The scholarship money awarded under the program may only be used to pay tuition and fees at a technical college, college, or university in Wisconsin.
National and community service board appropriation
Current law appropriates moneys received from the federal Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) to administer the national and community service program and to provide grants for the national and community service program. The bill changes the appropriation for administration from one that is limited to the amounts in the schedule to one that appropriates all moneys received that are designated for administration by the CNCS. The bill also clarifies that the appropriation for grants appropriates all moneys received that are designated for grants by the CNCS.
BCPL payments in lieu of taxes appropriation
Under current law, land that the BCPL owns is not subject to property taxes. For certain lands purchased on or after July 14, 2015, though, BCPL makes annual payments to municipalities in lieu of the property tax that would have been owed on these lands were they not tax exempt. Currently, the source of these payments is a sum certain appropriation. The bill changes that appropriation to a sum sufficient appropriation.
Security services at multitenant state buildings and facilities
The bill eliminates the separate appropriation for security services at multitenant state buildings and facilities and moves the related purposes of the appropriation to a different appropriation.
State finance
Refunding certain general obligation debt
The bill increases from $11,235,000,000 to $12,835,000,000 the amount of state public debt that may be contracted to refund any unpaid indebtedness used to finance tax-supported or self-amortizing facilities. The unpaid indebtedness includes unpaid premium and interest amounts. Under current law, the Building Commission may not incur public debt for refunding purposes unless the true interest costs to the state can be reduced.
State employment
Paid family and medical leave
The bill requires the administrator of the Division of Personnel Management in DOA to develop a program for paid family and medical leave of 8 weeks annually for most state employees. The bill requires the administrator to submit the plan for approval as a change to the state compensation plan to the Joint Committee on Employment Relations (JCOER). If JCOER approves the plan, the plan becomes effective January 1, 2027.
The bill also requires the Board of Regents of the UW System to develop a plan for a program for paid family and medical leave of 8 weeks annually for employees of the system and requires the board to submit the plan to the administrator of the Division of Personnel Management in DOA with its compensation plan changes for the 2025-27 biennium. If JCOER approves the plan, the program becomes effective January 1, 2027.
Paid sick leave for limited term employees
Under current law, permanent and project state employees receive the following paid leave: vacation; personal holidays; sick leave; and legal holidays. The bill requires the state to provide paid sick leave to limited term employees of the state at the same rate as to permanent and project state employees.
The bill also requires the Board of Regents of the UW System to develop a plan for a program for paid sick leave for temporary employees of the system and requires the board to submit the plan to the administrator of the Division of Personnel Management in DOA with its compensation plan changes for the 2025–27 fiscal biennium.
Green Bay Correctional Institution
The bill allows the director of the Bureau of Merit Recruitment and Selection in the Division of Personnel Management in DOA to waive competitive hiring procedures for an employee in the classified service at the Green Bay Correctional Institution (GBCI) during the period the facility is decommissioned if the individual is qualified to perform the duties of the position and the position the individual will be filling is assigned to a class at a pay range that is the same as individual’s position at GBCI, or a lower pay range.
Vacation hours for state employees
The bill provides additional annual leave hours to state employees during their third, fourth, and fifth years of service.
Under current law, state employees who are in nonexempt status under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act earn annual leave at the rate of 104 hours per year of continuous service during the first five years of service and, on an employee’s fifth anniversary of continuous service, the rate increase to 144 hours of annual leave per year of continuous service. Under the bill, beginning on the employee’s second anniversary, a state employee in nonexempt status begins earning vacation hours at the rate of 120 hours per year of service.
Under current law, state employees who are in exempt status under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act earn annual vacation at the rate of 120 hours per year of continuous service during the first five years of service and, on the fifth anniversary of continuous service, the rate increase to 160 hours of annual leave per year of continuous service. Under the bill, beginning on the employee’s second anniversary, a state employee in exempt status begins earning vacation hours at the rate of 136 hours per year of service.
Removal of salary caps for WHEFA employees
Current law allows WHEFA to employ an executive director and limits the compensation of the executive director to the maximum of the salary range established for positions assigned to executive salary group 6. Current law also limits the compensation of each other employee of WHEFA to the maximum of the salary range established for positions assigned to executive salary group 3. The bill removes these limits on compensation of the executive director and employees of WHEFA.
Apprenticeship programs
Under current law, state agencies may provide on-the-job and off-the-job training to employees without loss of pay to employees. This includes research projects, courses of study, institutes, short courses related to the performance of the employee’s job duties, and paying for tuition and related fees. The bill allows a state agency to provide an apprenticeship program. Under such a program, an apprentice is a probationary employee for the duration of the apprenticeship and attains permanent status upon completion of the apprenticeship but may be separated at any time during the apprenticeship without right of appeal. Under the bill, the compensation plan for state employees may allow for rates of pay for apprentices that reflect the appropriate beginning pay for apprentices as well as pay increases for the attainment of additional qualifications during the apprenticeship. Finally, the bill provides that apprentices may take paid holidays in the same manner as other probationary employees.
Juneteenth state holiday
The bill designates June 19, the day on which Juneteenth is celebrated, as a state holiday on which state offices are closed. Under current law, the offices of the agencies of state government are generally closed on Saturdays, Sundays, and a total of nine state holidays. The bill also requires the administrator of the Division of Personnel Management in DOA to include June 19 and November 11, which is the day on which Veterans Day is traditionally celebrated, as paid holidays for UW System employees in the proposal it submits to the Joint Committee on Employee Relations for compensation plan changes for the 2025–27 fiscal biennium.
Veterans Day state holiday
The bill designates November 11, the day on which Veterans Day is traditionally celebrated, as a state holiday on which state offices are closed. Under current law, the offices of the agencies of state government are generally closed on Saturdays, Sundays, and a total of nine state holidays. Additionally, under current law, state employees receive annually a total of 4.5 paid personal holidays, one of which is provided specifically in recognition of Veterans Day. Under the bill, state employees continue to receive 4.5 paid personal holidays. However, the bill removes the specification that one of the paid personal holidays is provided in recognition of Veterans Day.
In total, the bill increases the number of regular paid holidays state employees receive annually from nine days to 11 days.
Supplemental appropriations for salary and fringe benefit costs incurred in enterprise assessments and billings
Under current law, if employees of an agency receive a salary increase under a compensation plan approved by JCOER or under a contract approved by the legislature, a state agency can request a program supplement to the agency’s budget from JCF in order to pay for the salary increase and related costs.
Some state agencies pay for services provided by DOA employees rather than having their own employees perform those services, and DOA assesses or bills the agencies for the services provided by DOA employees. The bill creates four new appropriations from which an agency may request a program supplement when DOA assesses or bills the agency for increased costs for those services due to a salary increase under a compensation plan approved by JCOER or under a contract approved by the legislature.
Project employees of district attorney offices under ARPA
The bill provides that individuals who are in project positions that were funded by the federal American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 in offices of district attorneys may be appointed to equivalent permanent positions in those offices without going through the civil service hiring process as new hires.
Project employees of the Public Defender Board under ARPA
The bill provides that individuals who are in project positions that were funded by the federal American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 and who are employed by the Public Defender Board may be appointed to equivalent permanent positions in those offices without going through the civil service hiring process as new hires.
Position transfers and funding changes
Under the bill, all of the following occur: on January 1, 2027, the funding source for 24.0 FTE FED positions in DOA changes from a single DOA appropriation to two DOA program revenue appropriations and one DOA GPR appropriation; and 17.5 FTE FED positions and incumbent employees transfer from DOA to the Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission, and the position funding changes to a single WERC GPR appropriation.
Secretary of state
Deputy secretary of state
The bill creates the position of deputy secretary of state. The secretary of state may delegate any duty or power to the deputy secretary of state, except duties and powers the secretary of state performs as a member of the BCPL.
Appropriations to the secretary of state
Under current law, DFI’s general program operations are funded from an annual program revenue appropriation. From this appropriation, $150,000 is transferred annually to an appropriation to the secretary of state for general program operations. The bill increases the amount of the transfer to $502,900 in the 2025–26 fiscal year and $555,400 annually thereafter.
The bill also creates a continuing appropriation to the secretary of state of all moneys received from the federal government to be expended for the purposes for which received and creates a continuing program revenue appropriation to the secretary of state of all moneys received by the secretary of state from gifts, grants, bequests, and devises to be expended for the purposes for which made and received. The bill makes certain other changes to appropriations to the secretary of state, including an increase in the lapse of certain moneys appropriated to the secretary of state to the general fund at the end of each fiscal year.
