Chapter 16

16.417 History History: 1987 a. 365 ss. 1, 4m; 1987 a. 399; 1989 a. 56 s. 259; 1993 a. 362; 1997 a. 27; 2001 a. 16; 2005 a. 74, 335; 2007 a. 20; 2009 a. 28; 2011 a. 7, 10, 32, 229; 2013 a. 20 ss. 65p, 2365m, 9448; 2013 a. 165; 2017 a. 59; 2021 a. 23, 131, 238; 2023 a. 81.

16.417 Annotation Discussing restrictions that sub. (2) imposes on dual state employment of state employees. 77 Atty. Gen. 245.

16.42 16.42 Agency requests.

16.42(1) (1) All agencies, other than the legislature and the courts, no later than September 15 of each even-numbered year, in the form and content prescribed by the department, shall prepare and forward to the department and to the legislative fiscal bureau the following program and financial information:

16.42(1)(a) (a) A clear statement of the purpose or goal for each program or subprogram.

16.42(1)(b) (b) Clear statements of specific objectives to be accomplished and, as appropriate, the performance measures used by the agency to assess progress toward achievement of these objectives.

16.42(1)(c) (c) Proposed plans to implement the objectives and the estimated resources needed to carry out the proposed plans.

16.42(1)(d) (d) A statement of legislation required to implement proposed programmatic and financial plans.

16.42(1)(e) (e) All fiscal or other information relating to such agencies that the secretary or the governor requires on forms prescribed by the secretary.

16.42(1)(f) (f) The information required under s. 16.423.

16.42(1)(g) (g) The information required under s. 16.529 (2).

16.42(2) (2) The secretary may make budget estimates for all such agencies which fail to furnish the information required under sub. (1) by the date specified in sub. (1).

16.42(3) (3) The department of safety and professional services shall include in its agency request under sub. (1) a proposal to eliminate any council, board, or commission that has not held a meeting since the preceding September 15, unless the council, board, or commission is required to exist under federal law.

16.42(4) (4) 

16.42(4)(a) (a) In this subsection, “state operations” has the meaning given in s. 16.413 (1) (e).

16.42(4)(b) (b) Each agency required to submit a budget request under sub. (1) shall include with its request, and shall submit to the governor and to the legislature under s. 13.172 (2), all of the following:

16.42(4)(b)1. 1. A proposal to reduce the agency’s state operations budget for each fiscal year of the succeeding fiscal biennium by an amount equal to a total of 5 percent of the agency’s base level for its state operations budget for the current fiscal year. An agency’s base level shall be agreed to by the secretary of administration and the director of the legislative fiscal bureau.

16.42(4)(b)2. 2. A proposal to maintain during each fiscal year of the succeeding fiscal biennium the agency’s base level for its state operations budget for the current fiscal year. An agency’s base level shall be agreed to by the secretary of administration and the director of the legislative fiscal bureau.

16.42(4)(c) (c) For purposes of the proposals under par. (b) 1. and 2., an agency shall exclude from its state operations budget all of the following:

16.42(4)(c)1. 1. Expenditures funded by federal revenues.

16.42(4)(c)2. 2. Expenditures for principal, interest, and premium costs on public debt and state-issued revenue bonds.

16.42(4)(c)3. 3. Expenditures under s. 20.505 (1) (bq), (br), (iq), (it), and (iw).

16.42(4)(c)4. 4. Expenditures under s. 20.855 (1) (a) and (b).

16.42(4)(c)5. 5. Standard budget adjustments, as agreed to by the secretary of administration and the director of the legislative fiscal bureau.

16.42 History History: 1971 c. 125, 215; 1973 c. 12, 333; 1975 c. 388; 1977 c. 29; 1977 c. 196 s. 130 (3), (4); 1977 c. 272; 1979 c. 34, 221; 1981 c. 20; 1987 a. 4; 1993 a. 16; 2001 a. 109; 2003 a. 33; 2005 a. 149; 2009 a. 28; 2013 a. 20; 2015 a. 55, 201; 2017 a. 212; 2017 a. 365 s. 111.

16.423 16.423 Base budget review reports.

16.423(1) (1) In this section, “state agency” has the meaning given in s. 20.001 (1).

16.423(2) (2) 

16.423(2)(a) (a) During the 2017-19 fiscal biennium, the secretary shall require that all state agencies submit a report no later than September 15, 2018, and then no later than May 15 in the even-numbered year in every biennium thereafter, that contains the information specified in sub. (3).

16.423(2)(b) (b) Beginning in the 2019-21 fiscal biennium, the secretary shall require that any state agency created after May 15, 2018, submit a report no later than the May 15 in the even-numbered year that first occurs after the state agency is created, and then no later than May 15 in the even-numbered year in every biennium thereafter, that contains the information specified in sub. (3).

16.423(3) (3) A report submitted under this section shall contain at least all of the following:

16.423(3)(a) (a) A description of each appropriation of the state agency.

16.423(3)(b) (b) For each appropriation of the state agency, an accounting of all expenditures in every quarter in each of the prior 3 fiscal years.

16.423(3)(c) (c) For each appropriation of the state agency, an analysis of whether the appropriation contributes to the mission of the state agency and whether the objectives of the appropriation justify its expenditures.

16.423(3)(d) (d) For each appropriation of the state agency, a determination of the minimum level of funding to achieve its objectives, but not to exceed the prior fiscal year’s base funding, and an accounting of its current funding.

16.423(3)(e) (e) A description of the state agency mission or guiding principles. If a state agency does not have an agency mission or guiding principles, the state agency shall adopt an agency mission or guiding principles and describe the mission or principles in the report.

16.423(3m) (3m) A report filed under this section shall be in a form that is consistent with the form used by a state agency that filed a base budget review report under s. 16.423, 2007 stats.

16.423 History History: 2017 a. 212; 2021 a. 238.

16.425 16.425 Summary of tax exemption devices.

16.425(1) (1) Declaration of policy. Because state policy objectives are sought and achieved by both governmental expenditures and tax exemption, and because both have an impact on the government’s capacity to lower tax rates or raise expenditures, both should receive regular comprehensive review by the governor and the legislature in the budgetary process. This section seeks to facilitate such comprehensive review by providing for the generation of information concerning tax exemptions and other similar devices comparable to expenditure information.

16.425(2) (2) Definition. For the purposes of this section “tax exemption device” means any tax provision which exempts, in whole or in part, certain persons, income, goods, services, or property from the impact of established taxes, including, but not limited because of failure of enumeration, to those devices known as tax deductions, tax allowances, tax exclusions, tax credits and tax exemptions.

16.425(3) (3) Report on tax exemption devices. The department of revenue shall, in each even-numbered year on the date prescribed for it by the secretary, furnish to the secretary a report detailing the approximate costs in lost revenue, the policy purposes and to the extent possible, indicators of effectiveness in achieving such purposes, for all state tax exemption devices, including those based on the internal revenue code, in effect at the time of the report. The report need relate only to chs. 71, 76 and 77 tax exemption devices and to property tax exemptions for which reports are required under s. 70.337. The report shall be prepared in such a manner as to facilitate the making of comparisons with the information reported in s. 16.46 (1) to (6).

16.425 History History: 1973 c. 90; 1981 c. 20; 1983 a. 27; 1991 a. 39; 1993 a. 490.

16.43 16.43 Budget compiled. The secretary shall compile and submit to the governor or the governor-elect and to each person elected to serve in the legislature during the next biennium, not later than November 20 of each even-numbered year, a compilation giving all of the data required by s. 16.46 to be included in the state budget report, except the recommendations of the governor and the explanation thereof. The secretary shall not include in the compilation any provision for the development or implementation of an information technology development project for an executive branch agency that is not consistent with the strategic plan of the agency, as approved under s. 16.976. The secretary may distribute the budget compilation in printed or optical disc format.

16.43 History History: 1977 c. 29; 1981 c. 20; 2001 a. 16; 2003 a. 33; 2005 a. 25; 2015 a. 196.

16.44 16.44 Budget hearings. After the filing of the compilation required under s. 16.43, the governor or governor-elect shall consider all requests and all other information which may be of value in understanding the issues and problems to be dealt with in the executive budget. The governor or governor-elect may hold public hearings determined to be necessary to gather further information from agencies, interested citizens and others. The department of administration and all other agencies shall cooperate fully with the governor or governor-elect in providing information and analyses as requested.

16.44 History History: 1973 c. 333; 1977 c. 196 s. 130 (3); 1977 c. 273.

16.45 16.45 Budget message to legislature. In each regular session of the legislature, the governor shall deliver the budget message to the 2 houses in joint session assembled. Unless a later date is requested by the governor and approved by the legislature in the form of a joint resolution, the budget message shall be delivered on or before the last Tuesday in January of the odd-numbered year. With the message the governor shall transmit to the legislature, as provided in ss. 16.46 and 16.47, the biennial state budget report and the executive budget bill or bills together with suggestions for the best methods for raising the needed revenues. The governor may distribute the biennial state budget report in printed or optical disc format or post the biennial state budget report on the Internet, except that, if requested by a member of the legislature, the governor shall provide the member with a printed copy of the biennial state budget report.

16.45 History History: 1971 c. 2; 1973 c. 333; 1987 a. 4, 186; 1993 a. 16; 2005 a. 25; 2009 a. 28; 2015 a. 196.

16.46 16.46 Biennial budget, contents. The biennial state budget report shall be prepared by the secretary, under the direction of the governor, and a copy of a budget-in-brief thereof shall be furnished to each member of the legislature or posted on the Internet on the day of the delivery of the budget message. The biennial state budget report shall be furnished to each member of the legislature or posted on the Internet on the same day. If requested by a member of the legislature, the governor shall provide the member with a printed copy of the budget-in-brief and the biennial state budget report. The biennial state budget report shall contain the following information:

16.46(1) (1) A summary of the actual and estimated receipts of the state government in all operating funds under existing laws during the current and the succeeding bienniums, classified so as to show the receipts by funds, organization units and sources of income.

16.46(2) (2) A summary of the actual and estimated disbursements of the state government from all operating funds during the current biennium and of the requests of agencies and the recommendations of the governor for the succeeding biennium.

16.46(3) (3) A statement showing the condition of all operating funds of the treasury at the close of the preceding fiscal year and the estimated condition at the close of the current year.

16.46(4) (4) A statement showing how the total estimated disbursements during each year of the succeeding biennium compare with the estimated receipts, and the additional revenues, if any, needed to defray the estimated expenses of the state.

16.46(5) (5) A statement of the actual and estimated receipts and disbursements of each department and of all state aids and activities during the current biennium, the departmental estimates and requests, and the recommendations of the governor for the succeeding biennium. Estimates of expenditures shall be classified to set forth such expenditures by funds, organization units, appropriation, object and activities at the discretion of the secretary.

16.46(5g) (5g) A summary of the information submitted to the department by state agencies under s. 16.423.

16.46(5m) (5m) A statement of estimated general purpose revenue receipts and expenditures in the biennium following the succeeding biennium based on recommendations in the budget bill or bills.

16.46(6) (6) Any explanatory matter which in the judgment of the governor or the secretary will facilitate the understanding by the members of the legislature of the state financial condition and of the budget requests and recommendations.

16.46(7) (7) The report of the department of revenue prepared under s. 16.425, together with the purposes and approximate costs in lost revenue of each new or changed tax exemption device provided in the proposed budget. This information shall be integrated with the rest of the information in this section in such a manner as to facilitate to the fullest extent possible, direct comparisons between expenditure information and tax exemption device information, as defined in s. 16.425.

16.46(8) (8) The estimate of the department of revenue under s. 73.03 (36).

16.46(9) (9) A comparison of the state’s budgetary surplus or deficit according to generally accepted accounting principles, as reported in any audited financial report prepared by the department for the most recent fiscal year, and the estimated change in the surplus or deficit based on recommendations in the biennial budget bill or bills. For the purpose of this calculation, the secretary shall increase or decrease the surplus or deficit by the amount designated as “Gross Balances” that appears in the 2nd year of the biennium in the summary in s. 20.005 (1), as published in the biennial budget bill or bills.

16.46 History History: 1971 c. 125; 1973 c. 90; 1977 c. 196 s. 130 (3); 1979 c. 34; 1981 c. 20; 1983 a. 27; 1989 a. 335; 1993 a. 16; 1999 a. 83; 2001 a. 16, 109; 2005 a. 25; 2009 a. 28; 2017 a. 212.

16.461 16.461 Biennial budget, summary of funds. After the governor has submitted all budget recommendations, the secretary shall prepare a summary of the recommendations of all funds, to be distributed to the members of the legislature.

16.465 16.465 Budget stabilization fund reallocations. The secretary may reallocate moneys in the budget stabilization fund to other funds in the manner provided in s. 20.002 (11). No interest may be assessed to the general fund on account of such a reallocation.

16.465 History History: 1985 a. 120.

16.47 16.47 Budget bill.

16.47(1) (1) Except as provided in s. 16.529 (2), the executive budget bill or bills shall incorporate the governor’s recommendations for appropriations for the succeeding biennium. The appropriation method shown in the bill or bills shall in no way affect the amount of detail or manner of presentation which may be requested by the joint committee on finance. Appropriation requests may be divided into 3 allotments: personal services, other operating expenses and capital outlay or such other meaningful classifications as may be approved by the joint committee on finance.

16.47(1m) (1m) Immediately after the delivery of the budget message, the budget bill or bills shall be introduced without change into either house by the joint finance committee and when introduced shall be referred to that committee.

16.47(2) (2) No bill containing an appropriation or increasing the cost of state government or decreasing state revenues in an annual amount exceeding $10,000 shall be passed by either house until the budget bill has passed both houses; except that the governor or the joint committee on finance may recommend such bills to the presiding officer of either house, in writing, for passage and the legislature may enact them, and except that the senate or assembly committee on organization may recommend to the presiding officer of its respective house any such bill not affecting state finances by more than $100,000 biennially. Such bills shall be accompanied by a statement to the effect that they are emergency bills recommended by the governor, the joint committee on finance, or the senate or assembly committee on organization. Such statement by the governor or joint committee on finance shall be sufficient to permit passage prior to the budget bill. Such statement by the senate or assembly committee on organization shall be effective only to permit passage by its respective house.

16.47 History History: 1971 c. 125; 1979 c. 34, 221; 1981 c. 20; 1983 a. 27; 1987 a. 4; 2003 a. 33.

16.48 16.48 Unemployment reserve financial statement.

16.48(1) (1) No later than May 31 of each even-numbered year, the secretary of workforce development shall prepare and furnish to the governor, the speaker of the assembly, the minority leader of the assembly, the majority and minority leaders of the senate, and the council on unemployment insurance, a statement of unemployment insurance financial outlook, which shall contain all of the following, together with the secretary’s recommendations and an explanation for such recommendations:

16.48(1)(am) (am) Projections of unemployment insurance operations under current law through at least the 2nd year following the close of the biennium, including benefit payments, tax collections, borrowing or debt repayments and amounts of interest charges, if any.

16.48(1)(bm) (bm) Specific proposed changes, if any, in the laws relating to unemployment insurance financing, benefits, and administration.

16.48(1)(c) (c) Projections specified in par. (am) under the proposed laws.

16.48(1)(d) (d) The economic and public policy assumptions upon which the projections are based, and the impact upon the projections of variations from those assumptions.

16.48(1)(e) (e) If significant cash reserves in the unemployment reserve fund are projected throughout the forecast period, a statement giving the reasons why the reserves should be retained in the fund.

16.48(1)(f) (f) If unemployment insurance program debt is projected at the end of the forecast period, the methods proposed to liquidate the debt.

16.48(3) (3) Biennially, no later than January 31 of each even-numbered year, the secretary of workforce development shall submit to the governor, the speaker of the assembly, the minority leader of the assembly, the majority and minority leaders of the senate, and the council on unemployment insurance the statement of unemployment insurance financial outlook prepared under sub. (1), together with a report that summarizes the deliberations of the council and the position of the council regarding any proposed change to the unemployment insurance laws submitted under sub. (1).

16.48(4) (4) The department shall post the most recent version of the statement prepared under sub. (1) and the most recent version of the report prepared under sub. (3) on the department’s Internet site.

16.48 History History: 1983 a. 388; 1995 a. 27 s. 9130 (4); 1997 a. 3, 39; 2013 a. 36; 2021 a. 231.

16.50 16.50 Departmental estimates.

16.50(1) (1) Expenditures.

16.50(1)(a) (a) Each department except the legislature and the courts shall prepare and submit to the secretary an estimate of the amount of money which it proposes to expend, encumber or distribute under any appropriation in ch. 20. The department of administration shall prepare and submit estimates for expenditures from appropriations under ss. 20.855, 20.865, 20.866 and 20.867. The secretary may waive the submission of estimates of other than administrative expenditures from such funds as he or she determines, but the secretary shall not waive submission of estimates for expenditure of any amount designated as a refund of an expenditure under s. 20.001 (5). Estimates shall be prepared in such form, at such times and for such time periods as the secretary requires. Revised and supplemental estimates may be presented at any time under rules promulgated by the secretary.

16.50(1)(b) (b) This subsection does not apply to appropriations under ss. 20.255 (2) (ac), 20.835, and 20.865 (4).

16.50(2) (2) Action thereon by secretary. The secretary shall examine each such estimate to determine whether appropriations are available therefor and expenditures under the appropriations can be made without incurring danger of exhausting the appropriations before the end of the appropriation period and whether there will be sufficient revenue to meet such contemplated expenditures except as provided in sub. (7). The secretary also shall examine each estimate to assure as nearly as possible that the proposed plan of program execution reflects the intentions of the joint committee on finance, legislature and governor, as expressed by them in the budget determinations. If satisfied that such estimate meets these tests, the secretary shall approve the estimate; otherwise he or she shall disapprove the estimate, in whole or in part, as the facts require. If the secretary is satisfied that an estimate for any period is more than sufficient for the execution of the normal functions of a department, he or she may modify or withhold approval of the estimate. This section shall be strictly construed by the secretary to the end that such budget determinations and policy decisions reflected by such determinations be implemented to the fullest extent possible within the concepts of proper management.

16.50(3) (3) Limitation of force and salaries.

16.50(3)(a) (a) No department, except the legislature or the courts, may increase the pay of any employee, expend money, or incur any obligation except in accordance with the estimate that is submitted to the secretary as provided in sub. (1) and approved by the secretary or the governor.

16.50(3)(b) (b) No change in the number of full-time equivalent positions authorized through the biennial budget process or other legislative act may be made without the approval of the joint committee on finance, except for position changes made by the governor under s. 16.505 (1) (c), (2), or (2j), by the investment board under s. 16.505 (2g), or by the board of regents of the University of Wisconsin System under s. 16.505 (2m) or (2p).