Chapter 85

85.20(4m)(em) (em) The sum of the state aid allocations made to each applicant under par. (a) may not exceed any of the following:

85.20(4m)(em)1. 1. An amount equal to the same percentage of the audited operating expenses for the project year of the applicant’s urban mass transit system that is specified for allocations to the applicant under par. (a) 6. to 8.

85.20(4m)(em)2. 2. The nonfederal share of the audited operating deficit for the project year of the applicant’s urban mass transit system.

85.20(4m)(em)3. 3. Five times the amount of an eligible applicant’s required local contribution under par. (b) 1.

85.20(4m)(er) (er) Eligible applicants shall repay the department any overpayments in state aids under this section which are made because of differences between projected financial data and audited financial data or because of differences between projected financial data and contract compliance audits.

85.20(4m)(f) (f) If more than one local public body contributes assistance to the operation of an urban mass transit system, the state aids allocated under this section shall be distributed among the contributors in accordance with any cost-sharing agreement that is filed with the department. If no agreement is filed, the aids shall be distributed among the contributors in proportion to their contributions.

85.20(4r) (4r) Expansion of service. An eligible applicant shall notify the department if the eligible applicant anticipates receiving new or expanded services provided by an urban mass transit system in a manner that will increase operating expenses. The eligible applicant shall provide the notice during the calendar year preceding the calendar year in which the new or expanded services will first be provided. The notice shall include an estimate of the projected annual operating expenses of the new or expanded services.

85.20(4s) (4s) Payment of aids under the contract. The contracts executed between the department and eligible applicants under this section shall provide that the payment of the state aid allocation under sub. (4m) (a) for the last quarter of the state’s fiscal year shall be provided from the following fiscal year’s appropriation under s. 20.395 (1) (hb), (hc), (hd), (he), or (hf).

85.20(5) (5) Regulation. For such time as any urban mass transit system participates in this program, it shall be exempt from regulation under ch. 194.

85.20(6) (6) Planning requirements. As a condition of eligibility to receive state aids, an applicant is required to do all of the following:

85.20(6)(a) (a) Annually prepare and submit to the department a 4-year transit development program, in the form and manner prescribed by the department. The rules adopted to implement this paragraph and par. (b) shall be compatible with applicable federal regulations.

85.20(6)(b) (b) Establish multiyear service and performance goals and assess the effectiveness of its mass transit system in relation to those goals at intervals specified by the department by rule.

85.20(6)(c) (c) Disclose to the department the amount of federal aid over which the eligible applicant has spending discretion and that the eligible applicant intends to apply towards operating expenses for a calendar year.

85.20(6m) (6m) Local segregated account required.

85.20(6m)(a) (a) Notwithstanding sub. (4m), the department may not pay state aid under this section to an eligible applicant unless the eligible applicant does all of the following:

85.20(6m)(a)1. 1. Establishes and administers a separate segregated account from which moneys may be used only for purposes related to a mass transit system.

85.20(6m)(a)2. 2. Deposits in the account established under subd. 1. all moneys received from this state and from the federal government for a mass transit system.

85.20(6m)(b) (b) If an eligible applicant does not meet the requirements under par. (a) at the time that aid should be paid under this section, the aid payment may be forfeited.

85.20(6m)(c) (c) Rules implementing this subsection may not require any eligible applicant to do any of the following:

85.20(6m)(c)1. 1. Pay expenses related to law enforcement using moneys from an account established under this subsection.

85.20(6m)(c)2. 2. Maintain separate checking accounts to implement this subsection, if the eligible applicant implements this subsection by segregating revenues and expenditures described in this subsection in the eligible applicant’s bookkeeping system.

85.20(7) (7) Cost-efficiency standards.

85.20(7)(a) (a) The department shall establish cost-efficiency standards for the urban mass transit system specified in sub. (4m) (a) 6. to 8. The contracts executed between the department and eligible applicants under this section for any period beginning on or after January 1, 1997, shall provide that the department may do any of the following if costs are incurred by the eligible applicant’s urban mass transit system which are inconsistent with the standards established under this subsection:

85.20(7)(a)1. 1. Exclude those costs from operating expenses for purposes of sub. (4m).

85.20(7)(a)2. 2. Reduce the amount of state aid allocation under sub. (4m) (a).

85.20(7)(b) (b) The department shall specify by rule the cost-efficiency standards under this subsection, including rules for the implementation of par. (a) 1. and 2.

85.20(7)(c) (c) Beginning with contracts for aid payable for calendar year 2000, the department may not enter into a contract for payment of state aids under sub. (4m) unless the rules promulgated under this subsection are in effect and unless the contract requires the urban mass transit system to comply with those rules as a condition of receiving aid under sub. (4m).

85.20(8) (8) Fully allocated cost bidding. If a local public body solicits bids to contract for services, the bids of a publicly owned urban mass transit system shall use a fully allocated cost methodology established by the department by rule. The fully allocated cost methodology shall do all of the following:

85.20(8)(a) (a) Be based on generally accepted accounting principles.

85.20(8)(b) (b) Consider all shared costs and direct costs of the mass transit system that are related to and support the service being considered. A publicly owned urban mass transit system’s costs include all subsidies provided to the system, including operating subsidies, capital grants and the use of public facilities.

85.20(8)(c) (c) Assign each cost of a publicly owned urban mass transit system to one of the following categories:

85.20(8)(c)1. 1. Costs that depend on the number of vehicle hours operated, including operators’ salaries and fringe benefits.

85.20(8)(c)2. 2. Costs that depend on the number of vehicle miles traveled, including fuel costs, maintenance costs and maintenance personnel salaries and fringe benefits.

85.20(8)(c)3. 3. Costs that depend on the maximum number of vehicles that are in service during the day, including administrative and capital costs.

85.20(9) (9) Prohibited expenditures. An eligible applicant may not use aids provided under this section for any purpose related to the operation of a rail fixed guideway transportation system, as defined in s. 85.066 (1), in a 1st class city.

85.20 History History: 1973 c. 90, 333; 1975 c. 39; 1977 c. 29; 1979 c. 34 ss. 911p, 911r, 2102 (52) (a); 1979 c. 110 s. 60 (11); 1981 c. 20 ss. 1202 to 1207, 1232 to 1233; Stats. 1981 s. 85.20; 1983 a. 27; 1985 a. 29; 1987 a. 27, 399; 1989 a. 31; 1991 a. 39, 239; 1993 a. 16, 279; 1995 a. 113, 201; 1997 a. 27; 1999 a. 9; 1999 a. 150 ss. 626, 672; 2001 a. 4, 16, 38; 2003 a. 33; 2005 a. 25; 2007 a. 20; 2009 a. 28; 2011 a. 32; 2013 a. 20; 2017 a. 59; 2019 a. 9; 2021 a. 58; 2023 a. 19.

85.20 Cross-reference Cross-reference: See also chs. Trans 3, 4, 6, and 8, Wis. adm. code.

85.205 85.205 Paratransit aids.

85.205(1) (1) Definitions. In this section:

85.205(1)(a) (a) “Eligible applicant” has the meaning given in s. 85.20 (1) (b).

85.205(1)(b) (b) “Paratransit service” means comparable transportation service required by the federal Americans with Disabilities Act for individuals with disabilities who are unable to use fixed route transportation services.

85.205(1)(c) (c) “Urban mass transit system” has the meaning given in s. 85.20 (1) (L).

85.205(2) (2) Administration.

85.205(2)(a) (a) From the appropriation under s. 20.395 (1) (hq), the department shall provide aid payments to eligible applicants that receive state aid payments under s. 85.20 (4m) and that are served by an urban mass transit system that provides paratransit service to assist those eligible applicants in providing paratransit service.

85.205(2)(b) (b) In awarding grants under par. (a), the department shall do all of the following:

85.205(2)(b)1. 1. Maximize the level of paratransit service provided by urban mass transit systems serving eligible applicants.

85.205(2)(b)2. 2. Give priority to eligible applicants for maintaining paratransit service provided by urban mass transit systems on July 1, 2011.

85.205 History History: 2011 a. 32.

85.21 85.21 Specialized transportation assistance program for counties.

85.21(1) (1) Purpose. The purpose of this section is to promote the general public health and welfare by providing financial assistance to counties providing transportation services for seniors and individuals with disabilities, and to thereby improve and promote the maintenance of human dignity and self-sufficiency by affording the benefits of transportation services to those people who would not otherwise have an available or accessible method of transportation.

85.21(2) (2) Definitions. In this section:

85.21(2)(a) (a) “Copayment” means the fee imposed on a person for the use of the specialized transportation service.

85.21(2)(b) (b) “County proportionate share” means the amount allocated to a county under this section which is based on the total amount appropriated for purposes of this section during the current fiscal year multiplied by the ratio of the number of seniors and individuals with disabilities in the county to the total number of seniors and individuals with disabilities in this state and which provides for a minimum base amount for each county, as determined by the department.

85.21(2)(c) (c) “Designated service area” means that area to be provided specialized transportation service for any fiscal year.

85.21(2)(e) (e) “Eligible applicant” means any county or agency thereof.

85.21(2)(f) (f) “Human service vehicle” has the meaning given in s. 340.01 (23g).

85.21(2)(fg) (fg) “Individual with a disability” means any individual who, because of any temporary or permanent physical or mental condition or institutional residence is unable without special facilities or special planning or design to use available transportation facilities and services as effectively as individuals who are not so affected.

85.21(2)(ft) (ft) “Senior” means any individual age 65 or over.

85.21(2)(g) (g) “Specialized transportation service” means a transportation system, either publicly or privately owned, which provides to seniors or individuals with disabilities general or special service on a regular and continuing basis in a designated service area.

85.21(3) (3) Administration. The department shall administer the specialized transportation service assistance program and shall have all the powers necessary and convenient to implement this section, including the following powers:

85.21(3)(a) (a) To receive and review county plans for specialized transportation service assistance under this section and to prescribe the form, nature and extent of the information which shall be contained in the county plans. County plans may also include specialized transportation services to persons age 55 or over.

85.21(3)(b) (b) To determine the county proportionate share in accordance with a generally accepted statistical methodology and practice.

85.21(3)(c) (c) To make and execute contracts with counties to ensure the provision of specialized transportation service. Payments under such contracts to eligible applicants shall not exceed the county proportionate share, except as supplemented under par. (e) or (f). A contract under this section shall require the county to make a matching contribution of 20 percent of the contract amount and to furnish information determined necessary by the department for periodic program monitoring and year-end auditing and evaluation. A contract may permit a county to hold aids received under this section on or after July 2, 1983, in trust, according to rules promulgated by the department, for the purpose of providing services authorized under this section or of acquiring or maintaining equipment used for services authorized under this section or both. All aids held in trust, as well as any accumulated interest, not expended for the authorized purposes, shall be returned to the department for deposit in the transportation fund. Nothing in this paragraph entitles a county to any investment interest accumulated prior to the time the aid payment is actually received by the county.

85.21(3)(e) (e) If any county fails to apply to the department for its entire county proportionate share by January 1 of any fiscal year, the department may distribute the remaining amount by supplemental application and supplemental contract with other counties.

85.21(3)(f) (f) Notwithstanding the determination of county proportionate share under par. (b), to make supplemental payments under contracts to eligible applicants under this section. The department shall make supplemental payments under this paragraph to ensure that payments to any eligible applicant for calendar year 1994 and for each calendar year thereafter are at least equal to payments made to the eligible applicant for calendar year 1992.

85.21(3m) (3m) Service prohibitions.

85.21(3m)(b) (b) Notwithstanding ss. 111.321, 111.322, and 111.335, and subject to par. (bm), no specialized transportation service that is operated by a county or that contracts with a county for services under this section may do any of the following:

85.21(3m)(b)4. 4. Employ as an operator of a human service vehicle any person who the specialized transportation service knows or should have known does not meet the requirements for a school bus endorsement specified under s. 343.12 (7) and (8) and any rule established by the department under s. 343.12 (7) and (8).

85.21(3m)(b)5. 5. Employ as an operator of a human service vehicle any person who the specialized transportation service knows or should have known does not possess a valid operator’s license issued under ch. 343 or by another jurisdiction that authorizes the operation of any human service vehicle to be operated by that operator.

85.21(3m)(b)7. 7. Employ as an operator of a human service vehicle any person for whom the specialized transportation service has not obtained an operating record as required under par. (dm).

85.21(3m)(b)10. 10. Employ as an operator of a human service vehicle any person who has not, within the previous 24 months, been fully trained in the proper use of all passenger restraint systems available in the human service vehicle operated by that operator.

85.21(3m)(bm) (bm) Notwithstanding par. (b) 4. and 7., a specialized transportation service that is operated by a county or that contracts with a county for services under this section may employ as an operator of a human service vehicle any person holding a valid school bus endorsement under s. 343.12 that was issued or renewed within 4 years prior to employment.

85.21(3m)(d) (d) Notwithstanding ss. 111.321, 111.322, and 111.335, prior to employing any person, other than a person holding a valid school bus endorsement under s. 343.12 that was issued or renewed within 4 years prior to employment, as an operator, a specialized transportation service shall obtain from the records maintained by the department of justice, and the department of justice shall provide, a criminal history search of the person. Notwithstanding ss. 111.321, 111.322, and 111.335, if the person who is the subject of the criminal history search is not a resident of this state, or if at any time within the 3 years preceding the date of the search that person has not been a resident of this state, the specialized transportation service shall make a good faith effort to obtain promptly from any state in which the person is a resident, or was a resident within the 3 years preceding the date of the search, information that is equivalent to a criminal history.

85.21(3m)(dm) (dm)

85.21(3m)(dm)1. 1. Every specialized transportation service that is operated by a county or that contracts with a county for services under this section shall, prior to employing any person, other than a person holding a valid school bus endorsement under s. 343.12 that was issued or renewed within the previous 4 years, as an operator of a human service vehicle, obtain the person’s operating record from the department under s. 343.24 or, if the operating record has already been obtained by another entity, from that entity if there are reasonable grounds to believe that the operating record obtained from that entity is accurate and was furnished by the department to that entity not more than 2 months previously.

85.21(3m)(dm)2. 2. No later than every 4 years, every specialized transportation service that is operated by a county or that contracts with a county for services under this section shall obtain, in the manner provided in subd. 1., an updated operating record for any person employed as an operator of a human service vehicle by the specialized transportation service.

85.21(4) (4) County plan provisions; copayments.

85.21(4)(a) (a) The county may establish the transportation of seniors and individuals with disabilities to medical, nutritional, and work-related activities as the priority for the specialized transportation services.

85.21(4)(b) (b) Specialized transportation services may at the discretion of the county be open to the general public on a space-available basis.

85.21(4)(c) (c)

85.21(4)(c)1. 1. The county shall either require a copayment by the user of the specialized transportation service or provide the user with an opportunity to make a voluntary contribution to the cost of the service.

85.21(4)(c)2. 2. The county shall establish the amount of copayment if copayment is required and shall recommend an amount for a voluntary contribution if an opportunity to make a voluntary contribution is provided. The county shall establish the method by which the copayment or voluntary contribution is collected from the user.

85.21(4)(c)3. 3. The county shall collect and incorporate into the county plan data regarding the purposes and activities for which individuals use the specialized transportation services.

85.21(4)(c)4. 4. A county may exempt a user from payment under subd. 1. if an emergency exists, if the user does not have the economic resources to make a payment or if the user is not competent to make a payment.

85.21(4)(d) (d) A county may not use aids provided under this section to support the regular route services of an urban mass transit system receiving state aids under s. 85.20. A county may use aids provided under this section to support subsystems of urban mass transit systems that provide special services to seniors or individuals with disabilities.

85.21 History History: 1981 c. 20 ss. 1220m, 1221, 1221m, 1233m, 1234; 1981 c. 93; 1983 a. 27, 189; 1985 a. 29; 1987 a. 27; 1991 a. 239; 1993 a. 16; 2003 a. 297, 327; 2005 a. 147, 438; 2015 a. 55; 2021 a. 240.

85.21 Cross-reference Cross-reference: See also ch. Trans 1, Wis. adm. code.

85.215 85.215 Tribal elderly transportation grant program. The department shall award grants to federally recognized American Indian tribes or bands to assist in providing transportation services for elderly persons. Grants awarded under this section shall be paid from the appropriation under s. 20.395 (1) (ck). The department shall prescribe the form, nature, and extent of the information that shall be contained in an application for a grant under this section. The department shall establish criteria for evaluating applications and for awarding grants under this section.

85.215 History History: 2009 a. 28.