April 5, 2021 - Introduced by Senators Bernier and Felzkowski, cosponsored by
Representatives James, Loudenbeck, Armstrong, Born, Cabral-Guevara,
Callahan, Duchow, Edming, Gundrum, Knodl, Krug, Moses, Mursau,
Oldenburg, Petryk, Plumer, Rozar, Snyder, Steffen, Swearingen, Tranel,
Vorpagel, Wittke and Zimmerman. Referred to Joint Committee on Finance.

SB273,1,5 1An Act to renumber and amend 323.29 (3) (a); and to create 323.29 (3) (a) 2.
2and 323.29 (3) (b) 3. of the statutes; relating to: allocation of federal American
3Rescue Plan Act of 2021 funds for a statewide public safety interoperable
4communication system, emergency services IP network contracts, a geographic
5information systems database, and psychiatric treatment beds.

Under current law, the Department of Military Affairs provides staff support
for the Interoperability Council and is charged with overseeing the development and
operation of a statewide public safety interoperable communication system, which
is a system that allows various public safety entities, public works and
transportation agencies, hospitals, and volunteer emergency services agencies to
communicate via radio or other communication technology in an emergency.

The bill provides that DMA must also administer any current or future
statewide public safety interoperable communication system, and allows DMA to
enter into agreements for maintenance and support of, upgrades to, and
enhancements for the statewide public safety interoperable communication system.
The bill also provides that of the money the governor accepts from the federal
government under the federal American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, the governor shall
allocate $33,000,000 for the development of an updated statewide public safety
interoperable communication system.

Under current law, DMA must contract for the creation, operation, and
maintenance of an emergency services IP network to provide all public safety
answering points with the necessary infrastructure to implement Next Generation
911.

The bill provides that of the money the governor accepts from the federal
government under the federal American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, the governor shall
allocate $18,500,000 for emergency services IP network contracts.

The bill provides that of the money the governor accepts from the federal
government under the federal American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, the governor shall
allocate $1,700,000 to develop a statewide geographic information systems database.

This bill allows the Building Commission to award a grant to a hospital in Eau
Claire County, as specified in the bill, in the amount of $15,000,000 for the purpose
of expanding capacity by 22 psychiatric beds between the hospital in Eau Claire
County and a hospital in Chippewa County. The bill requires the governor to allocate
$15,000,000 of the funds accepted under the federal American Rescue Plan Act of
2021 for purposes of the grant. If the grant awarded under this bill is not used for
the purpose of expanding psychiatric bed capacity, the state retains an ownership
interest in the hospital's expansion equal to the amount of the state's grant.

Emergency detention is a current law procedure for temporary involuntary
commitment of individuals who are believed to be mentally ill, drug dependent, or
developmentally disabled and who demonstrate a substantial probability of causing
harm to themselves or others or an inability to satisfy certain basic needs due to a
mental illness. The hospital that is awarded the grant under the bill must do all of
the following: 1) give preference in admissions for the beds added under the bill to
individuals who meet the criteria for emergency detention and who are from one of
the counties specified in the bill; 2) identify measures it believes will serve the needs
of residents with mental health needs, especially in reducing the burden on the
Winnebago Mental Health Institute; 3) report annually to the legislature on the
services provided with grant moneys; and 4) recognize that it is liable to repay the
grant to the state if the hospital fails to maintain continued expanded services and
expanded numbers of psychiatric beds. The bill specifies that the determination of
whether the hospital is meeting its requirement to provide expanded services must
be based on findings that at least half of the expanded psychiatric beds are available
for individuals admitted for emergency detention and that the hospital enters into
agreements containing terms specified in the bill with at least two-thirds of the
specified counties.