2019 - 2020 LEGISLATURE
2019 Assembly BILL 855
February 3, 2020 - Introduced by Representatives Loudenbeck, Kitchens, Tusler,
Plumer, Novak, Born, Krug, Ballweg, Oldenburg, Quinn, Kurtz, Petersen,
Pronschinske, Rodriguez, Zimmerman, Steffen, Knodl, Dittrich,
Skowronski, Wittke, VanderMeer, Snyder, Murphy, Tranel, Duchow,
Katsma and Petryk. Referred to Committee on Forestry, Parks and Outdoor
Recreation.
AB855,1,11 1An Act to repeal 23.09 (2p), 23.092 (5), 23.094 (4), 23.175 (3) (b) 2., 23.29 (3) and
223.293 (5); to renumber and amend 23.0917 (5g) (b); to consolidate,
3renumber and amend
23.175 (3) (b) (intro.) and 1.; to amend 20.866 (2) (ta),
420.866 (2) (tw), 23.09 (2r) (a), 23.0915 (2c) (d), 23.0917 (3) (a), 23.0917 (3) (br)
52., 23.0917 (4) (a), 23.0917 (4) (d) 2r., 23.0917 (4j) (b), 23.0917 (5g) (a), 23.0917
6(12), 23.0953 (2) (a) (intro.), 23.096 (2m) (intro.), 23.29 (1), 23.29 (2), 23.29 (11),
723.293 (4) and 70.58 (1); and to create 23.0917 (3) (am), 23.0917 (3) (dm) 8.,
823.0917 (4) (d) 1m. f., 23.0917 (5g) (b) 2., 23.0953 (2) (c), 25.29 (7) (c), 25.29 (7)
9(d) and 28.043 of the statutes; relating to: the ending date of the Warren
10Knowles-Gaylord Nelson Stewardship 2000 Program and granting bonding
11authority.
Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau
This bill reauthorizes the Warren Knowles-Gaylord Nelson Stewardship 2000
Program until 2030 and makes some changes to it.
Current law authorizes the state to incur public debt for certain conservation
activities under the stewardship, which is administered by the Department of

Natural Resources. The state may incur this debt to acquire land for the state for
conservation purposes and for property development activities and may award
grants to others to acquire land for these purposes. Current law establishes the
amounts that DNR may obligate in each fiscal year through fiscal year 2021-22 for
expenditure under each of five subprograms of the stewardship program.
This bill reauthorizes the stewardship program until fiscal year 2029-30. For
fiscal years through 2021-22, the bill maintains at $33,250,000 the amount that
DNR may obligate under the program each fiscal year, and for fiscal years beginning
with 2022-23 and ending in 2029-30 the bill sets this amount at $21,000,000. The
bill increases to $1,214,250,000 the total amount of public debt that the state may
contract under the program.
Beginning in fiscal year 2022-23, the bill reduces the amount DNR may
obligate under the land acquisition subprogram from $21,000,000 to $9,000,000 and
eliminates requirements that DNR set aside $5,000,000 for grants awarded to
counties for land acquisition and certain amounts for DNR to acquire land and to
match grants DNR receives under the federal forest legacy program. The bill
maintains the requirement that DNR set aside, in each fiscal year, $1,000,000 for the
department to acquire land for the ice age trail and $7,000,000 for grants awarded
to nonprofit conservation organizations (NCOs).
Beginning in fiscal year 2022-23, the bill also reduces from $9,750,000 to
$9,500,000 the amount DNR may obligate for the property development and local
assistance subprogram.
This bill provides that, in each fiscal year beginning in 2022-23, DNR set aside
$5,000,000 to acquire forest land and $5,000,000 for grants to counties to acquire
land for county forests from certain amounts transferred from the general fund to the
conservation fund. 2017 Wisconsin Act 59 eliminated the forestation state property
tax, and replaced it with this annual transfer from the general fund to the
conservation fund of an amount equal to 0.1697 mills for each dollar of assessed
valuation of property. Under current law, DNR must use this amount for forest
acquisition, preservation, and development.
Under current law, DNR's authority to acquire land is limited to a specified set
of purposes, including such purposes as state parks, state forests, state trails, stream
bank protection, and habitat areas and fisheries. Current law generally limits
DNR's acquisition of land and awarding of grants for land acquisition under the land
acquisition subprogram of the stewardship program to this set of purposes as well.
This bill allows DNR to acquire or award a grant for the acquisition of a parcel of
agricultural land under the land acquisition subprogram for the purpose of leasing
a portion of it to any person for agricultural purposes if the remainder of the parcel
is used for one of the allowable purposes.
Under current law, in each fiscal year ending in 2019-20, if DNR does not
obligate an amount authorized for a stewardship subprogram in a fiscal year, it may
not adjust the annual bonding authority for that subprogram by raising the annual
bonding authority for the next fiscal year. Under this bill, this restriction applies
again beginning in fiscal year 2022-23.

Under the land acquisition subprogram, DNR may award grants to counties to
acquire land for county forests, or for projects that promote nature-based outdoor
recreation or conservation and for which DNR is requesting the county's assistance
(county grants). Under the bill, a county is not eligible for a county grant if the
number of acres of public land in the county that are used for nature conservation
purposes constitutes 20 percent or more of the number of acres in the county.
Under current law, one exception to the prohibition on obligating unobligated
amounts under the stewardship program is that, if in a given fiscal year the amount
that DNR obligates to provide grants to NCOs is less than the amount set aside for
that purpose under the land acquisition subprogram, DNR may obligate the
unobligated amount in the next fiscal year but only for the purpose of awarding a
county grant. Under this bill, beginning with fiscal year 2022-23, this unobligated
amount may only be obligated for the purpose of awarding a grant to a governmental
unit under the property development and local assistance subprogram.
This bill eliminates current law provisions that require DNR, if it receives a
donation of land for state parks, state trails, habitat areas, stream bank protection,
the natural areas heritage program, or the ice age trail, to determine the value of the
donated land and release an equal amount of stewardship moneys to be used for the
same project or similar activities.
For further information see the state fiscal estimate, which will be printed as
an appendix to this bill.
The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do
enact as follows:
AB855,1 1Section 1. 20.866 (2) (ta) of the statutes, as affected by 2019 Wisconsin Act 9,
2is amended to read:
AB855,4,73 20.866 (2) (ta) Natural resources; Warren Knowles-Gaylord Nelson
4stewardship 2000 program.
From the capital improvement fund a sum sufficient for
5the Warren Knowles-Gaylord Nelson stewardship 2000 program under s. 23.0917.
6The state may contract public debt in an amount not to exceed $1,046,250,000
7$1,214,250,000 for this program. The state may contract additional public debt in
8an amount up to $42,600,000 for this program. Except as provided in s. 23.0917 (4g)
9(b), (4m) (k), (5), (5g), and (5m), the amounts obligated, as defined in s. 23.0917 (1)
10(e), under this paragraph may not exceed $46,000,000 in fiscal year 2000-01, may
11not exceed $46,000,000 in fiscal year 2001-02, may not exceed $60,000,000 in each

1fiscal year beginning with fiscal year 2002-03 and ending with fiscal year 2009-10,
2may not exceed $86,000,000 in fiscal year 2010-11, may not exceed $60,000,000 in
3fiscal year 2011-12, may not exceed $60,000,000 in fiscal year 2012-13, may not
4exceed $47,500,000 in fiscal year 2013-14, may not exceed $54,500,000 in fiscal year
52014-15, and may not exceed $33,250,000 in each fiscal year beginning with 2015-16
6and ending with fiscal year 2021-22, and may not exceed $21,000,000 in each fiscal
7year beginning with 2022-23 and ending with 2029-30
.
AB855,2 8Section 2 . 20.866 (2) (tw) of the statutes is amended to read: