3. Requires the district to issue a request for proposals before awarding certain contracts with an estimated cost exceeding $200,000 and to award contracts subject to this requirement based on specified criteria. These criteria are price; time for completion of work; qualifications and past performance of a contractor; contractor responsiveness; contractor eligibility in accordance with the request for proposals; the results of applicable inspections and tests; and performance standards established by the district board. Under current law, the district may enter into contracts subject to any standards established by the district board.

4. Provides that the district may enter into a lease only upon the affirmative vote of a majority of all members appointed to the district board and eligible to vote on the matter. Current law provides that such an action must be approved by 60 percent of the members voting on the matter.

5. During the term of any lease of baseball park facilities entered into by the district and the Milwaukee Brewers, requires the district to, at the district’s expense, contract with a facility management company or employ an executive director with expertise in managing and operating professional sports facilities and venues to manage and supervise the development, construction, improvement, repair, and maintenance of the baseball park facilities.

6. With certain exceptions, prohibits the district from initiating any capital project after 2045.

7. Requires the district to contract with the state investment board to invest funds held in the district’s segregated fund, as described below.

The bill requires the district to establish a baseball park facilities improvement fund (segregated fund) into which it must deposit the state grants, payments from or on behalf of Milwaukee County and the city of Milwaukee, certain payments from the Milwaukee Brewers, and certain moneys transferred from other existing funds of the district. Moneys from the segregated fund may be used only for the development, construction, improvement, repair, and maintenance of baseball park facilities, the performance of the district’s obligations under a lease agreement with the Milwaukee Brewers, lease negotiation costs, repayment of certain loans, and payment of certain insurance premiums. The bill specifies that, with certain exceptions, segregated fund moneys may not be expended after the Milwaukee Brewers notify the district that the team intends to terminate the lease agreement or the lease is otherwise terminated. In addition, segregated fund moneys may not be expended for the development, construction, improvement, repair, or maintenance of any physical structure that was not owned, operated, or leased by the district on the effective date of the bill.

Under the bill, the state grant required under the bill, as described further below, may not be awarded unless the secretary of administration determines that all of the following apply:

1. The district has entered into a customary lease arrangement with the Milwaukee Brewers that (a) has a standard term that expires no earlier than December 31, 2050; (b) requires the Milwaukee Brewers to separately make at least 27 annual deposits in the amounts of $300,000 and $1,851,852 into the segregated fund beginning in 2024; (c) requires the Milwaukee Brewers to additionally make at least 27 annual payments in the amounts of $1,208,401 to the district beginning in 2024; (d) requires the Milwaukee Brewers, or a third party on the team’s behalf, to make financial contributions in connection with the development, construction, improvement, repair, and maintenance of the baseball park facilities during the term of the lease in an amount that totals $50,000,000, of which $25,000,000 must be so contributed before January 1, 2037, and requires the team to regularly report to the district all expenditures of those moneys; and (e) requires the Milwaukee Brewers, upon expiration of the lease or termination of the lease as a result of breach by the team, to disclaim any interest in moneys of the segregated fund and, upon request of the district, convey and transfer to the district for consideration not to exceed $1 all of the team’s right and title to the baseball park facilities, except for certain ancillary improvements constructed or developed without financial contribution from the state or the district.

2. The district has entered into a nonrelocation agreement with the Milwaukee Brewers that generally requires the team to play all of its home games at the baseball park facilities and prohibits the team from relocating until expiration or termination of the lease according to its terms.

3. The district has contracted with a third party approved by a two-thirds vote of all members appointed to the district board and eligible to vote on the matter to represent the district in connection with negotiation of the lease and nonrelocation agreements described above.

Provided the district and the Milwaukee Brewers execute the lease and nonrelocation agreements described above, the bill requires DOA to award a grant to the district to assist in the development, construction, improvement, repair, and maintenance of baseball park facilities, consisting of the following:

1. $35,800,000 paid upon execution of the lease and nonrelocation agreements, which is intended to substantially equal the total estimated state income tax imposed in calendar years 2021, 2022, and 2023 on the payroll of the Milwaukee Brewers franchise and of visiting professional baseball franchises using the professional baseball park facilities.

2. The payment of an additional $25,000,000 upon execution of the lease and nonrelocation agreements for the purpose of winterizing the baseball park facilities.

3. Twenty-two consecutive annual payments beginning in 2024 of which the initial payment in 2024 must equal $13,400,000 and the amount of each subsequent annual payment must increase from the initial payment at the rate of 4 percent per year compounded annually, except that no such annual payment may exceed $20,000,000, and beginning on July 1, 2041, no annual payment may exceed $10,000,000. Additionally, no annual payment may be made after expiration or termination of the lease.

The bill also provides that for the next 27 years Milwaukee County must pay $5,000,000 and the city of Milwaukee must pay $2,500,000 annually into the segregated fund to assist in the development, construction, improvement, repair, and maintenance of the district’s baseball park facilities. If Milwaukee County or the city of Milwaukee fails to make the full amount of a required payment by July 1 of an applicable year, DOA must reduce the supplemental county and municipal aid payment to Milwaukee County or the city of Milwaukee, as applicable, for that year by the amount that is not paid and deposit that amount into the segregated fund.

The bill requires DOA to issue short-term loans to the district to assist in the development, construction, improvement, repair, and maintenance of baseball park facilities. Specifically, upon a majority vote of all members appointed to the district board and eligible to vote on the matter, DOA must promptly issue a loan to the district in the amount approved by the board. DOA may not issue more than a total of $50,000,000 in such loans, and interest on each loan accrues monthly at a rate equal to the state investment fund earnings rate during the immediately preceding month, as certified by the secretary of DOA.

Under the bill, the district is required to pay all interest accruing on each loan issued by DOA on a quarterly basis, and the outstanding balance of each loan must be paid no later than 15 years after the date of loan issuance or upon expiration or termination of the lease described above, whichever is earlier. The bill includes a quarterly reporting requirement to the Joint Committee on Finance regarding the loans and prohibits DOA from awarding a loan after December 31, 2045.

The bill exempts the following from the sales and use tax: 1) tangible personal property and taxable services sold to a district and 2) building materials, supplies, and equipment sold to owners, contractors, subcontractors, or builders solely for the improvement, repair, or maintenance of a professional sports and entertainment home stadium. Under current law, building materials, supplies, and equipment sold to owners, contractors, subcontractors, or builders solely for the construction, renovation, or development of a professional sports and entertainment home stadium are exempt from the sales and use tax.