AB910: Bill Text

LRB-4567/1

JTK/RAC/PG/GMM:jld&nwn:jf

2009 - 2010 LEGISLATURE

2009 Assembly BILL 910

March 29, 2010 - Introduced by Representatives Clark, Mason, Molepske Jr., Black, Pocan, Shilling, Hubler, Vruwink, Danou, Zigmunt, Hraychuck, Seidel, Roys, Dexter, Hixson, Hilgenberg, Richards, Smith, Young, Hebl, Pope-Roberts, Kessler, Milroy, Pasch, Berceau, Ziegelbauer and Turner, cosponsored by Senator Holperin. Referred to Joint Committee on Finance.

AB910,1,7 An Act to amend 16.22 (2) (h), 16.75 (1) (a) 1. and 24.80; and to create 15.105 (32), 16.24, 16.705 (1L), 16.705 (9), 16.71 (5s), 16.75 (13), 20.505 (4) (jm), 20.505 (4) (q), 20.505 (4) (qm), 66.0903 (5) (d), 66.0904 (5) (d) and 103.49 (3g) (d) of the statutes; relating to: establishment of a Wisconsin conservation corps program, extending the time limit for emergency rule procedures, providing an exemption from emergency rule procedures, granting rule-making authority, and making appropriations.

Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau

This bill creates a Wisconsin conservation corps (WCC) program that seeks to protect, enhance, and provide access to Wisconsin's natural heritage and encourage and enable young people to learn the value of work in a natural setting by providing employment training and career pathways. The bill also creates a WCC Board, which is the policy-making body of the WCC and is attached to the Department of Administration (DOA). The WCC Board consists of the secretary of natural resources or his or her designee; the executive secretary of the Board of Commissioners of Public Lands; two representatives to the assembly, appointed as are members of assembly standing committees; two senators, appointed as are members of senate standing committees; one member of a nongovernmental organization that has expertise in conservation matters or that represents employees who work in conservation activities, for a three-year term; and two members of the faculty employed by a technical college district board, appointed by the state Technical College System Board, for three-year terms.

The bill provides funding for the WCC program from the conservation fund, the state normal school fund (a state trust fund that derives revenue from federal land grants), and from program fees that the board may assess to sponsors of projects. Under the bill, DOA provides all staff services to the board and the board has no other staff. The bill directs the board to enter into an agreement with a nonprofit corporation that has demonstrated experience in natural resource conservation and youth training to manage and administer the WCC program. The manager then retains, trains, and supervises work crews to carry out each project. The manager also identifies, reviews, and recommends proposed projects for the approval of the board. The bill requires the board to ensure that projects are equally distributed across technical college districts to the greatest extent possible, and to ensure that at least one project is located in each technical college district in each year.

The bill provides that a project must be designed to carry out a specific goal within a defined period of time and must be focused on the conservation or enjoyment of natural resources and must have a specific, beneficial, physical effect. Projects may include new trail construction, trail rehabilitation, invasive species management, bridge and boardwalk construction, reforestation, timber stand improvement, stream bank stabilization, erosion control, rain garden installation, prairie restoration, historical site preservation, recreation site maintenance, wild land fire hazard reduction and fuels management, lake and stream restoration, boundary marking, fencing, landscaping, carpentry, and data collection for scientific research. The bill permits local governments or nonprofit corporations to submit applications to sponsor projects. A project application must identify the proposed project and provide a detailed plan for working on the project. In addition, the application must contain an enumeration of the number of work crews that will work on the project and a determination that work crew members would be eligible to participate in a youth corps program administered by the National and Community Service Board (NCSB) and other requirements under the WCC program, as well as a plan for training the work crew members, providing transportation to the project work sites, making available educational opportunities for work crew members while they are employed on the projects, for assisting work crew members in making full use of all benefits provided under such a youth corps program, and for visiting a technical college to familiarize the crew members with application and enrollment procedures, programs, and course offerings.

The bill provides that each work crew member on a WCC project must be between the ages of 18 and 25, and at least 50 percent of the work crew members on each project must have no postsecondary education and have a family income of not more than 200 percent of the federal poverty line on the date of their initial employment.

The bill provides that, if the board determines that an application is an appropriate WCC project and that work crew members would be eligible under the program, the board must jointly submit the application with the sponsor to NCSB for funding. If funding is provided by NCSB, the board must also make a grant to the sponsor to assist the sponsor in training the work crews.

The bill also directs NCSB, which utilizes federal and state funding to award grants to persons providing national and community service programs, to first allocate funding for grants to provide work for at least 240 participants in each fiscal year in youth corps programs provided by the WCC Board, to the extent that funding is available to NCSB and NCSB receives valid applications for the grants. Currently, NCSB is directed only to give priority in awarding grants, to the greatest extent practicable, to persons providing youth corps programs.

The bill requires each sponsor of a WCC project to do both of the following: upon completion of the project, erect a permanent plaque at each work site identifying the site as a WCC project; and submit a report to the board identifying the number of work crew members who enrolled at a technical college upon completion of the project and their status on the first anniversary of completion of the project.

The bill exempts services performed by WCC work crews from compliance with requirements for state and local public works projects to adhere to current prevailing wage scales. The bill permits the board to retain its manager and other state agencies to engage a WCC crew on a project without complying with state procurement laws, including requirements for public notice to and competitive solicitation of contractors and limitations on the circumstances when contractual services may be obtained.

Finally, the bill requires the board to submit an annual report to the legislature identifying the projects completed in each year or that are in the process of completion as of the end of that year.

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:

AB910, s. 1 Section 1. 15.105 (32) of the statutes is created to read:

AB910,3,4 15.105 (32) Wisconsin conservation corps board. There is created a Wisconsin conservation corps board that is attached to the department of administration under s. 15.03, consisting of the following:

AB910,3,5 (a) The secretary of natural resources or his or her designee.

AB910,3,6 (b) The executive secretary of the board of commissioners of public lands.

AB910,3,8 (c) Two representatives to the assembly, appointed as are members of assembly standing committees.

AB910,4,1 (d) Two senators, appointed as are members of senate standing committees.

AB910,4,4 (e) One member of a nongovernmental organization that has expertise in conservation matters or that represents employees who work in conservation activities, for a 3-year term.

AB910,4,6 (f) Two members of the faculty employed by a technical college district board, appointed by the technical college system board, for 3-year terms.

AB910, s. 2 Section 2. 16.22 (2) (h) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB910,4,14 16.22 (2) (h) From the appropriations under s. 20.505 (4) (j) and (p), award grants to persons providing national service programs, giving priority to the greatest extent practicable to persons providing youth corps programs. To the extent that funding is available to the board and the board receives valid applications therefor, the board shall first allocate funding in each fiscal year for grants to provide work for at least 240 participants in youth corps programs provided by the Wisconsin conservation corps board.

AB910, s. 3 Section 3. 16.24 of the statutes is created to read:

AB910,4,20 16.24 Wisconsin conservation corps. (1) Establishment of program. There is established the Wisconsin conservation corps program. The purpose of the program is to seek to protect, enhance, and provide access to Wisconsin's natural heritage and encourage and enable young people to learn the value of work in a natural setting by providing employment training and career pathways.

AB910,4,21 (2) Definitions. In this section:

AB910,4,22 (a) "Board" means the Wisconsin conservation corps board.

AB910,4,24 (b) "Local government" has the meaning given for "local governmental unit" in s. 16.97 (7).

AB910,5,3 (c) "Nonprofit corporation" means a nonstock, nonprofit corporation described under section 501 (c) (3) or (4) of the federal Internal Revenue Code that is exempt from the federal income tax under section 501 (a) of that code.

AB910,5,7 (d) "Project" means a planned undertaking of the Wisconsin conservation corps for a sponsor to carry out a specific goal within a defined period of time that is focused on the conservation or enjoyment of natural resources and that will have a specific, beneficial, physical effect.

AB910,5,8 (e) "Public lands" means any lands owned by this state or a local government.

AB910,5,10 (f) "Sponsor" means a local government or a nonprofit corporation that proposes to undertake a project.

AB910,5,11 (g) "Youth corps program" has the meaning given in s. 16.22 (1) (dm).

AB910,5,14 (3) Wisconsin conservation corps board. The board is the policy-making body of the Wisconsin conservation corps program. The board shall promulgate rules consistent with this section for the operation of the program.

AB910,5,23 (4) Management and services. (a) The board shall contract with a nonprofit corporation that has demonstrated experience in natural resources conservation and youth training or employment to administer and manage the Wisconsin conservation corps program. The manager shall retain, train, and supervise all work crews under sub. (9), provide educational programming for work crews, and provide outreach and other communications services in accordance with this section and the rules and directives of the board. The manager shall also identify and review potential projects, assist with project proposal development, and recommend to the board proposed projects for its review and approval.

AB910,6,3 (b) The board shall not authorize or require, and the manager shall not engage, the services of any employee or contractor to perform services under the Wisconsin conservation corps program if those services displace the services of any individual who is employed by this state in a position, as defined in s. 230.03 (11), or who is employed by a local government in a permanent position.

AB910,6,7 (5) Project application; approval. (a) A sponsor may submit an application to the board for approval of a proposed project. Each project is subject to review and approval by the board prior to commencement of work on the project. An application shall be in the form prescribed by the board and shall include all of the following:

AB910,6,8 1. An identification of the project and a detailed plan for working on the project.

AB910,6,11 2. An enumeration of the number of work crews that will work on the project and an affirmation that work crew members would be eligible to participate in a youth corps program and satisfy the requirements under sub. (9).

AB910,6,15 3. A plan for training of the work crew members, providing transportation to each project work site, making available educational opportunities for work crew members while they are employed on the project, and for assisting work crew members in making full use of all benefits provided under a youth corps program.

AB910,6,18 4. A plan for the crew members to visit a technical college at least once every 3 months while they are employed on a project in order to familiarize them with application and enrollment procedures, programs, and course offerings.

AB910,6,22 (b) The board shall approve applications for projects that are located in at least one of each of the technical college districts in each year. To the greatest extent practicable, the board shall ensure that projects are equally distributed across technical college districts.

AB910,6,25 (6) Fee for services provided. The board may assess a sponsor a fee for services provided by the board. Any fee shall be consistent with the value of the services received by the sponsor and with the sponsor's financial resources.

AB910,7,2 (7) Staff support. The department shall provide all staff support necessary for the operation of the Wisconsin conservation corps program.