SE5 AB1: Bill Text Engrossed

AB1-engrossed,26,8 Chapter 229

AB1-engrossed,26,11 Subchapter III Local professional baseball park districts

AB1-engrossed,26,21 229.64 Legislative declaration. The legislature determines that the provision of assistance by state agencies to a district under this subchapter, any appropriation of funds to a district under this subchapter and the moral obligation pledge under s. 229.74 (7) serve a statewide public purpose by assisting the development of a professional baseball park in the state for providing recreation, by encouraging economic development and tourism, by reducing unemployment and by bringing needed capital into the state for the benefit and welfare of people throughout the state. The legislature determines that the taxes that may be imposed by a district under subch. V of ch. 77 are special taxes that are generated apart from any direct annual tax on taxable property.

AB1-engrossed,26,22 229.65 Definitions. In this subchapter:

AB1-engrossed,27,2 (1) "Baseball park facilities" means property, tangible or intangible, owned in whole or in substantial part, operated or leased by a district that is principally for professional baseball including parking lots, garages, restaurants, parks, concession facilities, entertainment facilities and transportation facilities, and other functionally related or auxiliary facilities or structures.

AB1-engrossed,27,4 (2) "Bond" means any bond, note or other obligation issued under s. 66.066 by a district.

AB1-engrossed,27,8 (3) "Bond resolution" means a resolution of the district board authorizing the issuance of, or providing terms and conditions related to, bonds and includes, where appropriate, any trust agreement, trust indenture, indenture of mortgage or deed of trust providing terms and conditions for bonds.

AB1-engrossed,27,11 (4) "Chief executive officer" means the county executive of a county or, if the county does not have a county executive, the chairperson of the county board of supervisors.

AB1-engrossed,27,12 (5) "District" means a special district created under this subchapter.

AB1-engrossed,27,13 (6) "District board" means the governing board of a district.

AB1-engrossed,27,18 229.66 Creation and organization. (1) There is created, for each jurisdiction under s. 229.67, a special district that is a local governmental unit, that is a body corporate and politic, that is separate and distinct from, and independent of, the state, that has the powers under s. 229.68 and the name of which includes "Professional Baseball Park District".

AB1-engrossed,27,21 (2) A district is governed by its district board. The district board may adopt bylaws to govern the district's activities, subject to this subchapter. Subject to sub. (3), the district board shall consist of the following members:

AB1-engrossed,28,3 (a) Six persons appointed by the governor, one of whom does not reside within the district's jurisdiction and, of the remaining appointees, at least one of whom resides within each of the counties that are within the jurisdiction of the district. A person appointed under this paragraph may take his or her seat immediately upon appointment, subject to confirmation or rejection by the senate. At least one person appointed under this paragraph shall be a minority group member, as defined in s. 560.036 (1) (f).

AB1-engrossed,28,8 (b) Two persons appointed by the chief executive officer of the most populous county within the jurisdiction of a district, who shall serve at the pleasure of the chief executive officer. A person appointed under this paragraph may take his or her seat immediately upon appointment, subject to confirmation or rejection by a majority of the members-elect of the county board.

AB1-engrossed,28,15 (c) One person appointed by the chief executive officer of the 2nd most populous county within the jurisdiction of a district, who shall serve at the pleasure of the chief executive officer, except that in single-county jurisdictions the person under this paragraph shall be appointed by the chief executive officer of that county and serve at the chief executive officer's pleasure. A person appointed under this paragraph may take his or her seat immediately upon appointment, subject to confirmation or rejection by a majority of the members-elect of the county board.

AB1-engrossed,28,22 (d) One person appointed by the chief executive officer of the 3rd most populous county within the jurisdiction of a district, who shall serve at the pleasure of the chief executive officer, except that in single-county jurisdictions the person under this paragraph shall be appointed by the chief executive officer of that county and serve at the chief executive officer's pleasure. A person appointed under this paragraph may take his or her seat immediately upon appointment, subject to confirmation or rejection by a majority of the members-elect of the county board.

AB1-engrossed,29,4 (e) One person appointed by the chief executive officer of the 4th most populous county within the jurisdiction of a district, who shall serve at the pleasure of the chief executive officer, except that in single-county jurisdictions the person under this paragraph shall be appointed by the chief executive officer of that county and serve at the chief executive officer's pleasure. A person appointed under this paragraph may take his or her seat immediately upon appointment, subject to confirmation or rejection by a majority of the members-elect of the county board.

AB1-engrossed,29,11 (f) One person appointed by the chief executive officer of the 5th most populous county within the jurisdiction of a district, who shall serve at the pleasure of the chief executive officer, except that in single-county jurisdictions the person under this paragraph shall be appointed by the chief executive officer of that county and serve at the chief executive officer's pleasure. A person appointed under this paragraph may take his or her seat immediately upon appointment, subject to confirmation or rejection by a majority of the members-elect of the county board.

AB1-engrossed,29,16 (g) One person appointed by the mayor of the most populous city within the jurisdiction of a district, who shall serve at the pleasure of the mayor. A person appointed under this paragraph may take his or her seat immediately upon appointment, subject to confirmation or rejection by a majority of the members-elect of the common council.

AB1-engrossed,30,7 (3) Upon appointment under sub. (2), the appointing authorities shall certify the appointees to the secretary of administration. The terms of office of 3 of the persons appointed under sub. (2) (a) shall be 2 years, and the terms of office of 3 of the persons appointed under sub. (2) (a) shall be 4 years, except that for the initial appointments for a newly created district the initial terms shall expire on July 1 of the 2nd year beginning after creation of a district for persons appointed to 2-year terms, and the initial terms shall expire on July 1 of the 4th year beginning after creation of a district for persons appointed to 4-year terms. Persons appointed under sub. (2) (a) may be removed from the district board before the expiration of their terms by the appointing authority but only for cause, as defined in s. 17.16 (2). Vacancies for persons appointed under sub. (2) (a) shall be filled by the appointing authority who appointed the person whose office is vacant. A person appointed to fill a vacancy under sub. (2) (a) shall serve for the remainder of the term to which he or she is appointed. All of the appointing authorities shall ensure, to the greatest extent possible, that the membership of the board is diverse with respect to race. Of the persons appointed under sub. (2), not more than 4 may reside in any one county.

AB1-engrossed,30,12 (4) The governor shall select the chairperson of the district board and the district board shall elect from its membership a vice chairperson, a secretary and a treasurer. A majority of the current membership of the district board constitutes a quorum to do business. The district may take action based on the affirmative vote of a majority of those directors who are present at a meeting of the district board.

AB1-engrossed,30,14 (5) The members of the district board shall be reimbursed for their actual and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties.

AB1-engrossed,30,17 (6) Upon the appointment and qualification of a majority of the members of a district board, the district board may exercise the powers and duties of a district board under this subchapter.

AB1-engrossed,30,18 (7) At its first meeting the district board shall name the district.

AB1-engrossed,30,25 229.67 Jurisdiction. A district's jurisdiction is any county with a population of more than 500,000 and all counties that are contiguous to that county, unless any of the contiguous counties are already included in a district, in which case the district's jurisdiction shall consist solely of the county with the population of more than 500,000. Once a county is included in a district's jurisdiction the county remains in the district until the district is dissolved under s. 229.71. In this section, "contiguous" includes a county that touches another county only at a corner.

AB1-engrossed,31,3 229.68 Powers of a district. A district has all of the powers necessary or convenient to carry out the purposes and provisions of this subchapter. In addition to all other powers granted by this subchapter, a district may do all of the following:

AB1-engrossed,31,4 (1) Adopt and alter an official seal.

AB1-engrossed,31,5 (2) Sue and be sued in its own name, plead and be impleaded.

AB1-engrossed,31,6 (3) Maintain an office.

AB1-engrossed,31,7 (4) In connection with baseball park facilities:

AB1-engrossed,31,10 (a) Acquire, construct, equip, maintain, improve, operate and manage the baseball park facilities as a revenue-generating enterprise, or engage other persons to do these things.

AB1-engrossed,31,13 (b) Acquire; lease, as lessor or lessee; use; or transfer property; except that the district may not enter into any lease that does not receive the affirmative vote of at least 8 members of the district board.

AB1-engrossed,31,14 (c) Improve real property.

AB1-engrossed,31,19 (d) Enter into contracts, subject to such standards as may be established by the district board. The district board may award any such contract for any combination or division of work it designates and may consider any factors in awarding a contract, including price, time for completion of work and qualifications and past performance of a contractor.

AB1-engrossed,31,20 (e) Grant concessions.

AB1-engrossed,31,22 (f) Make a grant of land or other property to the state, especially dedicated by the grant to use for a professional baseball park.

AB1-engrossed,32,2 (5) Employ personnel, and fix and regulate their compensation; and provide, either directly or subject to an agreement under s. 66.30 as a participant in a benefit plan of another governmental entity, any employe benefits, including an employe pension plan.

AB1-engrossed,32,5 (6) Purchase insurance, establish and administer a plan of self-insurance or, subject to an agreement with another governmental entity under s. 66.30, participate in a governmental plan of insurance or self-insurance.

AB1-engrossed,32,6 (7) Mortgage, pledge or otherwise encumber the district's property or funds.

AB1-engrossed,32,12 (8) Issue revenue bonds under s. 66.066, subject to ss. 229.72 to 229.79, and enter into agreements related to the issuance of bonds, including liquidity and credit facilities, remarketing agreements, insurance policies, guaranty agreements, letter of credit or reimbursement agreements, indexing agreements, interest exchange agreements and currency exchange agreements, except that the district may issue bonds under this subsection only if all of the following conditions are met:

AB1-engrossed,32,13 (a) At least 8 members of the district board vote in favor of issuing bonds.

AB1-engrossed,32,16 (b) A majority of the members of the district board determines, based on the best available information, that the total cost of the initial construction of baseball park facilities does not exceed $250,000,000.

AB1-engrossed,32,20 (c) A majority of the members of the district board determines that the district's lease arrangement with the professional baseball team franchise that uses baseball park facilities constructed under this subchapter as its home facilities incorporates a term of at least 30 years.

AB1-engrossed,32,22 (9) Maintain funds and invest the funds in any investment that the district board considers appropriate.

AB1-engrossed,32,24 (11) Promote, advertise and publicize its baseball park facilities and related activities.

AB1-engrossed,33,3 (12) Set standards governing the use of, and the conduct within, its baseball park facilities in order to promote public safety and convenience and to maintain order.

AB1-engrossed,33,6 (13) Establish and collect fees, and establish shared revenue arrangements or other charges for the use of its baseball park facilities or for services rendered by the district.

AB1-engrossed,33,8 (14) Enter into partnerships, joint ventures, common ownership or other arrangements with other persons to further the district's purposes.

AB1-engrossed,33,14 (15) Impose, by the adoption of a resolution, the taxes under subch. V of ch. 77. A district may not levy any taxes that are not expressly authorized under subch. V of ch. 77 and that do not receive the affirmative vote of at least 8 members of the district board. If a district adopts a resolution which imposes taxes, it shall deliver a certified copy of the resolution to the secretary of revenue at least 30 days before its effective date.

AB1-engrossed,33,16 (16) Accept gifts, loans and other aid, which may be used only for the following purposes:

AB1-engrossed,33,17 (a) Retiring the bonds used to construct the baseball park facilities.

AB1-engrossed,33,18 (b) Maintaining the baseball park facilities.

AB1-engrossed,33,19 (c) Operating the baseball park facilities.

AB1-engrossed,33,20 (d) Making capital improvements to the baseball park facilities

AB1-engrossed,33,22 (17) Administer the receipt of revenues, and oversee the payment of bonds issued by the district.

AB1-engrossed,34,2 229.682 Special provisions. (1) Gifts and donations. The district board shall explore and consider ways to solicit and encourage gifts and donations for the construction of baseball park facilities and, to the extent feasible, implement means to solicit such gifts and donations.

AB1-engrossed,34,4 (2) Prevailing wages. The construction of a baseball park facility that is financed in whole or in part by a district is subject to s. 66.293.

AB1-engrossed,34,9 (3) Special debt payments. The district shall pay, over a 3-year period beginning on the first day of the 12th month after the effective date of this subsection .... [revisor inserts date], any outstanding debt on a baseball stadium that has been used as a home field by a major league professional baseball team, up to a maximum amount of $1,500,000.

AB1-engrossed,34,15 (4) Special ticket provisions. A major league professional baseball team that uses as its home field baseball park facilities that are constructed under this subchapter shall annually designate, for each county that is in the district's jurisdiction, at least one of the team's home games as a discount ticket day for that county, for which residents of that county may purchase discounted admission tickets.

AB1-engrossed,34,18 (5) Smoking. The district board shall include in any lease negotiated with a professional baseball club a prohibition on smoking in the general seating areas of the stadium.

AB1-engrossed,34,22 (6) Use of stadium. The district board shall consider during the design review process the utilization of the facility for events in addition to baseball, which are consistent with the program statement and design for the stadium complex, and do not adversely affect the design, construction schedule or budget.

AB1-engrossed,35,2 229.685 Special fund tax revenues. (1) The district board shall maintain a special fund into which it deposits only the revenue received from the department of revenue, that is derived from the taxes imposed under subch. V of ch. 77, and may use this revenue only for purposes related to baseball park facilities.

AB1-engrossed,35,14 (2) If the district board determines that the revenues in the special fund under this section exceed current operating expenses for the operation of baseball park facilities, the district board shall apply the excess to either fund a fund for maintenance costs and capital improvements or to retire bonds issued for the initial construction of baseball park facilities, and any bonds issued to fund or refund those bonds, prior to their maturity. As soon as practicable after the retirement of all bonds issued for the initial construction of baseball park facilities and all bonds issued to fund or refund those bonds and after funding a fund for maintenance costs and capital improvements sufficiently to meet any maintenance or capital improvement obligations between the district and any professional baseball team using baseball park facilities constructed under this subchapter as a home stadium, the district board shall make a certification to the department of revenue to that effect.

AB1-engrossed,35,17 229.69 Powers granted to a city or a county in a district. In addition to any powers that it may otherwise have, a city or a county within a district's jurisdiction may do any of the following:

AB1-engrossed,35,19 (1) Make grants or loans to a district upon terms that the city or county considers appropriate.

AB1-engrossed,35,20 (2) Expend public funds to subsidize a district.

AB1-engrossed,35,22 (3) Borrow money under ss. 67.04 and 67.12 (12) for baseball park facilities or to fund grants, loans or subsidies to a district.

AB1-engrossed,35,24 (4) Grant to the state land or other property, especially dedicated by the grant to use for a professional baseball park.

AB1-engrossed,35,25 229.70 Minority contracting goals. (1) In this section:

AB1-engrossed,36,1 (a) "Minority business" has the meaning given in s. 560.036 (1) (e).

AB1-engrossed,36,2 (b) "Minority group member" has the meaning given in s. 560.036 (1) (f).

AB1-engrossed,36,5 (c) "Women's business" means a sole proprietorship, partnership, joint venture or corporation that is at least 51% owned, controlled and actively managed by women.

AB1-engrossed,36,11 (2) The district shall ensure that, for construction work and professional services contracts, a person who is awarded such a contract by a district shall agree, as a condition to receiving the contract, that his or her goal shall be to ensure that at least 25% of the employes hired because of the contract will be minority group members and at least 5% of the employes hired because of the contract will be women if the contract is for the construction of any part of baseball park facilities.

AB1-engrossed,36,16 (3) It shall be a goal of the district to ensure that at least 25% of the aggregate dollar value of contracts awarded by the district in the following areas shall be awarded to minority businesses and at least 5% of the aggregate dollar value of contracts awarded by the district in the following areas shall be awarded to women's businesses:

AB1-engrossed,36,17 (a) Contracts for the construction of baseball park facilities.

AB1-engrossed,36,19 (b) Contracts for professional services related to the construction of baseball park facilities.

AB1-engrossed,36,20 (c) Contracts for the development of baseball park facilities.

AB1-engrossed,36,24 (4) It shall be a goal of a district, with regard to each of the contracts described under sub. (3) (a), (b) and (c), to award at least 25% of the dollar value of such contracts to minority businesses and at least 5% of the dollar value of such contracts to women's businesses.

AB1-engrossed,37,7 (5) (a) The district shall hire an independent person to monitor the district's compliance with minority contracting goals under subs. (2), (3) and (4) and the department of administration's compliance with minority contracting goals under s. 16.854 (2) and (3). The person hired shall have previous experience working with minority group members. The district shall develop a mechanism to receive regular reports from the person hired with respect to the results of the person's studies of compliance with minority contracting goals.

AB1-engrossed,37,11 (b) If the district or a contractor is unable to meet the goals under sub. (2), (3) or (4), the person hired under par. (a) shall assess whether the district or contractor made a good faith effort to reach the goals. In determining whether a good faith effort was made to meet the goals, the person hired shall consider all of the following:

AB1-engrossed,37,14 1. The supply of eligible minority businesses and women's businesses that have the financial capacity, technical capacity and previous experience in the areas in which contracts were awarded.

AB1-engrossed,37,17 2. The competing demands for the services provided by eligible minority businesses and women's businesses, as described in subd. 1., in areas in which contracts were awarded.

AB1-engrossed,37,21 3. The extent to which the district or contractors advertised for and aggressively solicited bids from eligible minority businesses and women's businesses, as described in subd. 1., and the extent to which eligible minority businesses and women's businesses submitted bids.

AB1-engrossed,37,25 (6) The district shall solicit from any major league baseball club to whom the district leases baseball park facilities its minority hiring goals in connection with the operation of a baseball stadiums and its minority contracting goals in connection with vending contractors at a baseball stadium.

AB1-engrossed,38,6 229.71 Dissolution of a district. Subject to providing for the payment of its bonds, including interest on the bonds, and the performance of its other contractual obligations, a district may be dissolved by the action of the district board. If the district is dissolved, the property of the district shall be transferred to the counties in the jurisdiction, based on the tax revenues derived from each county, as determined by the secretary of administration.

AB1-engrossed,38,9 229.72 Issuance and negotiability of bonds. (1m) Negotiability. All bonds are negotiable for all purposes, notwithstanding their payment from a limited source.

AB1-engrossed,38,12 (2) Employment of financial consultant. A district may retain the building commission or any other person as its financial consultant to assist with and coordinate the issuance of bonds.

AB1-engrossed,38,16 (6) Liability. Neither the members of the district board nor any person executing the bonds is liable personally on the bonds or subject to any personal liability or accountability by reason of the issuance of the bonds, unless the personal liability or accountability is the result of wilful misconduct.

AB1-engrossed,38,22 229.74 Special debt service reserve funds. (1) Designation of special debt service reserve funds. A district may designate one or more accounts in funds created under s. 66.066 (2) (e) as special debt service reserve funds, if, prior to each issuance of bonds to be secured by the special debt service reserve fund, the secretary of administration determines that all of the following conditions are met with respect to the bonds: