Under current law, a licensed adult family home may provide care to only 3 or
4 unrelated adults and may not provide nursing care. A community-based
residential facility (C-BRF) may provide the same kind of care as a licensed adult
family home, but to 5 or more unrelated adults. A nursing home may provide
24-hour services to 3 or more unrelated residents who, because of their mental or
physical conditions, require over 7 hours per week of nursing care or personal care.
Under this bill, licensed adult family homes may provide care, including
nursing care, to 3 or 4 adults who are not related to the home operator. Nursing
homes may provide care or treatment to 5 or more persons who are not related to the
home operator or administrator and who require access to 24-hour nursing services,
including limited nursing care, intermediate level nursing care and skilled nursing
services. C-BRFs may provide no more than 3 hours of nursing care per week to 5
or more adults who are not related to the facility operator or administrator. However,
the limitations on the type of care that may be provided by a C-BRF do not apply
under the following conditions:
1. A C-BRF may provide up to 3 hours of nursing care per week and care above
intermediate level nursing care for up to 30 days to not more than 4 residents or 10%
of the C-BRF's licensed capacity who have temporary conditions, require the care
and are otherwise appropriate for C-BRF care, if the C-BRF has the resources
necessary to provide the care.
2. A C-BRF may provide up to 3 hours of nursing care per week and care above
intermediate level nursing care for up to 30 days to not more than 4 residents or 10%
of the C-BRF's licensed capacity, who have stable or long-term conditions, require
the care and are otherwise appropriate for C-BRF care, if the C-BRF has the
resources necessary to provide the care and has obtained a waiver of the care
limitations from DHFS.
3. A C-BRF may provide up to 3 hours of nursing care per week and care above
intermediate level nursing care to residents who have terminal illnesses and who
require the care, if the resident's primary care provider is a hospice or home health
agency or if the C-BRF has obtained a waiver of the hospice or home health agency
requirement from DHFS.
Currently, DHFS may license as a rural medical center an arrangement of
facilities that is organized under a single governing and corporate structure and that
is capable of providing at least 2 health care services in rural areas. A rural primary
care hospital is one of the facilities that may be so organized and licensed. Current
federal law authorizes and provides funds for states to establish medicare rural
hospital flexibility programs, under which states must develop at least one rural
health network and designate at least one facility as a critical access hospital.
Federal law deems any rural primary care hospital that was federally designated
before August 5, 1997, to be a critical access hospital.
This bill eliminates rural primary care hospitals from those facilities that may
be organized and licensed as a rural medical center and authorizes critical access
hospitals to be so organized and licensed. Lastly, the bill requires DHFS to apply to
the federal government to establish a medicare rural hospital flexibility program.
Currently, DHFS must reimburse the Marquette University School of
Dentistry for the cost of providing dental services in correctional centers in
Milwaukee County and clinics in the city of Milwaukee. This bill directs that such
reimbursement also be made for dental services that the school provides at clinics
in Waushara and Monroe counties.
Currently, a family with an income at or below 185% of the federal poverty line
(or, in certain cases, 200% of the federal poverty line) that meets certain criteria is
eligible for health care coverage under the badger care program. Under current law,
"family" is defined as a custodial parent and his or her dependent children.
This bill extends health care coverage under the badger care program to a
stepparent who lives with his or her spouse and the spouse's children.
Mental illness and developmental disabilities
Under current law, DHFS administers the food service operations of the
Southern Wisconsin Center for the Developmentally Disabled. This bill transfers to
the department of corrections administration of the food service operations of the
Southern Wisconsin Center for the Developmentally Disabled.
Under current law, DHFS must study the future of the state centers for the
developmentally disabled and report to the legislature and the governor by
September 1, 1998. This bill changes to March 1, 1999, the date by which DHFS must
submit this report.
Public assistance
Under current law, a person receiving benefits under the federal supplemental
security income (SSI) program or, in certain cases, under the social security
disability income (SSDI) program, is eligible for medical assistance. Generally,
persons who meet certain income and asset limitations and who are totally and
permanently disabled or totally and permanently blind are eligible for SSI or, in
some cases, SSDI. A person who is unable to engage in substantial gainful activity,
which is defined as $500 or more of earnings per month, by reason of any medically
verifiable physical or mental impairment, is considered disabled for the purpose of
determining SSI or SSDI eligibility.
This bill directs DHFS to request that the secretary of the federal department
of health and human services waive income and asset requirements for SSI and SSDI
recipients to allow DHFS to implement a program under which SSI and SSDI
recipients may work and maintain eligibility for SSI or SSDI and medical assistance
or the federal medicare program.
Under current law, a person who receives benefits under the federal SSI
program is not eligible for a Wisconsin works (W-2) employment position. W-2 is
this state's replacement for the aid to families with dependent children program.
This bill permits the department of workforce development (DWD) to require
an individual who is placed in a W-2 employment position, or who receives benefits
as a custodial parent of an infant, and who applies for SSI benefits to authorize the
federal social security administration to reimburse DWD for benefits paid to the
individual during the period that the individual was entitled to SSI benefits to the
extent that retroactive SSI benefits are made available to the person.
Under current law, certain specified services under the medical assistance
program are not subject to recipient cost sharing or copayments, including
specialized medical vehicle (SMV) services. This bill permits the charging of a
copayment for SMV services.
Under current law, monthly reimbursement for long-term community support
services that are provided to a medical assistance recipient under the community
options program may not exceed the average monthly cost of nursing home care, as
determined by DHFS. (Under the community options program, persons are assessed
to determine if community services are appropriate to meet their needs for long-term
support.) The monthly limit does not apply to a medical assistance recipient under
the age of 22, a ventilator-dependent individual or an individual for whom DHFS
determines that nursing home care or public funding for institutional care is
unavailable, or if DHFS determines that the cost of providing an individual with
nursing home care would exceed the cost of providing the person with care in the
community.
This bill eliminates the monthly limit on reimbursement for long-term
community support services that are provided to a medical assistance recipient
under the community options program.
Other health and social services
This bill makes various changes relating to criminal history and abuse record
searches of operators, employes and nonclient residents of certain facilities that
provide care for adults (See HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICES,
Children.)
Insurance
The provisions of the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability
Act of 1996 (HIPAA) that are incorporated into current state law require an insurer
that provides individual health benefit plan coverage to continue in force or renew
an individual health benefit plan at the option of an individual who is insured under
the plan with limited exceptions, such as if the insured individual fails to pay
premiums.
This bill provides that an insurer is not required to renew an individual health
benefit plan that is marketed and designed to be short-term coverage between
coverages.
Also under current law, if a person who has coverage under a group health
benefit plan will lose that coverage because of the occurrence of a specified
contingency, such as a divorce from a spouse who has the group health benefit plan
coverage through his or her employment, the insurer must allow the person who will
lose the coverage to continue the group coverage (continuation coverage) or convert
to individual coverage (conversion coverage) at his or her own expense. The insurer,
however, is not required to issue or continue in force individual conversion coverage
if the person is eligible for similar benefits under another individual or group health
benefit plan or by reason of any state or federal law.
This bill reconciles current law with the HIPAA provisions by requiring an
insurer to continue in force, but not requiring an insurer to issue, individual
conversion coverage, regardless of whether a covered individual is eligible for similar
benefits under another individual or group health benefit plan or by reason of any
state or federal law.
LOCAL GOVERNMENT
This bill changes the performance and payment assurance requirements for
local public works or public improvement projects. (See STATE GOVERNMENT,
State building program.)
Natural resources
Recreation
With limited exceptions, beginning on May 1, 1998, snowmobile trail use
stickers issued by the department of natural resources (DNR) are required on all
snowmobiles that are operated in this state but not registered in this state. This bill
raises the base fee and creates an additional issuing fee for the sticker. Under the
bill, DNR may appoint agents, including county clerks, to issue these stickers, and
the agents may retain the issuing fees to compensate them for providing this service.
The bill also establishes a temporary procedure for issuing these stickers during the
first year in which the stickers are required. This temporary procedure requires that
all county clerks issue these stickers.
Other natural resources
This bill permits DNR to expend moneys received from other state agencies for
car, truck, airplane, heavy equipment, information technology or radio pools for the
operation, maintenance, replacement and purchase of vehicles, equipment and
information technology.
Retirement and group insurance
Under current law, the benefits payable under the Wisconsin retirement
system (WRS) and the contributions permitted under the WRS are subject to the
applicable limitations specified in the Internal Revenue Code for 1996. This bill
provides that the benefits payable under the WRS and the contributions permitted
under the WRS are subject to the applicable limitations specified in the Internal
Revenue Code, without respect to the year.
STATE GOVERNMENT
State building program
Under current law, state contracts for at least $2,500, and local contracts for at
least $500, that pertain to public improvements or public works are required to
contain a provision requiring the prime contractor to pay all claims for labor
performed and materials furnished, used or consumed in making the public
improvement or performing the public work. If a contract is for $10,000 or more, the
contract must include a provision requiring the prime contractor to provide a bond
for performance of the contract and the payment of these claims. This bonding
requirement may be waived if the contract meets certain written standards for a
waiver. The written standards are established by the department of administration
(DOA) for most state contracts, by the department of natural resources (DNR) for
certain types of hazardous substance spill response or environmental repair
contracts, and by the appropriate local governmental entity for local governmental
public works projects.
This bill establishes new requirements regarding payment and performance
assurances for public contracts. Under the bill, there are no payment and
performance assurance requirements for state or local contracts under $10,000. For
a state contract between $10,000 and $100,000 and for a local contract between
$10,000 and $50,000, the contract must contain a provision allowing the
governmental body to make payments under the contract directly to subcontractors
or with checks that are made payable to the prime contractor and to one or more
subcontractors. The governmental body must also establish written criteria for
contracts in this price range to determine whether a contract requires payment or
performance assurances and, if so, what payment or performance assurances are
required. For a state contract between $100,000 and $250,000 and for a local contract
between $50,000 and $100,000, the contract must require the prime contractor to
obtain a payment and performance bond, unless DOA, in the case of a state contract,
or the local government body authorized to enter into the contract, in the case of
another public contract, allows the prime contractor to substitute a different
payment and performance assurance. DOA or the local body may permit the
substitution of different payment and performance assurance only after a contract
has been awarded and only if the substituted payment and performance assurance
is for an amount at least equal to the contract price and is in the form of a bond, an
irrevocable letter of credit, an escrow account or other type of instrument. A contract
in this price range must also include a provision allowing the governmental body to
make payments under the contract directly to subcontractors or with checks that are
made payable to the prime contractor and to one or more subcontractors. Finally, the
bill requires payment and performance bonds for state contracts in excess of
$250,000 and for local contracts in excess of $100,000. No waiver of this bonding
requirement is permitted under the bill. All of the dollar thresholds in the bill are
indexed biennially to reflect changes in construction costs, except that the amounts
are not adjusted if the amount of the adjustment would be less than 5%.
State finance
Under current law, all appropriations, special accounts and fund balances
within the general fund or any segregated fund may be made temporarily available
for the purpose of allowing encumbrances or financing expenditures of other general
or segregated fund activities which do not have sufficient moneys in the accounts
from which they are financed but have accounts receivable balances or moneys
anticipated to be received. Current law limits the total amount of any of these
temporary reallocations, referred to as interfund borrowing, to $400,000,000. This
bill amends the limitations on interfund borrowing so that the existing $400,000,000
limit applies only to reallocations to a fund other than the general fund. Under the
bill, temporary reallocations to the general fund at any time in a fiscal year may not
exceed 5% of total general purpose revenue appropriations, as calculated by the
secretary of administration as of that time and for that fiscal year. As under current
law, the bill's interfund borrowing limitations do not apply to reallocations from the
budget stabilization fund to the general fund.
Under current law, the first $20,000,000 in general fund balances in the
1997-99 fiscal biennium that were not included in the official general fund summary
published with the 1997-99 biennial budget act is allocated to funding unfunded
employe compensation increases. The next $175,000,000 in additional general fund
balances in the 1997-99 fiscal biennium is allocated to decreasing the amount of the
school aid payments that are delayed until July of the following school year.
This bill reduces the amount that is allocated to reducing the delayed school aid
payments to $111,000,000.
Other state government
Under current law, DNR awards to eligible municipalities, private companies
and nonprofit organizations waste reduction and recycling demonstration grants
from the segregated recycling fund. This bill requires DNR annually to award a
$100,000 grant to the Wheelchair Recycling Project, a nonprofit organization, for
refurbishing used wheelchairs and returning them to use by persons who otherwise
would not have access to them. The bill also requires DNR annually to award from
the recycling fund a $500,000 grant to DOC to refurbish and recycle used computers.
The grants are paid from the moneys available for waste reduction and recycling
demonstration grants.
This bill permits the governor to expend not more than $45,000 in fiscal year
1998-99 for a child's first book initiative under which a state agency contracted with
by the governor must send children's books to the parents of newborn children.
Taxation
Income taxation
This bill creates a refundable individual income tax credit for amounts spent
by a claimant for the claimant's dependent child on eligible educational expenses at
public schools, certain private schools and home-based educational programs,
grades kindergarten through 12. Under the bill, "educational expenses" include
amounts that are spent for tutoring, summer courses, transportation costs paid to
others, nonreligious instructional materials and up to $500 per year for computers
and related educational materials to be used in the claimant's home and not used in
a trade or business.
The maximum credit that may be claimed under the bill by a state resident is
$1,000 per child per year, up to a maximum credit of $2,000 per family per year. A
nonresident or part-year resident of this state is eligible to claim a lesser credit. The
credit may not be claimed by a claimant if, for a married couple filing jointly, his or
her federal adjusted gross income (AGI) exceeds $30,000 to $60,000, depending on
the number of children the claimant has. For a married couple filing separately, the
maximum federal AGI is $15,000 to $30,000, depending on the number of children
the claimant has, and, for a single person or married person filing as head of
household, the maximum federal AGI is $25,000 to $55,000, depending on the
number of children the claimant has.
This individual income tax credit is refundable. If the amount of the credit
exceeds the taxpayer's income tax liability, the difference will be refunded to the
taxpayer by check.
The bill also allows individuals to subtract from their income for tax purposes
amounts paid for "educational expenses", as defined in the credit, for dependent
children who attend kindergarten through grade 12 at the same types of schools and
programs as authorized under the tax credit.
The maximum amount of the deduction is $1,500 per child per year, and may
not be claimed for any amount for which a claim is made under the education tax
credit that is created in the bill. Also under the bill, the amount of the deduction
which a claimant may claim phases down to zero as a claimant's income rises. For
a married claimant who files a joint return, the credit phases out as federal AGI
increases from more than $80,000 to not more than $100,000; for a married claimant
who files a separate return, the credit phases out as federal AGI increases from more
than $40,000 to not more than $50,000; and for a single filer or married person filing
as head of household, the credit phases out as federal AGI increases from more than
$50,000 to not more than $60,000.
The bill also creates a higher education individual income tax deduction for
amounts paid for tuition to attend any university, college, technical college or
proprietary school, all of which must be located in Wisconsin, or for tuition to attend
a public vocational school or public institution of higher education in Minnesota
under the state tuition reciprocity program. The maximum amount of the deduction
is $3,000 per student per year, and may be claimed for tuition expenses of the
claimant or of the claimant's child. The maximum amount of the deduction phases
down to zero as the claimant's income rises in the same manner as the "K-12"
deduction.
Under current law, federal income tax laws that were enacted during 1997 and
that took effect before January 1, 1998, apply for Wisconsin income tax purposes at
the same time that they apply for federal purposes. This bill adopts for Wisconsin
purposes the parts of those acts that take effect on or after January 1, 1998. The bill
makes one exception; the deduction for interest on qualified education loans is
limited to interest paid while the taxpayer is a Wisconsin resident.
The bill also allows taxpayers, for taxable years that begin on or after January
1, 1998, to compute their deductions for depreciation under either the Internal
Revenue Code in effect for the year that the return is filed or the Internal Revenue
Code as amended to December 31, 1997. Under current law, for property placed in
service in 1997, taxpayers do not have an option to use federal changes made late in
1997.
Property Taxation
This bill exempts computers and related property from the property tax,
beginning with the assessment as of January 1, 1999. The bill also creates a payment
to municipalities, counties, school districts and technical college districts that is
based in part of the value of the exempt computers and related property in each
jurisdiction and that is first paid in the year 2000. On or before June 30, 1999,
$64,000,000 is transferred to the computer escrow fund, which is created by the bill,
to be used for the payments in the year 2000.
Other taxation
This bill creates a tax amnesty program that runs from June 15, 1998, to August
14, 1998. Under the program, persons who fulfill certain requirements are relieved
of some of their financial obligations to this state. The bill also increases the
department of revenue's (DOR's) capacity to collect delinquent taxes. Among the
means to do so are establishing a collection fee for persons who fail to take advantage
of the amnesty programs, expanding the state's authority to subtract delinquent
taxes owed from its payments to vendors, allowing DOR to require instalment
payments to be made by electronic funds transfer and imposing penalties on late
payments of withheld taxes.
Currently, a recipient of public assistance has a right to confidentiality of
records and files on the recipient, although the existence of that right does not
prohibit the use of those records and files for auditing or accounting purposes. This
bill allows the department of workforce development (DWD) to use information
obtained from public assistance recipients for purposes related to the collection of
delinquent state taxes.
