DETF Department of Employee Trust Funds
DFI Department of Financial Institutions
DHS Department of Health Services
DMA Department of Military Affairs
DNR Department of Natural Resources
DOA Department of Administration
DOC Department of Corrections
DOJ Department of Justice
DOR Department of Revenue
DOT Department of Transportation
DPI Department of Public Instruction
DSPS Department of Safety and Professional Services
DVA Department of Veterans Affairs
DWD Department of Workforce Development
JCF Joint Committee on Finance
OCI Office of the Commissioner of Insurance
PSC Public Service Commission
UW University of Wisconsin
WEDC Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation
WHEDA Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority
WHEFA Wisconsin Health and Educational Facilities Authority
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Agriculture
Under current law, DATCP administers the Soil and Water Resource
Management Program, which funds grants for projects to control soil erosion and
reduce water pollution. This bill increases the general obligation bonding authority
for the Soil and Water Resource Management Program by $7,000,000.
This bill authorizes DATCP to provide grants to persons operating dairy
processing plants to promote the growth of the dairy industry.
Current law requires DATCP to award a grant in each fiscal year from the
agrichemical management fund for technical education and research under the
Wisconsin grazing lands conservation initiative. This bill eliminates that
requirement.
COMMERCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Financial institutions
Under current law, a consumer credit transaction that is entered into for
personal, family, or household purposes, as well as certain consumer leases, are
generally subject to the Wisconsin Consumer Act (consumer act). The consumer act
grants consumers certain rights and remedies and contains notice and disclosure
requirements and prohibitions relating to consumer credit transactions.
This bill creates requirements that specifically apply to rental-purchase
agreements, imposes requirements on rental-purchase companies, and exempts
rental-purchase companies and rental-purchase agreements from the scope of the
consumer act and from provisions of the Uniform Commercial Code relating to
security interests. A "rental-purchase agreement" is an agreement between a
rental-purchase company and a lessee for the use of rental property if: 1) the rental
property is to be used primarily for personal, family, or household purposes; 2) the
agreement has an initial term of four months or less and is renewable with each
payment after the initial term; 3) the agreement does not obligate the lessee to renew
the agreement beyond the initial term; and 4) the agreement permits the lessee to
acquire ownership of the rental property.
The bill requires a rental-purchase company to file notice with DFI within 30
days after commencing business in this state and to pay an annual fee to DFI, except
for a rental-purchase company that generates less than 75 percent of its revenues
in this state from transactions involving rental-purchase agreements. The bill also
limits the maximum amount that a rental-purchase company may charge in a
rental-purchase transaction and that a lessee must pay to acquire ownership of
rental property if the lessee elects an early-purchase option. The bill specifies
conditions under which a lessee may reinstate a rental-purchase agreement that has
ended without losing any rights or options previously acquired. Upon reinstatement,
the rental-purchase company must provide the lessee with the same rental property
or with comparable substitute property. A rental-purchase company must provide
written notice to a lessee of the lessee's rights and obligations relating to
reinstatement of the rental-purchase agreement within 15 days of repossession or
voluntary return or surrender of the rental property, if the lessee is entitled to
reinstatement.
The bill specifies that a rental-purchase company is not required to disclose a
finance charge calculated as an annual percentage rate. However, every
rental-purchase agreement must contain certain provisions, including a description
of the rental property; the cash price of the rental property; the total amount of the
rental payments and charges necessary to acquire ownership of the property; the
rental payment and an itemized description of all charges or fees; and a summary
of the lessee's early-purchase option and an explanation of the lessee's
reinstatement rights of the rental-purchase agreement. The bill also prohibits the
inclusion of certain provisions in a rental-purchase agreement, including those
granting the rental-purchase company permission to enter the lessee's residence to
repossess the rental property; requiring the lessee to purchase insurance from the
rental-purchase company; and requiring the lessee to pay attorney fees. Upon
request, a rental-purchase company must provide the lessee with a copy of the
lessee's payment history. The bill also creates requirements and limitations for
advertising rental-purchase transactions. The bill includes provisions relating to
liability of a rental-purchase company for violations of these provisions.
Economic development
Under current law, WEDC administers various programs that provide tax
benefits to businesses. The jobs tax credit program and the enterprise zone tax credit
program provide tax benefits to businesses that create or retain certain full-time
jobs in this state. The economic development tax credit program provides tax
benefits to businesses that conduct eligible activities, including creating full-time
jobs, investing in new equipment, machinery, or property, and locating or retaining
corporate headquarters, in this state.
Under current law, the total amount of tax credits that WEDC may allocate
under the economic development tax credit program may not exceed the sum of the
tax credits remaining under the tax credit programs that were consolidated to create
the economic development tax credit program and $25,000,000. This bill increases
the total amount of benefits that WEDC may allocate under the economic
development tax credit program by $75,000,000.
Under current law, WEDC may award tax benefits under the jobs tax credit
program in an amount that is equal to 10 percent of the wages a business pays to
certain full-time employees who annually earn at least $20,000 or $30,000,
depending on where the business is located. Under this bill, WEDC may award tax
benefits under the jobs tax credit program in an amount that is up to 10 percent of
the wages a business pays to certain full-time employees who annually earn at least:
(a) 150 percent of federal minimum wage for 2,080 hours or (b) $30,000, depending
on where the business is located.
Under current law, a business certified by WEDC may receive tax benefits
under the enterprise zone tax credit program for certain full-time employees in an
amount that is up to 7 percent of the amount by which the annual wages for each of
those employees exceeds either $20,000 or $30,000, depending on where the business
is located. Under this bill, the amount of tax benefits that a business may receive
under the enterprise zone tax credit program is up to 7 percent of the amount by
which the annual wages for each full-time employee exceeds either: (a) 150 percent
of federal minimum wage for 2,080 hours or (b) $30,000, depending on where the
business is located.
Under current law, for purposes of the jobs tax credit program, the economic
development tax credit program, the enterprise zone tax credit program, and the
development opportunity zone tax credit program, subject to certain exceptions, a
"full-time job" is defined as a job in which an individual must work at least 2,080
hours per year as a condition of his or her employment. Under this bill, WEDC may
make an exception to the 2,080 hours per year requirement under all these tax credit
programs if a job annually pays at least 2,080 times 150 percent of the federal
minimum wage and the job offers full-time benefits.
Under current law, WHEFA may issue a bond to finance certain projects
undertaken by a health, educational, or research institution or to refinance
outstanding debt of a health, educational, or research institution. This bill
authorizes WHEFA to issue a bond to finance any project undertaken by a nonprofit
institution for a nonprofit facility, and to refinance outstanding debt of a nonprofit
institution.
Under current law, DOA may administer housing programs funded by the
federal community development block grant. Under this bill, DOA may administer
any program funded by the federal community development block grant, including
the community development grant and revolving loan fund programs.
correctional system
Under current law relating to community youth and family aids, known as
youth aids, DOC must allocate various state and federal moneys to counties to pay
for state-provided juvenile correctional services and local juvenile justice services.
DOC charges counties for the costs of services provided by DOC according to per
person cost assessments (the "daily rate").
This bill increases daily rates as follows:
1. For fiscal year 2013-14, the daily rate is $297 for care in a Type 1 juvenile
correctional facility, $297 for care for juveniles transferred from a juvenile
correctional institution, $125 for corrective sanctions services, and $41 for aftercare
services.
2. For fiscal year 2014-15, the daily rate is $304 for care in a Type 1 juvenile
correctional facility, $304 for care for juveniles transferred from a juvenile
correctional institution, $128 for corrective sanctions services, and $41 for aftercare
services.
Current law requires DOC to have a revolving fund consisting of money DOC
has that belongs to persons on probation, parole, or extended supervision who have
absconded or whose whereabouts are unknown. DOC must use the fund to defray
certain expenses for persons on probation, parole, and extended supervision who are
without means. This bill eliminates the requirement that DOC have such a revolving
fund.
crimes
Under current law, certain individuals are required to submit biological
specimens to the crime laboratories in DOJ for deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) analysis,
including a juvenile who has been adjudicated delinquent for certain offenses; an
individual who is or was in prison for a felony or found guilty of a felony; an individual
who was found guilty of fourth-degree sexual assault, lewd and lascivious behavior,
or exposing genitals to a child for sexual gratification; an individual who has been
found not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect for certain sex offenses; a
person who has been found to be a sexually violent person; and an individual who is
required by a court to provide a biological specimen. Under this bill, the following
individuals must submit biological specimens for DNA analysis: a juvenile who has
been adjudicated delinquent, or taken into custody, for an offense that would be a
felony if committed by an adult, fourth-degree sexual assault, endangering safety
by the use of a dangerous weapon, lewd and lascivious behavior, prostitution,
patronizing prostitutes, pandering, failure to submit a biological specimen, or
exposing genitals to a child for sexual gratification; an adult who is convicted of a
misdemeanor; and an adult who is arrested for a felony or for fourth-degree sexual
assault, endangering safety by the use of a dangerous weapon, lewd and lascivious
behavior, prostitution, patronizing prostitutes, pandering, failure to submit a
biological specimen, or exposing genitals to a child for sexual gratification. If, at the
time the individual is charged with one of these offenses, the court determines that
a biological specimen was not obtained when he or she was arrested or taken into
custody, the court must order a law enforcement agency to obtain the specimen.
Under current law, specimens obtained must be submitted to the crime
laboratories in DOJ for DNA analysis and inclusion of the DNA profile in the data
bank. An individual whose DNA data are in the data bank due to a conviction or
adjudication may request in writing that the data be removed on the grounds that
the conviction or adjudication has been reversed, set aside, or vacated. If the crime
laboratories receive a certified copy of the court order reversing, setting aside, or
vacating the conviction or adjudication, the laboratories must purge all records and
identifiable information in the data bank pertaining to the individual and destroy
all samples from the individual. Under this bill, if an individual submitted a
specimen at arrest, when taken into custody, or by court order, DOJ must similarly
purge all records and information upon a written request if all charges requiring
submission have been dismissed; if the trial court reached a final disposition and the
individual was not found guilty of any charges requiring submission; if at least one
year has passed since the arrest and the individual has not been charged; or if the
individual was found guilty of a crime requiring submission but all such convictions
have since been reversed, set aside, or vacated.
Under current law, if a court imposes a sentence or places an individual on
probation for a sex offense, the court must impose a DNA analysis surcharge of $250
and if a court imposes a sentence or places an individual on probation for a felony
conviction that is not a sex offense, the court may impose a DNA analysis surcharge
of $250. Under this bill, if a court imposes a sentence or places an individual on
probation, the court must impose a $250 DNA surcharge for any felony conviction
and a $200 DNA surcharge for any misdemeanor conviction.
Education
Primary and secondary education
Under current law, a school board may enter into a contract with a person to
establish a charter school, which operates with fewer constraints than traditional
public schools. Current law also permits UW-Milwaukee, UW-Parkside, the
Milwaukee Area Technical College, and the city of Milwaukee to operate charter
schools (independent charter schools) directly or to contract for the operation of such
charter schools. In general, only pupils who reside in the school district in which an
independent charter school is located may attend the charter school.
This bill creates the Charter School Oversight Board (CSOB), attached to DPI,
and authorizes it to approve nonprofit, nonsectarian organizations, or consortia of
such organizations, to contract with persons to operate independent charter schools.
The CSOB consists of the state superintendent of public instruction and ten other
members. Of the latter members, two are appointed by the state superintendent, two
are appointed by the governor, and six by the leaders in the senate and assembly.
The bill prohibits the CSOB from promulgating administrative rules and provides
that any policy or standard adopted by the CSOB is exempt from the rule-making
process.
For any school established on or after the bill's effective date, the bill eliminates
the authority of the entities specified above, and of any approved nonprofit
organization, to establish an independent charter school directly. Under the bill, a
charter school may be established only by contract and must be operated by a charter
school governing board, although an existing independent charter school authorizer
may continue to operate a charter school established before the effective date of the
bill. The bill removes the restrictions that limit who may attend an independent
charter school.
A nonprofit, nonsectarian organization or consortium of such organizations
that wishes to contract with a charter school governing board to operate a charter
school must submit an application to the CSOB in accordance with certain specified
requirements. The CSOB must approve or deny an application within 90 days.
The bill provides that the contract between an authorizing entity and the
independent charter school's governing board must allow the authorizing entity to
charge the governing board a fee. The contract must also allow the charter school
governing board to open additional charter schools if the charter school governed by
the contract receives a rating from DPI of "exceeds expectations" or "significantly
exceeds expectations." The bill makes this provision applicable to existing contracts
with independent charter schools as well.
The bill allows a charter school contract to provide for more than one charter
school, and allows a charter school governing board to enter into more than one
contract. The bill allows a school board to prohibit a pupil who resides in the school
district from attending an independent charter school unless the school district's
enrollment is at least 4,000 and at least two schools in the school district were rated
"fails to meet expectations" or "meets few expectations" in DPI's most recent school
report.
Current law prohibits a school board from converting all of the public schools
in the school district to charter schools unless the school board provides alternative
public school attendance arrangements for pupils who do not wish to attend or are
not admitted to a charter school. In addition, a school board may not grant a petition
to establish a charter school that would result in the conversion of all the public
schools in the school district to charter schools unless at least 50 percent of the
teachers employed by the school district sign the petition. This bill eliminates the
restrictions on converting all of a school district's public schools to charter schools
and explicitly permits a school board to do so.
Current law provides that no pupil may be required to attend a charter school
without his or her approval, if the pupil is an adult, or the approval of his or her
parents, if the pupil is a minor. This bill provides that this prohibition does not apply
if all of a school district's public schools are converted to charter schools.
The bill requires that a charter school accept pupils at random if the capacity
of the school is insufficient to accept all applicants. A charter school must, however,
give preference to pupils who were enrolled in the school in the previous school year
and to siblings of currently enrolled pupils. In addition, the bill allows a charter
school to give preference, with certain limitations, to children of the charter school's
founders, governing board members, and full-time employees.
Current law provides that, unless otherwise explicitly provided, the school code
(chapters 115 to 121 of the Wisconsin statutes) does not apply to charter schools. This
bill prohibits a contract between a school board and the operator of a charter school
that is an instrumentality of a school district from imposing on the operator any
requirement in the school code that does not explicitly apply to charter schools.
The bill also requires that a contract between a school board and the operator
of a charter school that is an instrumentality of a school district do all of the following:
1. Specify the amount, which must be commensurate with the average per
pupil cost for the school district, to be paid to the charter school operator for each
pupil attending the charter school.
2. Grant the charter school operator sole discretion over the charter school's
budget, curriculum, professional development activities, hiring of personnel, and
personnel policies for the charter school, unless a decision in any of these areas
affects the health or safety of pupils.
Under current law, beginning in the 2013-14 school year, the state pays an
operator of a charter school that is operated by or under contract with an
independent charter school authorizer a per pupil amount in each school year that
is based on the per pupil amount the state paid in the previous school year and the
revenue limit adjustment for public schools.
Under this bill, in the 2013-14 school year, the state pays an operator of an
independent charter school a per pupil amount of $7,852 and, beginning in the
2014-15 school year, the state pays an operator of an independent charter school a
per pupil amount in each school year of $7,931.
Under current law, a pupil living in the city of Milwaukee or an eligible school
district (currently, only the Racine Unified School District) may, under a parental
choice program, attend a private school at state expense if, among other conditions,
the pupil is a member of a family that has a total family income that does not exceed
300 percent of the poverty level.
This bill expands the parental choice program for eligible school districts by
making eligible a school district having at least 4,000 pupils and in which two or more
schools in the district have been placed in a performance category of "fails to meet
expectations" or "meets few expectations" (qualifying categories) on an
accountability report published by DPI. If, after a school district has been identified
as an eligible school district, at least 20 pupils who reside in the school district apply
to attend private schools under the parental choice program, the eligible school
district becomes a qualifying eligible school district and qualifying pupils who reside
in that school district may attend a private school under the parental choice program.
In the 2013-14 school year, no more than 500 pupils residing in qualifying
eligible school districts may participate in the expanded parental choice program.
In the 2014-15 school year, participation cannot exceed 1,000 pupils.
Currently, under the parental choice programs, the state pays a participating
private school, for a pupil enrolled in the school under the program, the lesser of the
school's educational cost per pupil or the amount paid per pupil in the previous school
year increased by the percentage change in the amount appropriated as general
school aid. In the 2011-12 and 2012-13 school years, however, the state pays the
school's educational cost per pupil or $6,442, whichever is less.
This bill changes the payments that the state makes to a private school
participating in a parental choice program as follows:
1. In the 2013-14 school year, for a pupil enrolled in the school under the
program, the state pays the lesser of the school's educational cost per pupil or $6,442.
2. In the 2014-15 school year and thereafter, for a pupil enrolled in the school
under the program, the state pays the lesser of the school's educational cost per pupil
or $7,050, if the pupil is in a grade from kindergarten to eight, or $7,856, if the pupil
is in a grade from nine to twelve.
Currently, a private school participating in a parental choice program must
accept applications submitted under the choice program on a random basis.
However, under current law, a participating private school may give a preference to
a sibling of a pupil who is accepted on a random basis. Under this bill, a participating
private school may, when accepting applications submitted under a choice program,
give preference to any of the following:
1. Pupils, or siblings of pupils, who attended the private school during the
school year prior to the school year for which the application is being made.
2. Siblings of pupils who have been accepted to the private school for the school
year for which the application is being made.
3. Pupils who attended any private school in a choice program during the school
year prior to the school year for which the application is being made.
Current law directs DPI to establish a student information system to collect
information about pupils enrolled in public schools, including their academic
performance and demographic information. Within five years of the system's
establishment, every school district must use the system. This bill includes charter
schools in the student information system. The bill also provides that within five
years of the system's establishment, every private school participating in a parental
choice program must use the system or use another system that is interoperable with
the state system.
This bill establishes a Special Needs Scholarship Program. Under the program,
a child with a disability may receive a scholarship to attend a public school located
outside the pupil's school district of residence, a charter school, or a private school,
if all of the following conditions are met:
1. The school has notified DPI of its intent to participate in the program and
the child has been accepted by the school.
2. If the school is a private school, it is approved as a private school by DPI or
is accredited.
3. An individualized education program (IEP) has been completed for the child.
4. The child attended a public school, attended a charter school, attended a
private school under a parental choice program, or did not attend school in this state,
in the previous school year.
Upon receipt of an application for a scholarship, DPI must review the child's
IEP and determine the amount of the child's scholarship. The amount is the lesser
of the cost to the child's school district of residence, the charter school, or private
school that the child wishes to attend, of providing regular instruction, instructional
and pupil support services, special education and related services, and
supplementary aids and services to the child plus the per pupil operating and debt
service costs; or the statewide cost per public school pupil in the previous school year
plus the per pupil amount appropriated for special education in the previous school
year. The number of scholarship recipients in any school year may not exceed five
percent of the total number of children with disabilities residing in this state in the
previous school year.
DPI pays the scholarship directly to the school district, charter school, or
private school. The scholarship continues while the child attends a school eligible
to participate in the program until he or she graduates from high school or until the
end of the school term in which he or she turns 21, whichever comes first.
Under the bill, a pupil attending a private school, or a public school outside the
pupil's school district of residence, under the program is counted for state aid
purposes by the pupil's school district of residence. However, the state aid paid to
that school district is reduced by the total amount of scholarships paid by DPI for
pupils who reside in that school district.
Each private school participating in the program must annually submit to DPI
a school financial report prepared by a certified public accountant. If the private
school expects to receive at least $50,000 in scholarships during a school year, it must
either file a surety bond with DPI or provide DPI with information demonstrating
that it has the ability to pay an amount equal to the total amount of scholarships that
it expects to receive.
The bill provides that if a child attends a private school under the program, his
or her school district of residence must provide transportation to and from the school
in certain circumstances. If the child attends a public school under the program, the
child's parent is responsible for transporting the child to and from school unless
transportation is required in the child's IEP. If the latter applies, the school district
that the child attends is responsible for transporting the child. The bill allows a
low-income pupil to apply to DPI for reimbursement of transportation costs.
