Children
Under current law, if a county that investigates a report of child abuse or
neglect determines that a specific person has abused or neglected the child, the
person may appeal the determination in accordance with procedures established by
DCF by rule. This bill requires a county that makes an initial determination that
a specific person has abused or neglected a child to provide the person with an
opportunity for a review of that initial determination in accordance with rules
promulgated by DCF before the county may make a final determination. The bill also
grants the person the right to a contested case hearing on that determination and
judicial review of the final administrative decision following the contested case
hearing.
Subject to certain exceptions, current law requires DCF to maintain the
confidentiality of records kept or information received about an individual who is or
was in the care or legal custody of DCF. The bill permits DCF to provide to DOR
information concerning a recipient of payments for out-of-home care for a child
solely for the purposes of administering state taxes and collecting debts owed to
DOR.
This bill creates an Office of Children's Mental Health (office) in DHS and
requires the office to study and recommend ways, and coordinate initiatives, to
improve the integration across state agencies of mental health services provided to
children and monitor the performance of programs that provide those services.
Under the bill, the director of the office is appointed by the governor to serve at the
pleasure of the governor.
Under current law, a person who is licensed to operate a child care center,
certified as a child care provider for purposes of reimbursement under Wisconsin
Shares, or contracted by a school board to operate a child care program (collectively,
"child care provider") is eligible for reimbursement under Wisconsin Shares.
Current law, however, requires a person to undergo a background investigation
before becoming licensed, certified, or contracted or before becoming a caregiver or
nonclient resident of a child care provider. This bill requires a child care provider
that is receiving, or that wishes to receive, payment under Wisconsin Shares or an
adult nonclient resident or caregiver of such a child care provider to be fingerprinted
as part of his or her background investigation and permits the person to be charged
a fee for the fingerprinting.
Under current law, an order of the court assigned to exercise jurisdiction under
the Children's Code (juvenile court) that places or continues the placement of a child
in an out-of-home placement terminates when the child reaches 19 years of age, if
the child is a full-time student at a secondary school or its vocational or technical
equivalent and is reasonably expected to complete the program before reaching 19
years of age, unless the juvenile court specified a shorter period or terminates the
order sooner.
This bill provides that such an order terminates when the child reaches 21
years of age if the child is a full-time student at a secondary school or its vocational
or technical equivalent and if an Individualized Education Program is in effect for
the child, unless the juvenile court specified a shorter period or terminates the order
sooner.
Under current law, the amount of a subsidized guardianship payment payable
to the guardian of a child in need of protection or services is equal to the foster care
payment received by the guardian for the month preceding the month in which the
guardianship order was granted, unless a lesser amount is agreed to by the guardian.
Similarly, the initial amount of adoption assistance payable to the adoptive parents
of a child with special needs is equivalent to the foster care or subsidized guardian
payments received by the adoptive parents at the time the adoption assistance
agreement was signed, and the initial amount of adoption assistance for a child who
was not in that care immediately prior to placement for adoption is the uniform foster
care rate applicable to the child at that time, unless a lesser amount is agreed to by
the adoptive parents.
This bill requires the amount of a monthly subsidized guardianship payment
or the initial amount of adoption assistance to be based on the circumstances of the
guardian or adoptive family and the needs of the child, but provides that those
amounts may not exceed the payments received by the guardian or adoptive parents
or the uniform foster care rate, whichever is applicable, for the month preceding the
month in which the guardianship order was granted or at the time the adoption
assistance agreement was signed.
Under current law, when the juvenile court or a tribal court enters an order
terminating parental rights to a child (TPR), the juvenile court or tribal court may
transfer guardianship of the child to DCF, which is then responsible for securing the
adoption of the child. This bill requires DCF, under those circumstances, to seek a
permanent adoptive placement for the child or to seek to enter into a subsidized
guardianship agreement with a proposed guardian of the child.
Current law requires DCF to distribute grants for children's community
programs to counties for the purpose of supplementing payments for the care of
certain individuals residing in foster homes so that those individuals may live in a
family home or other noninstitutional situation after attaining age 18.
This bill provides that a county is eligible to receive funding for that purpose
only if the county received such funding in fiscal year 2012-13. In addition, the bill
requires DCF to distribute grants for children's community programs to counties for
the purpose of assisting individuals who attain the age of 18 while residing in
out-of-home care to make the transition from out-of-home care to independent
living.
Under current law, DCF provides funding from various appropriations to the
Indian tribes of this state for various tribal family services, including tribal
adolescent services, domestic abuse services, child care services, and child welfare
services. This bill consolidates funding for those various tribal family services into
a single appropriation, permits DCF to distribute tribal family services grants from
that appropriation to the elected governing bodies of those Indian tribes, and permits
such an elected governing body to expend the grant moneys as determined by that
body.
Under current law, the Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention Board (CANPB)
may award grants to organizations to fund programs that provide direct parent
education, family support, and referrals to other social services and outreach
programs (family resource center grants). Current law prohibits an organization
from receiving family resource center grants totaling more than $150,000 in any year
and prohibits the CANPB from allocating more than $150,000 in a fiscal year for
family resource center grants to organizations located in Milwaukee County. This
bill eliminates those caps.
Under current law, CANPB is attached to DCF for administrative purposes.
This bill transfers CANPB to DOA.
Current law specifies basic maintenance rates that are paid by the state or a
county to a foster parent for the care and maintenance of a child. This bill increases
those rates by 2.5 percent beginning on January 1, 2014, and by an additional 2.5
percent beginning on January 1, 2015.
Health
The bill requires DHS to distribute two types of grants for graduate medical
training programs (residency programs). First, DHS must distribute grants to assist
hospitals or groups of hospitals in procuring infrastructure and increasing case
volume in order to develop accredited residency programs. The bill requires
recipients of these grants to provide matching funds and limits the terms of the
grants to three years. Second, DHS must distribute grants to assist hospitals that
have existing residency programs in certain specialty areas with maintaining those
programs. The bill limits these grants to $50,000 per state fiscal year per hospital,
except that DHS must also award additional federal matching funds if DHS receives
those funds.
Under current law, DHS and DETF may contract with a data organization
(organization) to request health care claims information from health insurers and
insurance plan administrators. The organization must analyze and publicly report
this information with respect to the cost, quality, and effectiveness of health care;
provide DHS with health care claims information and reports upon request; and
maintain a centralized data repository. If DHS and DETF determine that the
organization is not fulfilling certain requirements, DHS must carry out these
functions itself. The bill requires the organization to take actions including all of the
following: 1) provide an Internet site to offer health care provider cost and quality
data and reports to consumers; 2) conduct statewide consumer information
campaigns to improve health literacy; and 3) provide software to allow providers to
validate data prior to its publication on the Internet site.
Under current law, DHS licenses community-based residential facilities
(CBRFs). DHS must inspect a CBRF before issuing a permanent license to operate
a CBRF and must also, for certain applicants, conduct a second inspection before
issuing the permanent license. Under the bill, for those applicants, DHS must
conduct the first inspection and then evaluate the CBRF before issuing a permanent
license to operate. DHS may, but is not required to, conduct the second inspection
for those applicants as part of that evaluation.
Mental illness and developmental disabilities
Under current law, the county board of a county or a federally recognized
American Indian tribe or band (tribe) may establish an initiative to provide
coordinated treatment, education, care, services, and other resources to children who
are involved in two or more defined systems of care and to their families (initiative).
A county or tribe that establishes an initiative must appoint a coordinating
committee and designate an administering agency. Initiatives satisfying certain
requirements may apply for state funding. The bill allows for the creation of
multi-entity initiatives, which include more than one county or tribe. An agreement
to establish a multi-entity initiative must specify a lead administrative county or
tribe, which must then appoint the membership of the coordinating committee. The
bill allows multi-entity initiatives to apply for state funding and permits DHS to
establish certain additional requirements for multi-entity initiatives, even if those
criteria conflict with the requirements for single-county and single-tribal
initiatives.
Under current law, DHS makes grants to certain community programs. The
bill allows DHS to also distribute moneys in each fiscal year, beginning in 2014-15,
to regional peer-run respite centers for individuals with mental health and
substance abuse concerns.
Other health and human services
Under current law, DHS must recover the amount of certain benefits
(recoverable public assistance benefits) provided to individuals under certain
programs (public assistance programs) by making claims against the estates of the
individuals or their spouses. Recoverable public assistance benefits include benefits
provided to individuals with hemophilia, cystic fibrosis, or kidney disease under the
disease aids program; benefits under certain long-term care programs, including
Family Care; and MA benefits provided to individuals residing in nursing homes.
Also under current law, DHS may collect the amounts of those recoverable public
assistance benefits provided to an individual or his or her spouse from the
nonprobate property of the individual by sending an affidavit to a person who
possesses the property. The bill makes some changes to those recoverable public
assistance benefits recovery programs.
The bill defines the property, both estate property and nonprobate property,
that is subject to recovery by DHS as all real and personal property to which the
individual who received the recoverable public assistance benefits under a public
assistance program (recipient) held any legal title, or in which the recipient had any
legal interest, immediately before death, including assets transferred to an heir or
a survivor, such as jointly owned property or property transferred by a living trust.
In addition, the property subject to recovery includes any real or personal property
in which the recipient's spouse had an ownership interest at the recipient's death and
in which the recipient had a marital property interest at any time within five years
before the recipient applied for the public assistance program or during the time that
the recipient was eligible for the public assistance program. The bill provides that
there is a rebuttable presumption that all nonprobate property, and all property in
the estate, of the recipient's deceased surviving spouse was marital property held
with the recipient and that 100 percent of that property is subject to recovery by
DHS. As under current law, however, DHS may not recover nonprobate property or
property in an estate if the deceased person has a surviving spouse or a child who is
under age 21 or disabled, in which case DHS receives a lien in the amount that it may
recover on any of the deceased person's real property.
The bill expands on the procedure under current law for recovery of nonprobate
property by specifying all of the following: what information must be provided in an
affidavit by DHS to a person who possesses property of a decedent; what costs will
be allowed if the property was real property and the person has sold the property;
that the person receiving an affidavit has the right to a fair hearing on the value of
the recipient's interest in the property and how the recipient's interest is determined;
and that DHS may bring an action or issue an order to compel transmittal of the
property if the person does not transmit the property to DHS after receiving an
affidavit.
The bill establishes procedures for DHS to follow with respect to real property
owned by a recipient, both before and after death. DHS must create three documents
for recording in the office of the register of deeds: 1) a REQUEST FOR NOTICE OF
TRANSFER OR ENCUMBRANCE AND NOTICE OF POTENTIAL CLAIM
(REQUEST); 2) a TERMINATION OF REQUEST FOR NOTICE OF TRANSFER OR
ENCUMBRANCE AND NOTICE OF POTENTIAL CLAIM (TERMINATION); and
3) a CERTIFICATE OF CLEARANCE (CLEARANCE). Whenever a recipient, upon
becoming eligible for a public assistance program or during the time that the
recipient is eligible for a public assistance program, has a current ownership interest
in real property, or has a spouse with a current ownership interest in real property
in which the recipient had a marital property interest at any time within the five
years before applying for the public assistance program or during the time that the
recipient is eligible for the public assistance program, DHS may record a REQUEST
with respect to the property. Thereafter, unless DHS has recorded a TERMINATION
or a CLEARANCE with respect to the property, any title insurance company or agent
conducting a title search must note that a REQUEST is recorded against the
property before issuing a certificate of title insurance for the property. In addition,
any person intending to transfer title to, encumber, or terminate an interest in, the
property must notify DHS. If the recipient is alive when the notice is given, the
person may transfer title to, encumber, or terminate an interest in, the property. If
the recipient is deceased and DHS determines that it has no claim for recoverable
public assistance benefits, DHS must issue a CLEARANCE to the person for
recording. However, if the recipient is deceased and DHS determines that it does
have a claim for recoverable public assistance benefits, DHS must send the person
a statement of claim and may recover against the property in an appropriate manner,
including by placing a lien on the property.
The bill sets out requirements that apply to DHS when enforcing liens on real
property for recovering recoverable public assistance benefits and provides that a
section of the statutes that, generally, imposes a 30-year statute of limitations on the
commencement of actions affecting the possession or title to real property applies to
liens that DHS has on real property for recovering recoverable public assistance
benefits.
The bill specifies that certain transfers of real property are voidable by DHS in
court actions, in which case title to the real property reverts to the grantor or his or
her estate. A transfer is voidable if: the transfer was made by a grantor who was
receiving or who received MA; the transfer was made while the grantor was eligible
for MA; DHS was unaware of the transfer; and the transfer was made to hinder,
delay, or defraud DHS from recovering MA paid on behalf of the grantor. The bill
provides that there is a rebuttable presumption that any transfer of the property for
less than fair market value or one in which the deed or other conveyance was not
recorded during the lifetime of the grantor was made to hinder, delay, or defraud
DHS from recovering MA if the transfer was made by a grantor who was eligible for
MA when the transfer was made.
The bill requires trustees of living trusts to notify DHS, within 30 days after the
death of the trust settlor and before any assets are distributed, if the trust settlor,
or his or her predeceased spouse, received any recoverable public assistance benefits.
If DHS sends the trustee a claim for the recovery of recoverable public assistance
benefits, the trustee must, within 90 days, pay DHS the amount that it may recover
or provide DHS with information about any property that was distributed and to
whom it was distributed. The bill requires a trustee of a special needs or pooled trust,
the beneficiaries of which receive MA, to provide notice to DHS within 30 days after
the death of a trust beneficiary, and to repay DHS, within 90 days after receiving a
claim from DHS, for the amount of MA paid on behalf of the beneficiary. If the trustee
fails to comply with the notice or repayments requirements, the trustee is personally
liable to DHS for any MA amounts paid on behalf of the beneficiary that DHS is
unable to recover. The bill also provides that, after the death of a beneficiary under
a pooled trust, the trustee may retain up to 30 percent of the balance in the deceased
beneficiary's account, unless the trustee fails to comply with the notice and
repayment requirements, in which case the trustee may not retain any of the balance
in the deceased beneficiary's account.
Under current law, DWD assists individuals with disabilities in gaining
employment through its vocational rehabilitation program. An individual with a
disability who gains employment with assistance from the vocational rehabilitation
program no longer receives certain benefits from social security. The federal
government reimburses some of the benefits it no longer has to pay to individuals to
DWD for the vocational rehabilitation program. Also under current law, DHS
provides grants to independent living centers that meet certain criteria to provide
nonresidential services to severely disabled individuals. Current law requires that
DWD transfer social security reimbursement funds to DHS in order to provide these
grants.
This bill eliminates the transfer from DWD to DHS for grants to independent
living centers. Instead, DWD must allocate the moneys received from the federal
Social Security Administration for reimbursement of grants to independent living
centers. The bill then requires DWD to make grants to independent living centers
that meet the same requirements as those imposed to receive grants from DHS.
Under current law, among other specified, limited disclosures, the state or a
local registrar may disclose certain information from a vital record to a federal, state,
or local agency for use in the conduct of the agency's duties and may disclose a social
security number on a vital record to DCF or a county child support agency for child
and spousal support purposes and establishment of paternity. This bill allows the
state or local registrar to disclose information on vital records, including a social
security number, to DOR, upon DOR's request, for certain purposes related to
administering state taxes and collection of debts referred to DOR.
Justice
Under current law, the Office of Justice Assistance (OJA) within DOA operates
several programs and administers several grants related to law enforcement,
communications between law enforcement and other public safety agencies
(interoperable communications), criminal justice, juvenile justice and child advocacy
services, crime prevention, rehabilitation and alternatives to incarceration,
reintegration into society of American Indians who have been incarcerated, crime
data collection and analysis, and homeland security.
This bill eliminates OJA and transfers its functions to DOJ, except that the
programs and appropriations related to reintegrating American Indians who have
been incarcerated are transferred to DOC, and the programs and appropriations
related to homeland security, except those related to interoperable communications,
are transferred to DMA.
Under current law, a victim of abuse, harassment, or threats may obtain a
temporary restraining order against the person who has committed the acts of abuse
or harassment, or has made a threat. The restraining order bars the person from
contacting the victim and requires the person to stay away from the victim's
residence and other places temporarily occupied by the victim until a court conducts
a hearing to determine whether the restraining order should be incorporated into a
longer-lasting injunction. If the court determines that the person has engaged in,
or may engage in, abusive or harassing acts against the victim, the court may issue
an injunction against the person.
Under
2011 Wisconsin Act 266 (the Act), if a person violates certain restraining
orders or an injunction, the court may require the person to submit, for the duration
of the restraining order or injunction, to global positioning system (GPS) tracking by
DOC. The Act requires the court to find, before ordering GPS tracking, that the
person who violated the restraining order or injunction is more likely than not to
cause serious bodily harm to the victim.
This bill requires DOJ to establish standards for a local unit of government or
law enforcement agency that wishes to administer its own GPS tracking program for
persons who are subject to a restraining order or injunction and creates a grant
program for that purpose. Under the bill, in a jurisdiction that operates a GPS
tracking program, if a court issues a restraining order or injunction, a court may
order the person to submit, for the duration of the restraining order or injunction,
to GPS tracking. The bill requires the court to make the same findings as are
required for a person who has violated a restraining order or injunction.
Under current law, if a court imposes a sentence or places a person on probation
following a criminal conviction, the court must impose a crime victim and witness
assistance surcharge of $67 for each misdemeanor conviction and $92 for each felony
conviction. Specified portions of the collected surcharge are allocated to fund
services for crime victims and witnesses and to fund grants for sexual assault victim
services. This bill allocates the entire surcharge to fund services for crime victims
and witnesses and creates a general purpose revenue appropriation to fund the
grants for sexual assault victim services.
Under current law, a court may extend a term of probation or issue a judgment
for unpaid funds if a person who is nearing the end of his or her probation term owes
restitution or reimbursement fees. This bill also allows a court to extend a probation
term or issue a judgment for unpaid funds if the person nearing the end of his or her
probation term owes any part of a crime victim and witness assistance surcharge.
Currently, DOJ maintains three crime laboratories whose employees perform
duties including DNA testing, firearms identification, and other forensic testing.
Current law requires that the laboratories be located in the cities of Madison,
Milwaukee, and Wausau. This bill removes this requirement.
Also under current law, when advertising an open position in the classified civil
service, the state may not require as a condition of application that the applicant be
a college graduate unless the position advertised requires a license, permit,
certificate, or other credential that a person may not acquire without a college
degree. Under the bill, when advertising an open position as a forensic scientist in
a state or regional crime laboratory, the state may require as a condition of
application that the applicant be a college graduate.
Under current law, DOJ issues grants to certain counties and to eligible
federally recognized American Indian tribes within this state to fund county or tribal
law enforcement operations. Current law directs DOJ to issue a $300,000 grant to
Forest County each fiscal year and $80,000 annually to the Lac Court Oreilles Band
of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians. This bill eliminates these specific
requirements.
This bill also requires DOJ to reduce certain allocations related to grants aimed
at diverting youth from criminal activity in fiscal years 2013-14 and 2014-15 and
eliminates biennial grants to programs within the city of Milwaukee that relate to
community policing and crime prevention in targeted neighborhoods that suffer from
high levels of violent and drug-related crime.
Local government
With some exceptions, this bill prohibits cities, villages, towns, counties, and
school districts (local governmental units) from requiring, as a condition of
employment, that any nonelective employee or prospective employee reside within
any jurisdictional limits. Exceptions to the general prohibition include certain
school board officials. The prohibition also does not affect any other state law
requiring residency for a municipal position or any state or municipal requirement
for state residency. If a local governmental unit has a residency requirement in effect
on the effective date of the bill, the residency requirement does not apply and may
not be enforced.
The bill prohibits a local governmental employer from bargaining collectively
with respect to a decision to impose a residency requirement.
Under current law, subject to a number of exceptions, no county may impose an
operating levy at an operating levy rate that exceeds 0.001 or the operating levy rate
in 1992, whichever is greater, although a county may exceed the limit under certain
circumstances. "Operating levy" is defined as the county purpose levy, less the debt
levy, and "operating levy rate" is defined as the total levy rate minus the debt levy
rate.
Under current law, the county operating levy rate limit is suspended such that
it does not apply to a county's levy that is imposed in December 2011 or December
2012. Under this bill, the county operating levy rate limit is sunset and does not
apply to any county levy that is imposed in December 2011 or any year thereafter.
Generally under current law, local levy limits prohibit cities, villages, towns, or
counties (political subdivisions) from increasing their property tax levies by the
greater of either zero percent or the percentage change in the political subdivision's
equalized value due to new construction, less improvements removed.
Current law contains a number of exceptions to the levy limit. This bill makes
permanent the exception allowing an increase of a current year levy limit when the
prior year's actual levy was less than the allowable limit. The increase must be
authorized by a supermajority vote of the political subdivision's governing body and,
for a town, a majority vote of the town meeting.
Current law authorizes two or more political subdivisions to enter into an
agreement to create a commission to issue types of municipal bonds referred to as
conduit bonds. Under current law, only one commission may be created in the state.
That commission currently exists and was created using the current law procedures
for intergovernmental or interstate cooperation agreements. Primarily, the
commission may issue bonds or refunding bonds to finance or refinance certain
projects. Currently, before the commission may issue any bonds on certain economic
development or housing projects, the commission must receive written approval
from WHEDA. This bill eliminates the requirement to receive this permission. The
bill also makes technical and definitional changes, and clarifies that a project may
be located outside of the United States under certain circumstances.
Under current law, a municipality may receive an expenditure restraint
payment if its municipal budget has not increased from the previous year by more
than the sum of an inflation factor and a valuation factor.
Under this bill, if a municipality makes payments to another governmental
unit for providing a service, the amount of the payments are included in the
municipality's budget for purposes of determining its eligibility for an expenditure
restraint payment.
Under current law, the state pays municipalities for municipal services
provided to state facilities. The state negotiates the payment amount with each
municipality. DOA must submit proposed negotiation guidelines to JCF, and JCF
must approve the guidelines, before negotiating payments. In addition, DOA must
report the results of its negotiations and the total amount of the proposed payments
to JCF under its passive review process. Under this bill, DOA is not required to
submit proposed negotiation guidelines to JCF for its approval prior to negotiating
payments for municipal services and DOA may make the payments without the
committee's approval.
military affairs
Under current law, an individual who is registered with a local unit of
government as an emergency management volunteer is considered an employee of
that local unit of government for worker's compensation purposes for an injury
suffered while providing emergency management services during a disaster,
imminent threat of disaster, or related training exercise. Under this bill, an
emergency management volunteer is considered an employee of the state, not the
local unit of government, for worker's compensation purposes.
natural resources
Fish, game, and wildlife
The bill requires DNR to establish a deer management assistance program for
collecting information from the public about deer health and the deer population in
this state and receiving suggestions from the public about managing the deer
population. DNR must analyze information received and use it to improve deer
health and manage the deer population in this state.
Under current law, a person who holds a deer hunting license may be issued a
bonus deer hunting permit that authorizes the person to take an additional deer of
the sex or type specified by DNR by rule. Generally, a person may not obtain more
than one bonus deer hunting permit in a single season. Under the bill, DNR may also
issue a bonus deer hunting permit to allow a person to take an additional deer in a
county or deer management area in which a deer has tested positive for chronic
wasting disease (CWD area). The bill provides that DNR may issue to a person more
than one bonus deer hunting permit in a single season if the additional permit
authorizes the person to take a deer in a CWD area.
This bill authorizes DNR to promulgate rules to implement the
recommendations contained in the 2012 final report of the assessment of this state's
deer management plans and policies.
This bill reduces the fees that apply to wolf harvesting approvals and repeals
the current law authority to hunt wolves during nighttime.
Current law authorizes DATCP to prohibit or regulate the importing of animals
into this state if necessary to prevent the introduction or spread of disease. This bill
authorizes DNR to import and introduce wild elk into specified counties if certain
conditions are met, including that the applicable DATCP requirements are met to the
extent possible.
The bill prohibits DNR from establishing an open season for hunting elk that
begins earlier than the Saturday nearest October 15.
Under current law, DNR issues small game hunting licenses and annual fishing
licenses at no charge to any resident who is in active service with the armed forces
and who is in the state on furlough or leave. Under the bill, DNR must issue a
resident small game hunting license, a resident deer hunting license, a resident
archer hunting license, or a resident annual fishing license without charging a fee
to a resident who served during the Iraq or Afghanistan wars as a member of the U.S.
armed forces, or as a member of a reserve component of the armed forces or national
guard. Only one license may be issued to each person who applies and the license
must be issued within one year of the person being released or discharged from the
armed forces or national guard.
Other natural resources
Current law authorizes the state to incur public debt under the Warren
Knowles-Gaylord Nelson Stewardship 2000 Program (stewardship program), which
is administered by DNR. The state may incur this debt to acquire land for the state
for conservation purposes and for property development activities and to award
grants or state aid to certain local governmental units and nonprofit conservation
organizations to acquire lands for these purposes.
Current law establishes the amounts that DNR may obligate in each fiscal year
through fiscal year 2019-20 for expenditure under each of the five stewardship
subprograms. The bill decreases the amount that DNR may obligate under the land
acquisition subprogram for fiscal years 2013-14 and 2014-15 and makes a
corresponding increase to the amount that DNR may obligate for those fiscal years
under the subprogram for property development and local assistance.
This bill increases DNR's bonding authority, for the purpose of funding a dam
safety program, debt service on which is paid from the general fund, by $4,000,000.
Current law requires that vehicles entering state parks or other recreational
sites managed by DNR display an annual or daily vehicle admission receipt
(admission sticker). This bill requires DNR to waive the fee for an annual admission
sticker for a vehicle with Wisconsin plates if the owner of the vehicle is a Wisconsin
resident serving on active duty in the U.S. armed forces (resident service member).
This bill also requires DNR to waive the annual fee for admission to state trails for
a resident service member. Each resident service member qualifies for the fee waiver
for state parks and state trails only once.
Under current law, vehicles are exempt from the admission sticker requirement
from November 1st to March 31st, and trail users are exempt from the admission fee
requirement for state trails from October 27th to March 31st. This bill exempts a
vehicle with a resident service member as an occupant from the admission sticker
requirement on Veterans Day and during the three-day Memorial Day weekend and
exempts a resident service member from a trail admission fee on these days.
Retirement and Group Insurance
Under current law, a Wisconsin Retirement System (WRS) participant who has
applied to receive an annuity must wait at least 30 days between terminating
WRS-covered employment and returning to WRS-covered employment as a
participating employee, or the participant is not eligible to receive a WRS retirement
annuity. This bill provides that the participant must remain separated from
WRS-covered employment for at least 75 days to be eligible for an annuity.
Currently, when a WRS participant terminates employment and receives an
annuity he or she may return to WRS-covered employment and either terminate the
annuity and again become a WRS participating employee or, instead, continue to
receive the annuity, as well as wages from WRS-covered employment. If a
participant does not terminate the annuity, the participant may not be a WRS
participating employee and, in the case of state employment, is not eligible for group
insurance benefits, and may not use any of his or her employment service as a rehired
annuitant for any WRS purposes. If the participant terminates the annuity, the
participant returns to participating employee status, is eligible for all group
insurance benefits provided to other participating employees, and is able to
accumulate additional years of creditable service under the WRS for the additional
period of covered employment.
The bill provides that if a WRS participant who is receiving an annuity, or a
disability annuitant who has attained his or her normal retirement date, is
appointed to a position in WRS-covered employment in which he or she is expected
to work at least two-thirds of what is considered full-time employment by DETF, the
participant's annuity must be terminated and no annuity payment is payable until
after the participant again terminates covered employment.
2011 Wisconsin Act 32 increased the number of hours that an employee must
work in order to become a WRS participating employee from one-third to two-thirds
of what is considered full-time employment, as determined by DETF by rule. Under
2011 Wisconsin Act 32, this change in law did not apply to those employees who were
first
hired by a WRS employer before July 1, 2011, regardless of whether they were
participating employees before that date. The bill provides that in order to be exempt
from this change in law, an employee must have been a
participating employee before
July 1, 2011.
Federal law authorizes the establishment of health savings accounts, under
which individuals and their employers may make tax-exempt contributions that can
be used for the payment of medical expenses. Federal law sets annual contribution
limits. As a condition of establishing a health savings account, an individual must
be covered under a high-deductible health insurance plan. The specific
requirements of the high-deductible plans are set in federal law, but generally
require the payment of deductibles and certain out-of-pocket expenses before an
individual's medical services are covered under the plan.
State employees receive health insurance through plans offered by the Group
Insurance Board (GIB). This bill requires GIB, beginning on January 1, 2015, to offer
a high-deductible health insurance plan and a health savings account. The bill also
requires the state to make contributions into an employee's health savings account
in an amount determined annually by the director of OSER.
Currently, the director of OSER establishes the amount that employees must
pay for health insurance premiums, subject to a general provision that the state may
not pay more than 88 percent of the average premium costs of the lowest cost health
insurance plans. Under current law, health insurance plans are assigned to three
different tiers, depending on cost.
This bill provides that the state may not pay more than 88 percent of the
average premium costs of the health insurance plans in each tier. In addition, the
bill provides that if any tier contains no health insurance plans, but is used to
establish the premiums for employees who work and reside outside of the state, the
amount these employees must pay is based on the premium contribution amount for
that tier in the prior year, adjusted by the average percentage change of the premium
contribution amount of the other tiers from the prior year.
The bill provides that craft employees must pay all of their health insurance
premiums, unless otherwise determined by the director. A craft employee is a state
employee who is a skilled journeyman craftsman, including the skilled journeyman
craftsman's apprentices and helpers, but does not include employees not in direct
line of progression in the craft. A craft employee may be either nonrepresented or
in a collective bargaining unit.
Current law provides that GIB may not enter into an agreement to modify or
expand any group insurance coverage in a manner that conflicts with laws or rules
promulgated by DETF or that materially affects the level of premiums or the level
of benefits under any group insurance coverage. This bill permits GIB to modify or
expand benefits if the modification or expansion is required by law or would maintain
or reduce premium costs for the state or its employees in the current or any future
year.
The bill provides that, beginning in 2014, GIB must impose a premium
surcharge for health care coverage for state employees and retired state employees
who use tobacco products and may terminate the health care coverage of any eligible
employee who falsely claims that he or she does not use tobacco products. During
2014 and 2015, the surcharge is $50 a month. The bill further provides that the
premium surcharges paid by annuitants who use tobacco products are be used to
reduce future health care coverage premiums for annuitants and to reimburse DETF
for costs incurred by DETF in providing health care coverage to annuitants.
WRS is established as a governmental plan and as a qualified plan for federal
income tax purposes under the Internal Revenue Code (IRC). Under current law, no
WRS benefit plan may be administered in a manner that violates a provision of the
IRC that authorizes or regulates the benefit plan or that would cause an otherwise
tax exempt benefit to become taxable under the IRC. This bill updates and conforms
numerous provisions governing WRS benefits and the administration of the WRS to
the IRC.
The bill requires the secretary of employee trust funds to submit an annual
report to the secretary of administration and JCF on DETF's progress in
modernizing its business processes and integrating its information technology
systems.
The bill further provides that, during the 2013-15 fiscal biennium, the
secretary of employee trust funds may request the governor to supplement any sum
certain appropriation from the public employee trust fund for the purpose of
modernizing business processes or integrating information technology systems of
DETF. Upon receiving such a request, the governor may approve or modify the
request and must notify JCF of the proposed action under JCF's passive review
process.
