This bill transfers, from DOA to DOJ, the state prosecutor office, which
provides administrative and legal support to district attorneys statewide.
The bill allows the attorney general to appoint, in the unclassified service of the
state civil service system, a solicitor general and up to three deputy solicitors general
and to assign assistant attorneys general to assist the solicitor general.
Under the bill, DOJ transfers a portion of the moneys it receives from a crime
laboratory surcharge and from a deoxyribonucleic acid analysis surcharge paid by
persons who commit certain offenses to the appropriation account that pays for crime
laboratory equipment.
local government
This bill creates a sports and entertainment district (district) with powers and
duties to facilitate the construction of a basketball arena, as well as other sports and
entertainment facilities (facilities), in a county with a population of more than
500,000 that has a first class city (collectively, local units) in which a professional
basketball team's home arena is currently located. Generally, the district is governed
by a board of nine members nominated by the governor and confirmed by of the
senate. Also under the bill, the county executive and mayor of a local unit may each
appoint one additional member to the board if the local unit provides funding to the
district.
Board members must be Wisconsin residents, have executive and managerial
experience, and may not be elective office holders or candidates for elective office.
The district may not incur debt or impose taxes and may operate and manage the
basketball arena and other facilities. The bill permits the Bradley Center Sports and
Entertainment Corporation, which currently owns the Bradley Center, to transfer
the ownership and debt of the Bradley Center to the district.
The bill authorizes the state to issue or contract $220,000,000 in appropriation
obligations to be used as a grant to assist a district in the construction of facilities,
including the acquisition or lease of property. Under the bill, the state may only
provide such a grant if the district has secured additional funding for the project in
an amount at least equal to $300,000,000.
Any lease between the team and the district for the use of the facilities must
provide that, if the team fails to fulfill its obligations under the lease, the team will
pay the state an amount that is sufficient to pay off the appropriation obligations.
Generally under current law, if a municipality (a city, village, or town) changes
its boundaries or its name, or if it changes status, the municipality must file a
certified copy of the change with the secretary of state. Depending on the type of
municipal action taken, the secretary of state may be required to notify other state
agencies and may be required to issue a certificate of incorporation to the
municipality. Under this bill, certified copies of such changes, and related
certificates of incorporation changes, must be filed with, and issued by, the secretary
of DOA.
Under current law, a person who is convicted of a crime is generally ordered to
pay various surcharges that fund a variety of programs related to criminal justice.
The bill creates a surcharge of $20 for each felony and misdemeanor that the clerk
of court forwards to the county treasurer, for retention in a crime prevention fund.
Moneys from the fund are distributed as grants at the direction of a crime prevention
funding board (CPFB).
Under the bill, a CPFB is created in every county whose treasurer receives
funds from the surcharge. Each CPFB consists of seven members, who serve for a
term that is determined by the CPFB: the presiding judge of the circuit court, or his
or her designee; the district attorney, or his or her designee; the sheriff, or his or her
designee; the county executive, county administrator, or county board chairperson,
or his or her designee; the chief elected official of the city, village, or town with the
largest population in the county, or his or her designee; a person chosen by a majority
vote of the top law enforcement officials of the departments that are located in the
county; and a person chosen by the county's public defender's office. Members of a
CPFB may be reimbursed for expenses but may not receive any other compensation.
A CPFB may solicit grant applications from certain specified entities and may
award grants to such entities. At least one-half of the funds must go to one or more
private, nonprofit organizations that has as its primary purpose preventing crime,
providing a funding source for crime prevention programs, encouraging the public
to report crime, or assisting law enforcement agencies in the apprehension of
criminal offenders. A CPFB may direct that the rest of the funds be distributed to
a law enforcement agency that has a crime prevention fund, if the contribution is
credited to the crime prevention fund and is used for crime prevention purposes.
The bill requires that a CPFB and any entity that receives a grant from a CPFB
must submit an annual report to certain specified entities detailing the amounts
spent, the purposes for which the grants were spent, and contact information for the
entity and the entity's leaders. The reports must be distributed to the clerk of court
for the county that distributed the funds, the county board, and the governing bodies
of the cities, villages, and towns in the county.
Under current law, DOR may enter into debt collection agreements with the
courts and local units of government. This bill specifies that a county board may
enter into a debt collection agreement with DOR.
Under current law, a city, village, town, or county (political subdivision) may
establish a lean program to increase the value of the goods and services the political
subdivision provides with the fewest possible resources and may contract with a
business to help the political subdivision in establishing its lean program. This bill
repeals the lean program for political subdivisions.
This bill directs each municipal clerk to, no later than October 15 of each year
following the year of a federal decennial census, transmit to the county clerk a report
confirming the boundaries of the municipality and each ward within the
municipality. Under the bill, the report must be accompanied by a map showing the
municipal and ward boundaries and a list of the census block numbers of which the
municipality and each ward within the municipality are comprised.
The bill also directs each county clerk to biennially transmit to the Legislative
Technology Services Bureau (LTSB), in an electronic format approved by LTSB, a
report confirming the boundaries of each municipality and each ward and
supervisory district within the county. Upon receipt of the information from each
county clerk at each reporting interval, LTSB must reconcile and compile the
information received into a statewide data base consisting of municipal boundary
information for the entire state.
military affairs
This bill creates an Office of Continuity of Government (office) in DOA. The bill
requires the office to consult with the administrator of the Division of Emergency
Management in DMA to establish and administer a program to ensure the continuity
of government operations during a disaster. The office must establish and help
administer a continuity of operations plan for each agency or other body in the
executive branch of state government, unless the office delegates that responsibility
to the state agency.
natural resources
Governance
Under current law, the Natural Resources Board (board) is the policy-making
entity for DNR. The board approves DNR's rules, sells land, and appoints high-level
staff. This bill transfers this authority from the board to the secretary of natural
resources and changes the board to a council, which is an advisory body.
Forestry
This bill requires DNR to develop a plan to move the headquarters of the
Division of Forestry from the city of Madison to a northern Wisconsin location,
including a description of the costs of relocating the headquarters, a timeline for
implementing the relocation, and a list of location options.
Under current law, DNR is required to award cost-sharing urban forestry
grants to local governments and certain other entities for activities relating to trees
and tree projects in urban areas (cost-sharing urban forestry grants). DNR may also
award urban forestry grants (discretionary urban forestry grants) to certain entities
for cost relating to trees that have been damaged by storms. This bill eliminates
DNR's authority to award discretionary urban forestry grants. The bill also limits
the purposes for which DNR may award cost-sharing urban forestry grants.
Under the Managed Forest Land Program administered by DNR, the owner of
a parcel of land designated as managed forest land (MFL) makes an annual acreage
share payment that is lower than, and in lieu of, the property taxes that normally
would be payable on the land. In exchange, the owner must comply with the terms
of a management plan approved by DNR.
This bill provides that, if timber cutting is required under the terms of an MFL
management plan, the owner is not required to obtain DNR approval of the cutting
if prior notice is provided to DNR by a cooperating forester.
Other natural resources
Current law authorizes the state to incur public debt for certain conservation
activities 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 may award grants to others to acquire lands for these
purposes.
The stewardship program consists of five subprograms. This bill prohibits
DNR from obligating amounts under the land acquisition subprogram beginning in
fiscal year 2015-16 if the general fund annual debt service under the stewardship
program exceeds $54,305,700.
Current law requires DNR to set aside certain amounts under the property
development and local assistance subprogram to be obligated for the purpose of
infrastructure improvements to the Kettle Moraine Springs fish hatchery. This bill
requires DNR to set aside an additional $7,000,000 in fiscal year 2016-17 and an
additional $7,000,000 in fiscal year 2017-18 for this purpose.
Current law authorizes DNR to contract public debt to fund a dam safety
program. DNR has bonding authority for the program of up to $17,500,000, the debt
service on which is paid from the general fund. DNR also has additional bonding
authority under the program of up to $6,600,000, the debt service on which is paid
from the conservation fund. This bill increases DNR's bonding authority, the debt
service on which is paid from the general fund, by $4,000,000.
This bill increases certain fees for vehicle admission receipts, which a vehicle
must display to enter any state park or certain other properties under the
jurisdiction of DNR. This bill also increases the nightly fees for use of a campsite in
a state park, state forest, or other lands under the jurisdiction of DNR.
Under current law, DNR administers various grant and financial assistance
programs. This bill eliminates the following:
1. A program that provides annual grants to nonprofit corporations for certain
urban open space objectives.
2. A program that provides grants to nonprofit corporations that conduct
activities related to the ice age trail.
3. Funding for interpretive programming at the Northern Great Lakes Center.
4. Two programs that provide grants to nonprofit corporations to conduct
various conservation activities.
5. Funding for the operational costs of the Florence Wild Rivers Interpretive
Center.
6. A program to award contracts to nonprofit corporations to assist nonprofit
river management organizations.
7. A program to award contracts to nonprofit corporations for lake classification
and management projects.
8. Funding to repair the Fox River navigational system.
9. A program to award grants to counties to fund a percentage of the salary of
a professional forester.
10. Funding for a forestry and fire prevention study.
11. A program to provide grants certification for master logger certification or
logger safety training.
12. A program to award grants to a nonprofit organization to provide education
on hunting, fishing, and trapping and to establish programs to recruit persons to
engage in those activities.
13. A program to award grants to promote the safe operation of all-terrain
vehicles.
Retirement and group insurance
Currently, state employees may receive health care coverage under Group
Insurance Board plans and qualify for employer contributions toward the payment
of their health insurance premiums depending on the number of hours they are
employed during the year. This bill permits state employees to be paid an annual
stipend of $2,000 in lieu of health insurance coverage.
This bill increases the terms of appointed members of the Group Insurance
Board from two years to four years, expiring on May 1 of the odd-numbered years.
safety and professional services
Elimination of DSPS
Under current law, DSPS and the various boards and councils attached to
DSPS regulate professional licensure and buildings and safety in Wisconsin.
Effective January 1, 2016, this bill eliminates DSPS and transfers all of its functions
to DFIPS. The bill attaches to DFIPS the various boards and councils attached to
DSPS under current law.
Professional licensure
Under current law, the licensure period for most credentials issued by DSPS or
a credentialing board under DSPS is two years, with renewal dates in either the
odd-numbered or even-numbered year.
This bill instead provides that the licensure period for most credentials is four
years, staggered so that the actual renewal dates for credential holders who have
even-numbered birth years are two years apart from the renewal dates for
credential holders who have odd-numbered birth years. The bill also provides that
the change from two-year to four-year credential periods may be phased in over
time.
Under current law, the Veterinary Examining Board (board) regulates the
practice of veterinarians and veterinary technicians in Wisconsin. Currently, the
board is under the umbrella of DSPS. This bill transfers the board to the DATCP.
Current law requires the Pharmacy Examining Board (PEB) to establish by
rule and administer a prescription drug monitoring program (PDMP). The PDMP
requires pharmacies and physicians or other practitioners to generate a record
documenting each dispensing of a prescription drug by the pharmacy or practitioner
that is covered by the PDMP, generally a controlled substance or other drug the PEB
identifies as having a substantial potential for abuse. Among other requirements,
the pharmacy or practitioner must deliver records generated under the PDMP to the
PEB. This bill transfers the PDMP to the Controlled Substances Board (CSB),
which, like the PEB, is attached to DSPS.
The bill also adds all of the following members to the current membership of the
CSB:
1. The chairperson of the Medical Examining Board or his or her designee.
2. The chairperson of the Dentistry Examining Board or his or her designee.
3. The chairperson of the Board of Nursing or his or her designee.
The bill also specifies that the PEB may disclose a record generated under the
PDMP to law enforcement agencies, including under circumstances indicating
suspicious or critically dangerous conduct or practices of a pharmacy, pharmacist,
practitioner, or patient.
Current law further requires the PEB to specify by rule the discipline for failure
to comply with the PDMP. Under the bill, those rules must permit the board to refer
to the appropriate board for discipline, or the appropriate law enforcement agency
for investigation and possible prosecution, a pharmacist, pharmacy, or practitioner
that fails to comply with the PDMP.
Buildings and safety
This bill transfers DSPS's responsibilities with respect to administration of the
laws regulating private on-site wastewater treatment systems (POWTS) to DNR
and eliminates a program to provide grants to individuals and businesses who are
served by failing POWTS.
This bill further transfers $21,000,000 from the petroleum inspection fund to
the transportation fund in each year of the fiscal biennium.
state government
State finance
This bill increases the amount of state public debt to refund any unpaid
indebtedness used to finance tax-supported or self-amortizing facilities from
$3,785,000,000 to $5,285,000,000.
The bill extends into the 2016-17 fiscal year a lapse requirement imposed for
most state agencies during the 2013-15 fiscal biennium. Under the bill, the
secretary of administration must lapse moneys to the general fund from executive
branch state agency general purpose revenue and program revenue appropriations.
The bill requires the cochairpersons of the Joint Committee on Legislative
Organization, during the 2015-17 fiscal biennium, to ensure that $9,232,200 is
lapsed from sum certain general purpose revenue appropriation accounts or is
subtracted from the expenditure estimates for any other types of appropriations, or
both.
Currently, in any fiscal year, the secretary of administration may temporarily
reallocate moneys to the general fund from other funds in an amount not to exceed
5 percent of the total general purpose revenue appropriations for that fiscal year. In
2013 Wisconsin Act 20, this amount was increased to 9 percent for the 2013-15 fiscal
biennium. This bill makes the increase to 9 percent permanent.
Current statutes provide that no bill directly or indirectly affecting general
purpose revenues may be adopted if the bill would cause the estimated general fund
balance on June 30 of any fiscal year to be less than a certain amount of the total
general purpose revenue appropriations for that fiscal year. For fiscal years 2017-18
and 2018-19, and for each fiscal year thereafter, the amount is 2 percent of total
general purpose revenue appropriations for that fiscal year.
This bill provides that for fiscal years 2017-18 and 2018-19, the amount is
$65,000,000; and for 2019-20 and each fiscal year thereafter, the amount is 2 percent
of total general purpose revenue appropriations for that fiscal year.
Other state government
This bill specifies a method by which most Building Commission approvals will
be made. Other than a pre-budget request for a project budget increase or of a
substantial change in an enumerated project, Building Commission approvals are
made by a passive review process. Requests for approval are submitted in writing
to the Building Commission. If, within 14 working days after the date of that written
request, a majority of the members of the Building Commission do not request that
the Building Commission schedule a meeting to review the request, the request is
approved.
Also under this bill, at the first meeting of the Building Commission following
the enactment of the biennial budget act, the Building Commission may 1) authorize
DOA to contract certain public debt in an amount not to exceed the amount that the
Building Commission is authorized to contract; 2) release an amount not to exceed
the amount of state building trust fund moneys to DOA for planning for enumerated
projects; and 3) authorize DOA to issue revenue-obligation refunding obligations.
Also, after this first meeting of the Building Commission, DOA must report quarterly
to the Building Commission regarding the status of projects under the state building
program.
Under current law DOA may prepare a request for the issuance of operating
notes and may submit the request to the Building Commission. The request must
be signed by the governor and the secretary of administration and is subject to review
by JCF.
Under this bill, DOA is not required to submit a request for the issuance of
operating notes to the Building Commission. Instead, DOA may prepare an
authorizing certification for the issuance of operating notes that must be signed by
the secretary, must be transmitted to the governor, and is subject to review by JCF.
Under current law, the Building Commission may authorize money from the
state building trust fund to be available for a project costing $760,000 or less and the
building commission may authorize the design and construction of any building, the
acquisition of land, or the repair or improvement of any building, structure, or
facility that costs more than $760,000 only if the project is enumerated in the state
building program. This bill increases each of those thresholds to $3,000,000. Also,
current law generally prohibits the state from entering into a contract for the
construction of or addition to any building in connection with a building project
involving a cost that exceeds $185,000 without approval by the building commission.
This bill increases that threshold to $760,000. Under current law, a contract to
perform for the state any engineering services, architectural services, construction
work, or limited trades work that involves an expenditure over $60,000 must be
approved by the governor. This bill increases that threshold to $150,000.
Under current law, DOA manages all engineering, design, and construction
work for state agencies, including the UW System, but DOA may delegate its
management authority to an agency for a specific project. Plans and specifications
for all work on UW projects are subject to approval of DOA. Under this bill, a project
for UWSA, which is created effective July 1, 2016, under this bill, is subject to
Building Commission approval and DOA supervision if the project is funded entirely
from general purpose revenues. For any project of UWSA that is not funded entirely
by general purpose revenues, Building Commission approval is not required and
UWSA is in charge of all aspects of the project, except that DOA is still responsible
for the bidding process on a project of UWSA that costs at least $760,000. DOA may
not charge UWSA for conducting the bidding process on such a project.
Currently, the UW System may not accept a gift or grant of real property valued
in excess of $150,000 or any gift of a building, structure, or facility that is constructed
for the benefit of the UW System without approval of the Building Commission.
Under the bill, this restriction does not apply to UWSA.
Under current law, the Office of State Employment Relations (OSER)
administers the state civil service and is attached to DOA for administrative
purposes. Within OSER there is a Division of Merit Recruitment and Selection. This
bill restructures OSER into a Division of Personnel Management in DOA, managed
by an unclassified division administrator, and restructures the Division of Merit
Recruitment and Selection, managed by an unclassified director, into a Bureau of
Merit Recruitment and Selection in the Division of Personnel Management.
Current law makes annual and biennial appropriations from the universal
service fund (USF) for various telecommunications and other programs. Current law
also requires the PSC to administer a grant program for constructing broadband
infrastructure in underserved areas. This bill provides funding for the grant
program by transferring to the PSC, at the end of each fiscal year or fiscal biennium,
the unencumbered balances from the USF-funded appropriations. The bill also
makes an appropriation from the USF to the PSC for the grant program. Also under
the existing grant program, the PSC makes grants to eligible applicants for the
purpose of constructing broadband infrastructure in underserved areas designated
by the PSC. Under this bill, the criteria for awarding grants under the program must
give priority to projects that are scalable.
This bill requires the PSC to study health issues related to wind energy systems
and submit a report on the study to the governor and legislature. Current law
requires the wind siting council to survey peer-reviewed scientific research
regarding the health impacts of such systems. The bill allows the PSC's study to
consider, but not replicate, those surveys.
Under current law, DOA administers requirements for providing relocation
assistance to persons displaced when their property is condemned for public
improvements. This bill requires the PSC, instead of DOA, to administer those
requirements. Also under current law, DOA has established a state energy office to
administer certain programs funded by the federal Department of Energy. The bill
transfers the administration of those programs to the PSC.
Current law permits DOA, or its agents, to enter into contracts for services, and
requires DOA to promulgate rules for the procurement of contractual services.
This bill clarifies that "contractual services" does not include information
technology products or services that are delivered using a subscription and central
hosting delivery model. The bill also eliminates the current requirement that DOA
promulgate rules requiring agencies to conduct a cost-benefit analysis and review
the continued appropriateness of contractual service procurements of more than
$50,000.
