3. $500,000 in fiscal year 2018-19 to fund an early absenteeism pilot program
under which DCF awards grants on a competitive basis to public elementary schools
for the purpose of reducing chronic absenteeism in early grades.
4. $400,000 in fiscal year 2017-18 and $600,000 in fiscal year 2018-19 for a
public messaging campaign to promote the importance of the success sequence, the
involvement of fathers in the lives of their children, and the implications of teenage
pregnancy.
The bill also removes the geographic restriction, currently limited to
Milwaukee, on TANF funding of services to prevent child abuse or neglect and
requires a county to match a certain percentage of the amount the county receives
of the TANF moneys allocated for safety and out-of-home placement services.
This bill requires DCF, DPI, DHS, and DWD to collaborate on a report to the
legislature about the population overlap of families that receive public benefits and
children who are chronically absent from school.
Wisconsin Works
Under current law, the Wisconsin Works (W-2) program, administered by DCF,
provides, among other things, work experience and benefits for low-income custodial
parents who are at least 18 years old. The W-2 program provides work experience
by placing participants in one of the following categories of employment positions:
trial jobs, community service jobs, subsidized private sector employment, or
transitional placements.
Under current law, controlled substances screening, testing, and treatment
requirements apply to an individual who applies for the Transform Milwaukee Jobs
program or the Transitional Jobs program, who applies for W-2 services and benefits
for noncustodial parents, or who applies for or is ordered by a court to register for a
work experience and job training program. This bill adds the following W-2 work
experience programs for custodial parents to the programs to which the screening
and testing requirements apply: the Temporary Employment Match program, which
provides a subsidy for wages to an individual's employer, and the Community Service
Jobs program and Transitional Placement program, both of which provide a
participant with a monthly grant. With respect to an individual applying for a W-2
program, the bill also applies the screening, testing, and treatment requirements to
all adult members of an individual's W-2 group whose income or assets are included
in determining the individual's eligibility for a program. However, the bill exempts
from all controlled substances screening and testing requirements a custodial parent
of a child who is eight weeks old or less, a woman with a high-risk pregnancy, a W-2
participant who moves to an unsubsidized job and receives only case management
services, and a dependent child.
Also under the bill, an individual applying for a community service job or a
transitional placement is eligible for the monthly grants under those programs even
if the individual or his or her group member tests positive for the use of a controlled
substance without presenting evidence of a valid prescription and refuses to
participate in substance abuse treatment or the individual or his or her group
member fails to cooperate with the testing or treatment requirements. However, the
bill requires DCF to reduce the monthly grant and pay it not to the individual but
to a protective payee who must hold the money and use it exclusively on behalf of the
individual's dependent children. The bill limits this partial eligibility to 12 months
or until the individual again becomes eligible for full participation in a W-2 program,
if sooner.
Under current law, an individual who moves from a W-2 employment position
to unsubsidized employment is eligible for case management services to help the
individual retain the unsubsidized employment. Under this bill, an individual who
receives such case management services is also eligible for a supplement of $50 per
month over a period of 12 months if the individual meets work participation
requirements under the TANF block grant program.
This bill also places a limit on liquid assets for eligibility for Wisconsin Shares.
Under Wisconsin Shares, which is a part of the W-2 program under current law, an
individual who is the parent of a child under the age of 13 or, if the child is disabled,
under the age of 19, who needs child care services to participate in various
educational or work activities (approved activities), and who satisfies other
eligibility criteria, such as having a family gross income at or below 185 percent of
the poverty line, may receive a child care subsidy for child care services. The bill adds
another eligibility criterion: unless the individual is a foster parent, subsidized
guardian or interim caretaker, or kinship care relative, the total liquid assets of an
individual's family may not exceed $25,000 for the individual to be eligible for
Wisconsin Shares.
This bill also allows an individual who receives a child care subsidy through the
Wisconsin Shares program to continue to be eligible to receive a partial subsidy if
that individual's family gross income increases to above 200 percent of the poverty
line for a family the size of the individual's family, but the individual's copayment
increases by $1 for every $3 by which the family's gross income exceeds 200 percent
of the poverty line.
This bill also provides that, if an individual who is eligible for a child care
subsidy under Wisconsin Shares permanently ceases participating in an approved
activity, the individual will remain eligible for the child care subsidy for a period of
three months after the individual ceases participation or until the individual's
eligibility is redetermined, whichever is earlier. The bill also provides that an
individual will remain eligible for a child care subsidy while the individual
experiences a temporary break in an approved activity, such as a break due to illness,
to care for a family member, a school or holiday break, a regular break from seasonal
work, or any other temporary break from an approved activity that does not exceed
three months.
Under current law, if a payment to a child care provider under the Wisconsin
Shares program is based on authorized hours of child care, DCF is required to track
a child's hourly usage of child care authorizations over a six-week period and, if the
child's hourly usage over that six-week period is less than 60 percent of the
authorized hours, DCF must reduce the authorized hours to 90 percent of the
maximum number of hours that the child attended during that six-week period.
Current law excludes some vacation and sick leave when calculating the number of
hours a child attended during a six-week period. This bill adds that DCF must not
reduce the authorized hours based on a reduction in hours attended due to a
temporary break from an approved activity.
This bill provides that an individual does not lose eligibility for a child care
subsidy under Wisconsin Shares for a child who attains the age of 13 or, if the child
is disabled, attains the age of 19 until the individual's eligibility is redetermined. The
bill also provides that a child's development and learning and the promotion of
continuity of care must be taken into consideration when determining the number
of hours of child care authorized, and that those hours need not be based on the
individual's schedule of educational or work activities or the number of hours the
individual spends in educational or work activities.
This bill adds a requirement that a child for whom a Wisconsin Shares child
care subsidy is sought be immunized according to the immunization requirements
implemented by DHS.
Under current law, the Learnfare program requires school age children of W-2
participants, with some exceptions, to meet certain school enrollment standards. An
individual who fails to meet the school attendance requirement may be subject to
sanctions determined by DCF by rule. Under current law, an individual fails to meet
the school attendance requirement if the individual is not enrolled in school or was
not enrolled in the immediately preceding semester. Under this bill, an individual
who is habitually truant or who in the immediately preceding semester was
habitually truant also fails to meet the school attendance requirement.
FoodShare
FoodShare, also known as the food stamp program and the federal
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, provides benefits to eligible
low-income households for the purchase of food. FoodShare is administered by DHS.
The federal government pays the benefits for FoodShare, while the state and federal
government share the cost of administration.
This bill specifies that DHS may require a subset of, instead of all, able
individuals who are 18 to 60 years of age and who are not Wisconsin Works
participants to participate in the FoodShare employment and training program,
known as FSET, to the extent allowed by the federal government. Currently,
able-bodied adults without dependents are required to comply with certain work
requirements as a condition of FoodShare eligibility, though the FSET program is
voluntary. DHS may currently require able individuals who are 18 to 60 years of age
and who are not Wisconsin Works participants to participate in FSET, with certain
exceptions that are not affected by the bill. The bill also specifies that DHS may
implement the requirement to participate in FSET in certain areas of the state, as
determined by DHS.
DHS is currently required to promulgate rules to develop and implement drug
screening, testing, and treatment policy for able-bodied adults without dependents
in the FSET program. If the rules are promulgated, DHS must screen, test, and treat
able-bodied adults without dependents in the FSET program for illegal use of a
controlled substance. This bill applies these requirements for rule promulgation and
implementation of a drug screening, testing, and treatment program to all
able-bodied adults, regardless of whether they have dependents.
This bill prohibits an individual who is not elderly, blind, or disabled and whose
household has more than $25,000 in liquid assets, such as cash or financial resources
that can be converted to cash without penalties from eligibility for FoodShare
benefits. The bill also prohibits certain individuals and parents who refuse to
cooperate in obtaining child support or determining the paternity of a child or who
are delinquent in child support payments and do not satisfy an exception specified
in the bill from being eligible for FoodShare benefits.
Medical Assistance
This bill makes changes to the income eligibility and premium methodology for
the Medical Assistance Purchase Plan program, known as MAPP, and to the
financial eligibility determinations for certain long-term care and Medical
Assistance programs to the extent those changes are approved by the federal
government.
This bill changes the premium methodology for MAPP. Under the bill, every
individual receiving MAPP benefits must pay a premium of $25 per month unless the
premium would be an undue hardship, as determined by DHS. An individual whose
income exceeds 100 percent of the federal poverty line must also pay 3 percent of his
or her adjusted earned and unearned income that exceeds 100 percent of the FPL.
The bill excludes actual out-of-pocket medical and remedial expenses, long-term
care costs, and impairment-related work expenses from income for purposes of
determining the premium for MAPP and excludes from income for purposes of
determining eligibility under MAPP medical and remedial expenditures and
long-term care costs in excess of $500 per month that would be incurred by the
individual in absence of coverage under MAPP or a Medicaid long-term care
program.
For determinations of financial eligibility and any cost-sharing requirements
for the Community Options Program (COP), for certain community integration
programs, the Family Care program, Family Care partnership, IRIS, and certain
Medical Assistance programs, this bill requires DHS to exclude any assets
accumulated in a person's independence account and any assets from retirement
benefits accumulated from income or employer contributions while employed and
receiving state-funded benefits under COP or MAPP benefits. The bill sets the same
requirement for excluding retirement benefits from eligibility determinations for the
MAPP program as assets accumulated in an independence account are already
excluded under current law.
This bill also changes the income limit for Medical Assistance program
eligibility for certain elderly, blind, or disabled individuals who are medically needy
to 100 percent of the federal poverty line for a family the size of the individual's
family. Currently, the income limit for these individuals is this combined benefit
amount or 133 and one-third percent of the maximum aid to families with dependent
children payment, whichever is lower.
This bill requires DHS to submit to the federal government a request for an
amendment to the Medicaid waiver for the childless adult demonstration project to
provide employment and training services for childless adults eligible for the
demonstration project. Currently, the childless adult demonstration project, also
known as BadgerCare Plus Core, provides health services to adults without children
who are under the age of 65 and who have family incomes that do not exceed 100
percent of the federal poverty line. BadgerCare Plus Core operates under a waiver
of federal Medicaid laws.
This bill eliminates the ambulatory surgical center assessment. Under current
law, DOR may impose an assessment on ambulatory surgical centers. If the
assessment is imposed, 99.5 percent of the moneys collected are transferred to the
Medical Assistance trust fund which pays some of the costs for the Medical
Assistance program. The bill removes the authority from DOR to impose the
assessment.
This bill requires that DHS issue an order to compel payment from a recipient,
or parent of a minor recipient, of Medical Assistance who is liable for repayment to
the Medical Assistance program of an incorrect payment or an employer who owes
a penalty under the BadgerCare Plus program personally or by a type of mail that
requires a signature of acceptance. Under the bill, refusal or failure by the person
or employer liable for a repayment to accept or receive the order to compel payment
does not prevent DHS from enforcing the order. Under the bill, if the person or
employer liable for repayment does not make a payment, if a contested case
regarding the repayment is not pending, and if the time for contesting the repayment
order has lapsed, DHS may submit a true and accurate, instead of certified, copy of
the order to compel to the circuit court. Under the bill, an affidavit of the collections
unit of DHS, instead of a sworn statement of the secretary of DHS, is considered
evidence of the amount owed. Currently, as under the bill, a circuit court then
renders a judgment against the person or employer liable for repayment.
This bill eliminates current law reimbursement under the Medical Assistance
program for services provided by a special educator under the Birth to Three
program, also known as early intervention services, and instead allows DHS to pay
the costs for services provided under the Birth to Three program that are included
in the individualized family service plan and that were not previously authorized for
payment under the state Medical Assistance program.
This bill allows DHS to require a county to maintain a specified level of
contribution, which is determined by DHS based on historical county expenditures,
for the disabled children's long-term support program. Counties are required by the
bill to cooperate with DHS to determine an equitable funding methodology and
county contribution mechanism going forward and to ensure that county
contributions are being expended for the disabled children's long-term support
program. The bill also allows DHS to contract with a county or group of counties to
deliver disabled children's long-term support program services.
Children
This bill grants juvenile courts exclusive original jurisdiction over any child
who is a victim of, or at substantial risk of becoming the victim of, child sex
trafficking.
This bill makes certain changes relating to background checks of 1) a person
who has or who is seeking a license to operate a child care center, certification for
purposes of reimbursement under the Wisconsin Shares child care subsidy program,
or a contract with a school board to operate a child care center (collectively “
child care
program"); 2) an employee or contractor of a child care provider (caregiver); and 3)
a nonclient resident of the child care provider's home to conform to the federal Child
Care and Development Block Grant Act of 2014. The bill also makes certain changes
relating to the training required of a person certified as a child care provider for
purposes of reimbursement under Wisconsin Shares and of a caregiver of such a
provider to conform those training requirements to the Child Care and Development
Block Grant Act of 2014.
This bill allows DCF to visit and inspect the premises and records of any child
care program established or contracted for by a school board if the child care program
receives funding from Wisconsin Shares. Under current law, DCF is authorized to
visit and inspect the premises and records of a licensed child care center. A school
board may establish or contract for the provision of child care programs for children
under current law. While such a child care program must meet the standards for
licensed child care centers established by DCF, current law does not require it to be
licensed as a child care center.
This bill requires DCF, in cooperation with DPI, to develop and implement a
text message-based intervention program to increase the share of college-intending
high school seniors who successfully enroll in a postsecondary educational
institution, and requires DCF to award grants to eligible school districts in fiscal
years 2018-19 and 2019-20 to offset a portion of school or district costs associated
with the intervention.
Health
This bill reduces the blood lead level defined as “lead poisoning or lead
exposure” from 10 or more micrograms per 100 milliliters of blood to 5 or more
micrograms per 100 milliliters of blood. The presence of lead poisoning or lead
exposure in a child under six years of age allows DHS to request admission to the
premises to conduct a lead investigation. DHS also awards grants for lead poisoning
or lead exposure prevention and may promulgate rules specifying lead poisoning or
lead exposure screening methods and intervals for children under six years of age.
This bill requires that first responders and emergency medical technicians
renew their certifications or licenses every four years instead of every two years. The
bill creates an endorsement for an intravenous technician for all levels of emergency
medical technicians. An intravenous technician is trained to administer intravenous
and intraosseous infusions of medicated and nonmedicated fluids.
This bill allows DHS to pay for aid for first responder training and
examinations. Currently, DHS may pay aid for emergency medical technician —
basic training and examinations. The bill also allows ambulance service providers
that receive aids from DHS to escrow unused moneys and use those moneys in a
subsequent year for first responder training and examinations or emergency medical
technician training and examinations at any level.
Mental health and developmental disabilities
This bill creates youth crisis stabilization facilities, which have a maximum of
eight beds and which admit minors to prevent or de-escalate the minor's mental
health crisis and avoid admission of the minor to a more restrictive setting. Youth
crisis stabilization facilities must be certified by DHS to operate.
This bill removes the requirement that a licensed physician or psychologist of
a state treatment facility sign a statement of the need for treatment for an inmate
in a state prison to be involuntarily committed. Current law requires that a petition
for involuntary commitment of an inmate of a state prison contain allegations that
the inmate is mentally ill, a proper subject for treatment, and in need of treatment;
that less restrictive forms of treatment were unsuccessful; and that the inmate has
been informed of his or her treatment needs and rights. The petition must also
contain, among other things, the inmate's sentence and expected release and signed
statements by both a licensed physician or psychologist of a state prison and a
licensed physician or psychologist of a state treatment facility attesting that the
inmate needs either inpatient treatment at a state treatment facility or outpatient
treatment in the prison.
Other health and human services
This bill makes various changes to the Board on Aging and Long-Term Care
and the ombudsman program. The bill specifies that the seven members of BOALTC
must be members of the public and must not be persons who currently own, or owned
or had a certain interest within the previous five years in, a long-term care provider
or health care insurance company. The bill specifies that BOALTC appoints an
executive director who serves as the state long-term care ombudsman and that the
population served by the ombudsman program are those 60 years of age or older who
receive long-term care in certified or licensed long-term care facilities or under
programs administered by state or federal governmental agencies. The bill specifies
that BOALTC's ability to monitor and make recommendations, as it currently does
for COP, extends to the Family Care Program, the Family Care Partnership
Program, and the Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly and specifies that
the ability to provide advocacy services, as it does currently for potential or actual
enrollees of the Family Care Program, extends to potential or actual enrollees of the
Family Care Partnership Program and the Program of All-Inclusive Care for the
Elderly and to potential or actual recipients of the self-directed services option,
known as IRIS. The bill clarifies that the long-term care ombudsman program must
comply with certain federal statutes and regulations. The bill also, among other
things, prohibits any person from willfully interfering with the actions of an
ombudsman by acting or attempting to act to intentionally prevent, interfere with,
or impede the ombudsman from performing functions or responsibilities under law.
This bill allows DHS to recognize accreditation by certain accrediting
organizations that are approved by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid
Services instead of performing inspections and investigations itself for licensure of
home health agencies and hospices. DHS, under current law, is allowed to accept
accreditation of hospices by the Joint Commission in lieu of performing inspections
and investigations. The bill expands accrediting organizations from which DHS will
recognize accreditation of hospices.
This bill creates an allocation of moneys from Indian gaming receipts to
American Indian tribes for the performance of a feasibility study for and
development of a business plan for a youth wellness center.
Housing
This bill allows WHEDA to implement two separate programs related to the
federal Housing Choice Voucher Program. First, the bill authorizes WHEDA to
develop policies and procedures for and implement a two-year pilot program that
gives priority to chronically homeless individuals and families on the waiting list
WHEDA or a public housing agency that contracts with WHEDA maintains under
the federal Housing Choice Voucher Program. The bill also authorizes WHEDA to
provide case management services for chronically homeless individuals and families
who receive a voucher after being prioritized on the waiting list.
Second, the bill authorizes WHEDA to request approval from the federal
Department of Housing and Urban Development to implement a pilot program that
requires a recipient of a voucher under the federal Housing Choice Voucher Program
to satisfy work requirements as a condition of the voucher. The bill also provides that
WHEDA may provide certain employment, training, and self-sufficiency services,
in partnership with certain organizations that contract with WHEDA, to recipients
of vouchers under the federal Housing Choice Voucher Program.
This bill eliminates the requirement that a recipient of a transitional housing
grant awarded by DOA may not permit homeless persons to reside in housing
facilities provided by the grant recipient for more than 24 months. The bill also
eliminates the requirement that DOA reasonably balance among geographic areas
of this state certain other grants and loans DOA makes to defray the housing costs
of persons and families of low and moderate income.
Insurance
Under current law, a local governmental unit, including any city, county, town,
village, school, or library board, may pass a resolution to insure its property, and
property that it does not own but for which it is contractually liable if the property
is damaged or destroyed, in the local government property insurance fund (fund).
The fund is managed by the commissioner of insurance and provides protection for
the property insured in the fund against fire and extended coverage perils. This bill
provides that no new coverage may be issued under the fund on or after July 1, 2017;
no coverage may be renewed after December 31, 2017; no coverage may extend
beyond December 31, 2018; and all claims must be filed by July 1, 2019, or they will
not be covered under the fund, and any moneys remaining after all operations cease
will be distributed among the local governmental units that were insured on July 1,
2017.
This bill transfers some of the information technology employees from OCI to
the Division of Enterprise Technology in DOA. The bill also transfers assets and
liabilities, personal property, contracts, rules and orders, and pending matters
related to information technology from OCI to DOA.
Justice
This bill requires DOJ to award grants to cities to reimburse overtime salary
and fringe benefit costs for beat patrol officers. The grants are limited to the ten cities
that apply that have the highest rates of violent crime. The bill allows DOJ to
determine the amount of a grant, except that no more than $400,000 may be awarded
to a city for a calendar year. The bill also specifies requirements for applying for the
grants.
This bill changes the information that DOJ must include in its report to DOA
and JCF regarding restitution received by crime victims. Under the bill, the report
must specify the total number of individuals who received restitution instead of
identifying the individuals who received restitution and must provide the total
amount paid to all recipients instead of providing the amount paid to each recipient.
local government
This bill clarifies that if a unit of government has a responsibility to carry out
a certain function, and it enters into an intergovernmental cooperation contract with
another unit of government to jointly perform the responsibility, the jointly
established entity fulfills the unit of government's responsibility to carry out that
function until the contract expires or is terminated. In addition, if two or more units
of government enter into such a contract and create a commission to jointly or
regionally administer a function or project, the commission shall be considered to be
a single entity that represents, and may act on behalf of, the joint interests of the
signatories to the contract.
Generally, under current law, local levy limits are applied to the property tax
levies that are imposed by political subdivisions in December of each year. Current
law prohibits a political subdivision from increasing its levy by a percentage that
exceeds its “valuation factor,” which is defined as 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. Under one of
these exceptions, a political subdivision may increase its current year levy limit, up
to a maximum increase of 1.5 percent of the actual levy of the prior year, if the
allowable levy from the prior year was greater than the actual levy in that year
(carryover utilization).
Also under current law, a political subdivision must reduce its levy limit if the
amount of its levy in the current year, for its payment of debt service for debt issued
before July 1, 2005, is less than its levy for that purpose in the previous year (negative
adjustment for debt service). The amount of the levy reduction is the amount by
which its levy for such debt service was reduced. Under current law, the negative
adjustment for debt service requirement does not apply to a political subdivision in
any year in which the political subdivision does not increase its levy increase limit
by carryover utilization.
This bill eliminates the carryover utilization exception to the negative
adjustment for debt service requirement.
military affairs
This bill authorizes the adjutant general to operate a state emergency
operations center during a declared state of emergency. Costs incurred to operate the
center for more than 36 hours are payable from the petroleum inspection fund based
on JCF approval under passive review. The bill also authorizes the Division of
Emergency Management to award grants to Wisconsin law enforcement agencies to
fund crowd-control training and equipment.
natural resources
Fish, game, and wildlife
This bill appropriates any administrative fees DNR receives for pheasant
hunting in the Bong area lands or any state recreation area for the purpose of
stocking and propagating pheasants on DNR lands.
Forestry
This bill requires DNR to relocate the headquarters for the chief state forester
to an existing DNR facility north of STH 29 no later than January 1, 2018. The bill
authorizes DNR to allow current employees located at the central DNR office in
Madison to relocate to existing state facilities north of STH 29 designated by the chief
state forester and requires DNR to report, by February 1, 2019, to the governor and
JCF the number of employees who have relocated. The bill also requires DNR to
authorize payment of moving expenses for any such employee who relocates.
This bill specifies that a person who sets a forest fire is liable to the state for all
of the fire suppression expenses that are shared by the state and the county and that
the county's share of expenses, which is otherwise equal to the state's share, is
reduced by the amount by which such damages, if paid, exceed the state's share of
expenses.
This bill also provides that the requirement that the sale of timber cut from a
state, county, or community forest be advertised in a local newspaper may be
satisfied by posting notice on certain official Internet sites. The bill also provides
that approval and notice requirements apply to the sale of timber with an estimated
value of $10,000 or more that was cut from a state, county, or community forest. The
bill also provides that a county cutting merchantable wood products from a county
forest must furnish DNR with a report not more than five years after filing a cutting
notice.
Recreation
Current law specifies the fees for vehicle admission receipts, which authorize
the operation of a vehicle in certain recreational areas and in state parks. This bill
establishes a range of fees that DNR may charge for a vehicle admission receipt,
authorizing DNR to charge up to $10 more for an annual receipt than the fee under
current law, and up to $5 more for a daily receipt.
This bill also increases the maximum fees that DNR may charge for each night
of camping in a state campground to $30 for a resident and $35 for a nonresident.
This bill also requires DNR and DOT to jointly develop a plan to authorize the
purchase of a recreational passport when an individual initiates or renews his or her
annual vehicle registration. The bill requires DNR and DOT to evaluate the option
of the creation of the recreational passport as a special license plate registration
sticker that shows both the vehicle registration expiration year and an indicator that
the sticker is also a recreational passport.
Other natural resources
This bill makes numerous changes in the appropriation structure of DNR. The
bill renumbers various appropriations and eliminates appropriations that are no
longer used.
This bill eliminates the Wisconsin Natural Resources Magazine, which is
currently published six times a year by DNR. The bill directs DNR to publish the
final issue in February 2018 and, by June 30, 2018, to refund to each subscriber a
prorated amount of the subscription cost for all issues after February 2018 for which
the subscriber subscribed but that the subscriber will not receive.
Safety and Professional services
Buildings and safety
This bill eliminates rental unit energy efficiency standards and certification
requirements and certain powers of DSPS related to those standards and
requirements. The bill allows DSPS to take enforcement action related to violations
of those standards that occur before the effective date of the bill. The bill also
eliminates the requirement that an owner of a rental unit, before transferring an
ownership interest in the unit, must do one of the following:
1. Have the unit inspected by a certified inspector who issues a certificate
stating that the unit meets the minimum energy efficiency standards.
2. If the unit is scheduled for demolition within two years, obtain a waiver of
the certification requirement from DSPS or a certified inspector.
3. Obtain a stipulation between the transferee of the unit and DSPS or the city,
village, or town in which the unit is located stating that the transferee will bring the
unit into compliance with the minimum energy efficiency standards no later than
one year after the date of the transfer.
Under current law, the register of deeds may not record a document that
transfers real estate that contains a rental unit unless the document is accompanied
by that certificate, waiver, or stipulation. This bill eliminates that restriction.
This bill also exempts individuals who complete specified apprenticeship
programs from an examination required for the following trade profession licenses:
journeyman electrician, journeyman plumber, journeyman automatic fire sprinkler
system fitter, and automatic fire sprinkler contractor.
Professional licensure
Under current law, various professions are regulated by DSPS and various
examining boards and affiliated credentialing boards are created under DSPS.
Affiliated credentialing boards are each attached to a specific examining board. This
bill makes numerous changes to the laws governing DSPS and the examining
boards, affiliated credentialing boards, and councils under DSPS, including all of the
following:
