AB476: Bill Text

BCPL loans

This bill allows the Board of Commissioners of Public Lands to use school trust funds to issue loans to school districts, municipalities, technical college districts, and cooperative educational service agencies for the purpose of remediating lead contamination in schools.

Safe Drinking Water Loan Program

Under current law, the Safe Drinking Water Loan Program under the environmental improvement fund provides low-interest loans to municipalities for drinking water infrastructure projects, to help them comply with federal drinking water standards. This bill allows SDWLP funds to be used to reduce the principal and interest rates on BCPL loans made for the purpose of remediating lead contamination in schools. Under the bill, if there are not sufficient funds to pay all applicants for SDWLP loans in any fiscal year, then 1) 20 percent of the funds that are available must be allocated to reduce the principal or interest rates on BCPL loans made for the purpose of remediating lead contamination in schools; 2) payments to reduce principal on those loans may be made only in the fourth quarter of any fiscal year and only if sufficient funding is available; and 3) projects to remediate lead contamination in schools that are located within the same city, town, or village may not, in total, receive more than 20 percent of the funds that are allocated for remediating lead contamination in schools. If the 20 percent of SDWLP funding that is set aside for these purposes is not sufficient to fund all applicants for projects to reduce lead contamination in schools in any fiscal year, the bill requires the funds that are available to be distributed equitably among approved applicants.

For further information see the state and local fiscal estimate, which will be printed as an appendix to this bill.

The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do enact as follows:

AB476,1 Section 1. 24.61 (3) (a) 1. dm. of the statutes is created to read:

AB476,3,2 24.61 (3) (a) 1. dm. Remediating lead contamination in a school building.

AB476,2 Section 2. 24.61 (3) (a) 2. of the statutes is amended to read:

AB476,3,6 24.61 (3) (a) 2. A town, village, city, or county as provided under s. 67.04 or otherwise authorized by law, or to remediate lead contamination in a school with which the town, village, city, or county has contracted.

AB476,3 Section 3. 24.61 (3) (a) 3. of the statutes is amended to read:

AB476,3,10 24.61 (3) (a) 3. A technical college district as provided under s. 67.04 or otherwise authorized by law, or to remediate lead contamination in a school with which the district has contracted.

AB476,4 Section 4. 24.61 (3) (a) 3m. of the statutes is created to read:

AB476,3,13 24.61 (3) (a) 3m. A cooperative educational service agency for the purpose of remediating lead contamination in a school with which the agency has contracted.

AB476,5 Section 5. 118.07 (6) of the statutes is created to read:

AB476,4,6 118.07 (6) (a) Except as provided under par. (d), the school board of a school in a school district, operator of a charter school under s. 118.40 (2r) or (2x), or governing body of a private school participating in a parental choice program under s. 118.60 or 119.23 or in the program under s. 115.7915 shall, at least once every 3 years, test all potable water sources at the school for lead concentration. The school board, operator, or governing body shall conduct a test under this paragraph in accordance with the guidance document and testing protocol published by the federal environmental protection agency under 42 USC 300j-24 (b) and submit the test sample for processing to the laboratory of hygiene or a certified laboratory, as defined in s. 299.11 (1) (b).

AB476,4,11 (b) The school board of a school in a school district, operator of a charter school under s. 118.40 (2r) or (2x), or governing body of a private school participating in a parental choice program under s. 118.60 or 119.23 or in the program under s. 115.7915 shall, no later than 30 days after receiving the results of a test conducted under par. (a), do all of the following:

AB476,4,14 1. Post the results on the school board's, operator's, or governing body's Internet site or, if the school board, operator, or governing body does not have an Internet site, make the results available to the public for examination on request.

AB476,4,15 2. Provide the results to the department.

AB476,4,19 (c) If the results of a test of a potable water source at a school conducted under par. (a) show a concentration of lead that is greater than the concentration considered safe for drinking under the Safe Drinking Water Act, 42 USC 300f et seq., the school board, operator, or governing body of the school shall do all of the following:

AB476,4,25 1. Immediately disconnect the water source and, if necessary, provide an alternative drinking water supply until the school board, operator, or governing body conducts a test of the water source in accordance with the requirements under par. (a) the results of which show a concentration of lead that is equal to or less than the concentration considered safe for drinking under the Safe Drinking Water Act, 42 USC 300f et seq.

AB476,5,2 2. No later than 6 months after receiving the results, develop and submit a plan to the department for remediating lead contamination in the water source.

AB476,5,6 3. No later than 30 days after submitting a remediation plan under subd. 2., post the plan on the school board's, operator's, or governing body's Internet site or, if the school board, operator, or governing body does not have an Internet site, make the plan available to the public for examination on request.

AB476,5,9 4. If a remediation plan submitted under subd. 2. may be paid for, in whole or in part, by applying for a loan under s. 24.61 (3) (a) 1. dm., 2., 3., or 3m., notify and provide the test results to the department of natural resources.

AB476,5,16 (d) If the school board of a school in a school district, operator of a charter school under s. 118.40 (2r) or (2x), or governing body of a private school participating in a parental choice program under s. 118.60 or 119.23 or in the program under s. 115.7915 conducts 2 consecutive tests under par. (a) in a school at least 3 years apart the results of which show that the potable water sources in the school contain lead levels not higher than one part per billion, the school board, operator, or governing body is not required to conduct any additional tests under par. (a) at the school.

AB476,6 Section 6. 121.91 (3) (a) 1. of the statutes is amended to read:

AB476,6,10 121.91 (3) (a) 1. If a school board wishes to exceed the limit under sub. (2m) otherwise applicable to the school district in any school year, it shall promptly adopt a resolution supporting inclusion in the final school district budget of an amount equal to the proposed excess revenue. The resolution shall specify whether the proposed excess revenue is for a recurring or nonrecurring purpose, or, if the proposed excess revenue is for both recurring and nonrecurring purposes, the amount of the proposed excess revenue for each purpose. The resolution shall be filed as provided in s. 8.37. Within 10 days after adopting the resolution, the school board shall notify the department that it will schedule a referendum for the purpose of submitting the resolution to the electors of the school district for approval or rejection and shall submit a copy of the resolution to the department. Except as provided in subd. subds. 2. and 3., the school board shall schedule the referendum to be held at the next regularly scheduled spring primary or election or partisan primary or general election, provided such election is to be held not sooner than 70 days after the filing of the resolution of the school board. A school board may proceed under this subdivision and under s. 67.05 (6a) (a) 2. a. no more than 2 times in any calendar year. The school district clerk shall certify the results of the referendum to the department within 10 days after the referendum is held.

AB476,7 Section 7. 121.91 (3) (a) 3. of the statutes is created to read:

AB476,6,23 121.91 (3) (a) 3. If the school board of a school district receives results for a test conducted under s. 118.07 (6) (a) that show a concentration of lead in a potable water source at a school in the school district that exceeds the limit described under s. 118.07 (6) (c), the school board may call a special referendum to be held within the 6-month period immediately following the date on which the school board submits a remediation plan regarding the water source to the department under s. 118.07 (6) (c) 2., provided the special referendum is to be held not sooner than 70 days after the filing of the resolution of the school board under subd. 1. A school board may call a special referendum under this subdivision only to submit to the electors of the school district for approval or rejection a resolution supporting inclusion in the final school district budget of an amount equal to the proposed excess revenue attributable to costs of lead remediation conducted in compliance with the remediation plan.

AB476,8 Section 8 . 281.61 (1) (am) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB476,7,5 281.61 (1) (am) “Local governmental unit" means a city, village, town, county, town sanitary district, public inland lake protection and rehabilitation district, joint local water authority created under s. 66.0823, or municipal water district, or a school district, technical college district, or cooperative education service agency for the purposes of s. 24.61 (3) (a) 1. dm., 3., and 3m.

AB476,9 Section 9 . 281.61 (8) (b) of the statutes is created to read:

AB476,7,21 281.61 (8) (b) The department of administration shall allocate to projects for remediating lead contamination in a school under s. 24.61 (3) (a) 1. dm., 2., 3., or 3m. 20 percent of the available funds in each fiscal year or such lesser amount that fully funds those projects. Of this amount, the department of administration may allocate funds for reducing principal payments only in the fourth quarter of any fiscal year, and only if sufficient funds are available to fund all approved applications. If the amount of funds available under this paragraph is not sufficient to fund all approved applications for projects for remediating lead contamination in a school under s. 24.61 (3) (a) 1. dm., 2., 3., or 3m., the department of administration shall allocate funding in an equitable manner to all approved applicants. Notwithstanding par. (bL), in any fiscal year, applicants for projects for remediating lead contamination under s. 24.61 (3) (a) 1. dm., 2., 3., or 3m. for schools that are located within a single city, town, or village may not, in total, receive more than 20 percent of the amount of financial assistance planned to be provided or committed for projects under this paragraph for that fiscal year.

AB476,10 Section 10. Nonstatutory provisions.

AB476,8,2 (1) The school board of a school in a school district, operator of a charter school under s. 118.40 (2r) or (2x), or governing body of a private school participating in a parental choice program under s. 118.60 or 119.23 or in the program under s. 115.7915 shall conduct the first test required under s. 118.07 (6) (a) as follows:

AB476,8,4 (a) For a school building or an addition to a school building constructed before January 1, 1974, no later than 1 year after the effective date of this paragraph.

AB476,8,7 (b) For a school building or an addition to a school building constructed on or after January 1, 1974, and before January 1, 1985, no later than 2 years after the effective date of this paragraph.

AB476,8,9 (c) For a school building or an addition to a school building constructed on or after January 1, 1985, no later than 3 years after the effective date of this paragraph.

AB476,8,16 (2) If the school board of a school in a school district, operator of a charter school under s. 118.40 (2r) or (2x), or governing body of a private school participating in a parental choice program under s. 118.60 or 119.23 or in the program under s. 115.7915 tested all potable water sources at the school in accordance with the requirements under s. 118.07 (6) (a) no more than 5 years before the effective date of this subsection, the school board, operator, or governing body shall do all of the following:

AB476,8,18 (a) Notwithstanding sub. (1), conduct the first test required under s. 118.07 (6) (a) no later than 6 years after the effective date of this paragraph.

AB476,8,20 (b) No later than 3 months after the effective date of this paragraph, provide the test results to the department of public instruction.

AB476,9,2 (c) If the test results for a potable water source show a concentration of lead that is greater than the concentration considered safe for drinking under the Safe Drinking Water Act, 42 USC 300f et seq., no later than 6 months after providing the test results to the department of public instruction under par. (b), develop and submit a remediation plan to the department of public instruction regarding the water source.

AB476,9,3 (End)