1. Identify ways in which DOA and other state agencies specified in the bill and
the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority can increase access to
services for homeless individuals and families, including homeless children and
youths as defined under federal law.
2. Advise each of the state agencies specified in the bill and WHEDA to revise
any policy or practice that the council determines impedes homeless individuals and
families from obtaining services.
5. Report concerning homeless children and youth
The bill requires the Department of Public Instruction to annually issue a
report to the legislature on the number of homeless children and youths in the public
schools of this state. Under the bill, “homeless children and youths” is defined by
reference to federal law providing homeless assistance.
6. Report concerning households with worst case housing needs
The bill requires WHEDA to annually issue a report to the legislature on the
number of households with worst case housing needs in this state. “Households with
worst case housing needs” is defined in a manner consistent with that used by the
federal Department of Housing and Urban Development. The report must include
data and demographic information on these households, analysis of the impediments
to obtaining affordable housing, and recommendations on how to improve state and
local programs to assist these households with their housing needs.
7. Pilot program related to the federal Housing Choice Voucher Program
The bill creates a two-year pilot program that gives priority to homeless
children and their families, as defined under federal law, on the waiting list that
WHEDA, or a public housing agency that contracts with WHEDA, maintains under
the federal Housing Choice Voucher Program. Under the bill, WHEDA is required
to develop policies and procedures for the pilot program.
8. Civil legal services for the indigent
Under current law, the Department of Children and Families is directed to
allocate in each fiscal year specific amounts of money, including federal moneys
received under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant, for
various public assistance programs. Under current law, DCF provides funding to the
Wisconsin Trust Account Foundation, Inc., (the foundation) to provide civil legal
services to TANF-eligible individuals in two ways:
1. DCF provides up to $100,000 in each fiscal year in matching funds to the
foundation for the provision of civil legal services to eligible individuals. This grant
does not specify what types of civil legal services may be provided.
2. DCF provides a $500,000 grant in each fiscal year to the foundation to
provide grants to programs, up to $75,000 each, that provide certain legal services
to eligible individuals. The legal services provided through this grant are limited to
legal services in civil matters related to domestic abuse or sexual abuse or to
restraining orders or injunctions for individuals at risk.
The bill removes the grant that requires matching funds and increases the
grant to provide certain legal services to eligible individuals to $1,000,000 per fiscal
year. Under the bill, the foundation may additionally use this funding to provide to
eligible individuals civil legal services related to eviction. The bill removes the
$75,000 cap on grants provided by the foundation to individual programs.
The bill also requires DOA to make annual payments to the foundation for the
purpose of providing civil legal services to indigent persons.
9. Internet assistance program
The bill requires DCF to establish an Internet assistance program under which
it makes payments to Internet service providers on behalf of low-income individuals
to assist with paying for Internet service. The bill requires that other assistance
program options be exhausted before assistance is provided under this program. The
bill allows DCF to contract for the administration of the program. The bill requires
DCF to promulgate rules to implement the program, which must include a
requirement that the family income of a recipient not exceed 200 percent of the
federal poverty line.
Workforce development and job and income supports
1. Job and Business Development Program
The bill increases funding by $799,400 in each fiscal year of the 2021-23 fiscal
biennium to supplement, on a one-to-one matching basis, federal employment
opportunity demonstration project funds and funds from other federal and private
foundation sources for job creation and development for individuals with low
incomes. The program funded by these funds is commonly referred to as the Job and
Business Development Program.
2. Child care subsidies
Under current law, the Wisconsin Shares program provides child care subsidies
as a part of Wisconsin Works (W-2), which provides work experience and benefits for
low-income custodial parents and is administered by DCF. Under current law, in
order to qualify for a Wisconsin Shares child care subsidy, the recipient must meet
certain financial and nonfinancial eligibility criteria. The bill increases the income
cap for initial qualification for a Wisconsin Shares subsidy from 185 percent of the
federal poverty line to 200 percent of the federal poverty line.
3. Skills enhancement services
Under current law, DCF must distribute grants to community action agencies
to provide skills enhancement services, including access to transportation, child
care, career counseling, job placement assistance, and financial support for
education and training. Under this program, a community action agency may
provide these services to individuals who work at least 20 hours per week and whose
earned income is at or below 150 percent of the poverty line. The bill increases the
earned income threshold for eligibility to 200 percent of the poverty line.
4. Transitional Jobs program
Under current law, DCF administers the Transitional Jobs program, which
provides wage subsidies to employers of certain low-income parents or primary
caregivers of a child and low-income young adults. The bill provides an additional
$1,000,000 per fiscal year to the Transitional Jobs program to provide these services
outside of Milwaukee County.
5. Job and employment services pilot program
The bill requires the Department of Workforce Development to establish a pilot
program that offers job and employment services for individuals receiving housing
vouchers or receiving services from state-funded homeless shelters. The bill
requires the pilot program to offer services similar to those offered under the existing
Transform Milwaukee Jobs and Transitional Jobs programs in current law. The bill
funds the pilot program with $500,000 in each fiscal year of the 2021-23 fiscal
biennium. Under the bill, the pilot program sunsets on June 30, 2023.
6. Council on Workforce Investment strategic plan
Under the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2014 (WIOA),
federal funds are allocated to the state and, in turn, to local workforce development
areas designated by the governor to provide employment and training activities for
job seekers and workers. The WIOA repealed a prior law known as the federal
Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA), which contained a number of similar
provisions. To receive funding under the WIOA, the governor must establish a
Council on Workforce Investment. The bill requires the council to identify certain
populations for services under its WIOA strategic plan. The populations to be
included are 1) homeless individuals from ages 18 to 24; 2) certain children placed
in out-of-home care; and 3) homeless adults.
7. Miscellaneous provisions
The bill repeals a provision concerning review and approval of certain matters
regarding assistance to dislocated workers that was administered as part of the WIA,
but that no longer exists. In addition, the bill updates references to the United States
Code sections regarding WIOA.
Community action agencies
Under current law, DCF must distribute grants to community action agencies
to provide skills enhancement services, including access to transportation, child
care, career counseling, job placement assistance, and financial support for
education and training. The bill provides an additional $500,000 in each fiscal year
of the 2021-23 fiscal biennium for that purpose.
The bill also provides a match from state funding to the federal community
services block grant, which funds the work of community action agencies. Under
current law, a community action agency is an entity that provides services such as
employment or housing assistance, financial planning, or educational services to
low-income individuals and that works to combat poverty in the community that it
serves. The bill increases the income cap for receiving services from a community
action agency from 125 percent of the federal poverty line to 200 percent of the federal
poverty line.
The bill also requires the Department of Health Services to establish a grant
program to provide grants to community action agencies to enable them to respond
to the needs of communities and low-income families and individuals in crisis
resulting from opioid addiction-related issues. Through the program, DHS is
required to endeavor to expand and support effective community efforts to identify
and respond to causes and consequences of opioid misuse and addiction experienced
by low-income individuals, families, and communities. Under the bill, DHS must
award grants of at least $25,000 and up to $250,000 per year. The bill sets out criteria
DHS must use in awarding grants as well as characteristics of applications to which
DHS must give preference. Grants under the bill may not be more than three years
in duration unless approved by the secretary of health services.
Lead exposure and abatement
1. Early intervention services for children with lead in their blood
Under current law, DHS implements a statewide program, referred to as the
Birth to 3 Program, that provides early intervention services for children aged three
and under who are developmentally delayed or are diagnosed as having a condition
that is likely to result in significantly delayed development. The bill ensures that
children with a concentration of lead in their blood of at least 5 micrograms per 100
milliliters of blood are eligible for services under the Birth to 3 Program.
2. Lead-Safe Homes Program
Under current law, DHS provides lead abatement services through the
Lead-Safe Homes Program. The Lead-Safe Homes Program provides repairs to
owner-occupied and rental properties to make them lead-safe. Currently, the
program is funded in part through federal funding. The bill increases state funding
for the program by $28,400,000 over the fiscal biennium.
3. Windows Plus lead exposure program
The bill authorizes one general purpose revenue position within DHS and
increases funding to resume the Windows Plus lead exposure program. The
Windows Plus lead exposure program was initiated in the 2019-21 fiscal biennium
with onetime funding to provide lead-safe renovations in homes built before 1950
that are inhabited or frequently visited by low-income families with children. The
program focuses renovations on high-risk components of housing, such as windows,
porches, floors, and siding.
4. Lead service line replacement
Under current law, DOA and the Department of Natural Resources administer
the Safe Drinking Water Loan Program (SDWLP), which provides financial
assistance to local governmental units and to the private owners of community water
systems that serve local governmental units for projects for the planning, designing,
construction, or modification of public water systems. DNR establishes a funding list
for SDWLP projects, and DOA allocates funding for those projects.
Under current law, the state may contract up to $74,950,000 in public debt for
the SDWLP. The bill increases the bonding authority for the program by $40,000,000
and requires DOA to allocate up to $40,000,000 of the authorized public debt to
projects involving forgivable loans to private users of public water systems to cover
not more than 50 percent of the cost to replace lead service lines.
Sober living and mental health
The bill requires DHS to encourage the development, expansion, and quality
control of networks of sober living residences and to allocate moneys to create a
revolving loan fund for establishing sober living residences or a network of sober
living residences or to award grants for purposes specified in the bill.
The bill requires DHS to award grants to entities or groups that meet its
qualifications to perform research projects on mental health issues and access to
mental health services in rural areas of the state.
Nonemergency medical transportation services
The bill requires DHS to determine and implement a reimbursement rate for
nonemergency medical transportation services for Medical Assistance recipients
who are nursing home residents that is the same as the prevalent brokerage
reimbursement rate applied to other nonemergency medical transportation services
for Medical Assistance recipients.
Transportation
1. Transportation grants
Under current law, the Department of Transportation may award grants to
public and private organizations for the development and implementation of
demand management, ride-sharing, and job access and employment transportation
assistance programs. The bill increases the amount of state monies appropriated for
the development and implementation of job access and employment transportation
assistance programs by $249,450 in each year of the 2021-23 fiscal biennium.
2. Urban mass transit aid
Under current law, DOT provides state aid payments to local public bodies in
urban areas served by mass transit systems to assist the local public bodies with the
expenses of operating those systems. The bill increases the total amount of state aid
payments for mass transit systems serving urban areas having a population of less
than 50,000 to $5,707,800 in calendar year 2021 and thereafter.
3. Specialized transportation services
Under current law, DOT administers specialized transportation programs to
provide financial assistance for transportation services for seniors and individuals
with disabilities. One program provides funding to counties based on each county's
proportion of the state's population of seniors and individuals with disabilities. The
other program provides funds to local public bodies and nonprofit organizations
through a competitive application process to supplement federal funding under the
Enhanced Mobility of Seniors and Individuals with Disabilities program. The bill
increases funding for both programs by 2 percent.
Higher education
The bill requires the Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System
to allocate $50,000 each fiscal year for the Institute for Research on Poverty at
UW-Madison to study and provide an annual report to the public on poverty in this
state.
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:
AB1145,1
1Section
1. 13.48 (26m) of the statutes is created to read:
AB1145,8,6
113.48
(26m) Lead service line replacement. The legislature finds and
2determines that the prevalence of lead service lines in connections to public water
3systems poses a public health hazard and that processes for reducing lead entering
4drinking water from such pipes requires additional treatment of wastewater. It is
5therefore in the public interest, and it is the public policy of this state, to assist
6private users of public water systems in replacing lead service lines.
AB1145,2
7Section
2. 16.03 (2) (d) of the statutes is created to read:
AB1145,8,98
16.03
(2) (d) No later than January 1 of each odd-numbered year, do all of the
9following:
AB1145,8,1510
1. Identify ways in which the departments of administration, children and
11families, health services, public instruction, workforce development, and veterans
12affairs and the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority can
13increase access to services for homeless individuals and families, including
14individuals who are included in the category of homeless children and youths, as
15defined in
42 USC 11434a (2).
AB1145,8,1916
2. Advise each of the departments specified in subd. 2. and the Wisconsin
17Housing and Economic Development Authority to revise any policy or practice of the
18department or authority that the council determines impedes homeless individuals
19and families from obtaining services.
AB1145,3
20Section
3. 16.19 of the statutes is created to read:
AB1145,9,3
2116.19 Civil legal services for the indigent. Annually, the department shall
22pay the amount appropriated under s. 20.505 (7) (e) to the Wisconsin Trust Account
23Foundation, Inc., to provide civil legal services to indigent persons. The Wisconsin
24Trust Account Foundation, Inc., shall distribute the amount received from the
25department under this section as grants to programs that provide civil legal services
1to indigent persons, and those programs may use the grant funds to match other
2federal and private grants. The grants may be used only for the purposes for which
3the funding was provided.
AB1145,4
4Section
4. 16.306 (2) (a) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB1145,9,135
16.306
(2) (a) From the
appropriation appropriations under s. 20.505 (7)
(fk)
6and (fm), the department may award a grant to an eligible applicant for the purpose
7of providing housing and associated supportive services to homeless individuals and
8families to facilitate their movement to independent living if the conditions under
9par. (b) are satisfied. The department shall
ensure that the funds for the grants are
10reasonably balanced among geographic areas of the state that correspond to the
11geographic areas served by each continuum of care organization designated by the
12federal department of housing and urban development, consistent with the quality
13of applications submitted award grants under this paragraph on a competitive basis.
AB1145,5
14Section
5. 16.3065 of the statutes is created to read:
AB1145,9,16
1516.3065 Rental assistance.
(1) In this section, “eligible applicant” has the
16meaning given in s. 16.306 (1).
AB1145,9,22
17(2) From the appropriation under s. 20.505 (7) (bq), the department shall
18award grants to eligible applicants to provide tenant-based rental assistance to
19individuals and families. All grant funds shall be used to provide tenant-based
20rental assistance to individuals and families who have suffered an economic
21hardship and whose annual household income does not exceed 80 percent of the
22median household income for the county in which the individual or family resides.
AB1145,6
23Section
6. 16.3085 (2) (b) 2. of the statutes is amended to read:
AB1145,9,2524
16.3085
(2) (b) 2. Employment-related services, including connecting parents
25who are job training graduates or who have a recent work history with their local
1workforce development board established under 29 USC
2832 3122 and assisting
2them with using the job center website maintained by the department of workforce
3development.
AB1145,7
4Section
7. 20.005 (3) (schedule) of the statutes: at the appropriate place, insert
5the following amounts for the purposes indicated:
-
See PDF for table ![PDF](https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/assets/image/file_acrobat.gif)
AB1145,8
1Section
8. 20.435 (5) (cg) of the statutes is created to read:
AB1145,11,42
20.435
(5) (cg)
Rural mental health research grants. The amounts in the
3schedule for grants for research on mental health issues in rural areas under s.
446.538.
AB1145,9
5Section
9. 20.435 (5) (em) of the statutes is created to read:
AB1145,11,86
20.435
(5) (em)
Sober living residences. Biennially, the amounts in the
7schedule to support sober living residences or sober living residence networks under
8s. 46.483.
AB1145,10
9Section
10. 20.437 (2) (cs) of the statutes is created to read:
AB1145,11,1310
20.437
(2) (cs)
Community services block grant; state match. A sum sufficient
11to match 25 percent of the amounts received under
42 USC 9903 for the federal
12community services block grant for the purposes for which the federal community
13services block grant funds are received.
AB1145,11
14Section
11. 20.437 (2) (eg) of the statutes is created to read:
AB1145,11,1615
20.437
(2) (eg)
Internet assistance program. The amounts in the schedule for
16the Internet assistance program under s. 49.168.
AB1145,12
17Section
12. 20.445 (1) (fc) of the statutes is created to read:
AB1145,11,2018
20.445
(1) (fc)
Job and employment services; pilot program. The amounts in the
19schedule for the pilot program established under 2021 Wisconsin Act .... (this act),
20section 72 (1).