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2023 - 2024 LEGISLATURE
DOA:......Grinde, BB0545 - Southeastern Wisconsin district funding
For 2023-2025 Budget -- Not Ready For Introduction
An Act ...; relating to: the budget.
Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau
local government
Professional baseball park districts
Under current law, a professional baseball park district is created in each county with a population of at least 600,000 (presently, only Milwaukee County) and all counties that are contiguous to that county (in relation to Milwaukee County, these counties are Ozaukee County, Racine County, Washington County, and Waukesha County). A district has a variety of powers. Among these, a district may acquire, construct, equip, maintain, improve, operate, and manage baseball park facilities and may set standards governing the use of, and the conduct within, baseball park facilities. A district is authorized to impose a sales tax and a use tax at a rate of no more than 0.1 percent. Also, a district may issue bonds for the purpose of purchasing, acquiring, leasing, constructing, extending, adding to, improving, conducting, controlling, operating, or managing baseball park facilities. Bonds issued by the district must be secured only by the district's interest in any baseball park facilities, by income from these facilities, and by the sales tax and use tax that the district is authorized to levy. The district may not collect sales taxes after the calendar quarter in which the district certifies to DOR that the district has retired all of its bonds. The sales tax ended on March 31, 2020. The district continues to have outstanding bonds, but these bonds are fully defeased.
This bill eliminates a district's authority to impose a sales tax as of April 30, 2024. The bill also requires the district to establish a facilities enhancement fund into which it must deposit certain grant payments received from DOA. Moneys from this fund may be used only for purposes related to the development, construction, improvement, repair, and maintenance of baseball park facilities, and specifically may not be used for the securitization or retirement of bonds.
The bill also does the following:
1. Authorizes a district to acquire and manage property related to “baseball park development,” which is defined as “property, other than baseball park facilities, tangible or intangible, operated by a professional baseball team on real estate leased or subleased from a district that is part of the operations of the professional baseball team for any legally permissible use, including retail facilities, hospitality facilities, commercial and residential facilities, health care facilities, and any other functionally related or auxiliary facilities or structures.”
2. Defines what constitutes a “professional baseball team” and limits the establishment of new professional baseball park districts to counties with populations over 600,000 that are the site of baseball park facilities that are home to a professional baseball team.
3. Alters the district termination procedure. Currently, if a district is terminated, the property of the district is transferred to the counties within the jurisdiction of the district. Under this bill, upon termination all district property is transferred to the state. The state then apportions the properties to the constituent counties and the state based on a statutory formula.
state government
General state government
Grant to a professional baseball park district
This bill requires DOA to award a grant in the amount of $290,000,000 to a local professional baseball park district created under state law to assist in the development, construction, improvement, repair, and maintenance of the district's baseball park facilities. Under the bill, DOA may not award the grant unless the secretary of administration determines that all of the following apply:
1. The district has entered into a lease arrangement for a term that expires not earlier than December 31, 2043, with a professional baseball team that uses the district's baseball park facilities as its home facilities.
2. The district has entered into a nonrelocation agreement with the professional baseball team, in a form satisfactory to the secretary of administration, that requires the professional baseball team to play substantially all of its home games at the baseball park facilities, and prohibits the professional baseball team from relocating while the lease term specified above is in effect.
3. The district has entered into an agreement with the professional baseball team, in a form satisfactory to the secretary, that requires the professional baseball team, or a third party on the professional baseball team's behalf, to make expenditures relating to or in connection with the baseball park facilities during the term of the lease specified above in an agreed upon amount satisfactory to the secretary.
4. The district has agreed to provide on an ongoing basis to DOA, the Legislative Fiscal Bureau, and the Legislative Audit Bureau all baseball park facilities project reports and all financial reports of the district.
Grant moneys DOA awards under the bill may not be used to retire the debt of the local professional baseball park district.
taxation
Property taxation
Property tax exemption for baseball park development
The bill exempts from the property tax all baseball park development operated by a professional baseball team for any legally permissible use. Current law exempts sports and entertainment home stadiums and any functionally related or auxiliary facilities from the property tax.
General taxation
Sales and use tax exemption for professional baseball park districts
The bill exempts from the sales and use tax tangible personal property and taxable services sold to a local professional baseball park district.
Sales and use tax exemption for improving professional sports and entertainment home stadiums
The bill exempts from the sales and use tax building materials, supplies, and equipment sold to owners, contractors, subcontractors, or builders solely for the improvement, repair, or maintenance of a professional sports and entertainment home stadium.
Because this bill relates to an exemption from state or local taxes, it may be referred to the Joint Survey Committee on Tax Exemptions for a report to be printed as an appendix to the bill.
For further information see the state 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:
Section 1 . 16.09 of the statutes is created to read:
16.09 Grant to a local professional baseball park district. (1) Public purpose. The legislature finds and determines that baseball park facilities encourage economic development and tourism in this state, reduce unemployment in this state, preserve business activities within this state, generate additional tax revenues that would not exist without the baseball park facilities, and bring needed capital into this state for the benefit and welfare of people throughout the state. It is therefore in the public interest and serves a statewide public purpose, and it is the public policy of this state, to assist a local professional baseball park district created under subch. III of ch. 229 in the development, construction, improvement, repair, and maintenance of baseball park facilities.
(2) Definitions. In this section:
(a) “Baseball park facilities” has the meaning given in s. 229.65 (1s).
(b) “Professional baseball team” has the meaning given in s. 229.65 (6m).
(3) Grant. (a) From the appropriation under s. 20.505 (1) (bm), the department shall award a grant in the amount of $290,000,000 to a local professional baseball park district created under subch. III of ch. 229 to assist in the development, construction, improvement, repair, and maintenance of baseball park facilities. The department may not award a grant under this section unless the secretary determines that all of the following apply:
1. The district has entered into a lease arrangement for a term that expires not earlier than December 31, 2043, with a professional baseball team that uses baseball park facilities specified in the lease as its home facilities.
2. The district has entered into a nonrelocation agreement with the professional baseball team specified in subd. 1., in a form satisfactory to the secretary, that requires the professional baseball team to play substantially all of its home games at the baseball park facilities, and prohibits the professional baseball team from relocating while the lease term specified in subd. 1. is in effect.
3. The district has entered into an agreement with the professional baseball team specified in subd. 1., in a form satisfactory to the secretary, that requires the professional baseball team, or a third party on the professional baseball team's behalf, to make expenditures relating to or in connection with the baseball park facilities during the term of the lease specified in subd. 1. in an agreed upon amount satisfactory to the secretary.
4. The district has agreed to provide on an ongoing basis to the department, the legislative fiscal bureau, and the legislative audit bureau all baseball park facilities project reports and all financial reports of the district.
(b) No grant moneys awarded under par. (a) may be used to retire debt of the local professional baseball park district.
Section 2. 16.854 (2) (intro.) of the statutes is amended to read:
16.854 (2) (intro.) Subject to the requirements of s. 16.82 (7), the department may, upon request of any local professional baseball park district, if the district has entered into a lease agreement with the department under s. 16.82 (7), take charge of and supervise engineering or architectural services or construction work, as defined in s. 16.87 (1) (a), performed by, or for, the district for compensation to be agreed upon between the department and the district. In connection with such services or work, the department may furnish engineering, architectural, project management and other building construction services whenever requisitions therefor are presented to the department by the district. If the district has entered into a lease agreement with the department under s. 16.82 (7), the department may also assist the district, upon request of the district, in letting contracts for engineering, architectural or construction work authorized by law and in supervising the work done thereunder. The department may award any such contract for any combination or division of work it designates and may consider any factors in awarding a contract including price, time for completion of work and the qualifications and past performance of a contractor. In awarding contracts under this section for the construction of baseball park facilities, as defined in s. 229.65 (1) (1s), the department shall ensure that any person who is awarded a contract agrees, as a condition to receiving the contract, that his or her goal shall be to ensure that at least 25 percent of the employees hired because of the contract will be minority group members and at least 5 percent of the employees hired because of the contract will be women. It shall also be a goal of the department to ensure that at least 25 percent of the aggregate dollar value of contracts awarded for the construction of such facilities in the following areas are awarded to minority businesses and at least 5 percent of the aggregate dollar value of contracts awarded for the construction of such facilities in the following areas are awarded to women's businesses:
Section 3 . 20.505 (1) (bm) of the statutes is created to read:
20.505 (1) (bm) Grant to a local professional baseball park district. As a continuing appropriation, the amount in the schedule for a grant to a local professional baseball park district under s. 16.09.
****Note: This Section involves a change in an appropriation that must be reflected in the revised schedule in s. 20.005, stats.
Section 4. 20.566 (1) (gd) of the statutes is repealed.
****Note: This Section involves a change in an appropriation, but should not be reflected in the revised schedule in s. 20.005, stats., because of a delayed effective date.
Section 5. 20.835 (4) (gb) of the statutes is amended to read:
20.835 (4) (gb) Special district taxes revenues. All moneys received from the taxes imposed under s. 77.705, and from the appropriation account under s. 20.566 (1) (gd), and all moneys received under s. 341.14 (6r) (b) 13. b., for the purpose of distribution to the special districts that adopt a resolution imposing taxes under subch. V of ch. 77 III of ch. 229, and for the purpose of financing a local professional baseball park district, except that of those tax revenues collected under subch. V of ch. 77 3 percent for the first 2 years of collection and 1.5 percent thereafter shall be credited to the appropriation account under s. 20.566 (1) (gd).
****Note: This Section involves a change in an appropriation, but should not be reflected in the revised schedule in s. 20.005, stats., because of a delayed effective date.
Section 6. 66.0603 (1m) (a) (intro.) of the statutes is amended to read:
66.0603 (1m) (a) (intro.) A county, city, village, town, school district, drainage district, technical college district or other governing board, other than a local professional baseball park district board created under subch. III of ch. 229 or a local professional football stadium district board created under subch. IV of ch. 229, may invest any of its funds not immediately needed in any of the following:
Section 7. 66.0621 (1) (b) of the statutes is amended to read:
66.0621 (1) (b) “Public utility" means any revenue producing facility or enterprise owned by a municipality and operated for a public purpose as defined in s. 67.04 (1) (b) including garbage incinerators, toll bridges, swimming pools, tennis courts, parks, playgrounds, golf links, bathing beaches, bathhouses, street lighting, city halls, village halls, town halls, courthouses, jails, schools, cooperative educational service agencies, hospitals, homes for the aged or indigent, child care centers, regional projects, waste collection and disposal operations, sewerage systems, local professional baseball park facilities , as defined in s. 229.65 (1s), local professional football stadium facilities, local cultural arts facilities, and any other necessary public works projects undertaken by a municipality.
Section 8. 70.11 (36) (a) of the statutes is amended to read:
70.11 (36) (a) Property consisting of or contained in a sports and entertainment home stadium, except a football stadium as defined in s. 229.821 (6); including but not limited to parking lots, garages, restaurants, parks, concession facilities, entertainment facilities, transportation facilities, and other functionally related or auxiliary facilities and structures, and any other property constituting baseball park development, as defined in s. 229.65 (1m); including those facilities and structures while they are being built; constructed by, leased to or primarily used by a professional athletic team that is a member of a league that includes teams that have home stadiums in other states, and the land on which that stadium and those structures and facilities are located. Leasing or subleasing the property; regardless of the lessee, the sublessee and the use of the leasehold income; does not render the property taxable.
Section 9. 77.54 (9a) (gm) of the statutes is created to read:
77.54 (9a) (gm) A local professional baseball park district under subch. III of ch. 229.
Section 10. 77.54 (41) of the statutes is amended to read:
77.54 (41) The sales price from the sale of building materials, supplies and equipment to; and the storage, use or other consumption of those kinds of property by; owners, contractors, subcontractors or builders if that property is acquired solely for or used solely in, the construction, improvement, renovation, repair, maintenance, or development of property that would be exempt under s. 70.11 (36).
Section 11. 77.705 of the statutes is repealed.
Section 12 . 77.707 (1) of the statutes is amended to read:
77.707 (1) Retailers and the department of revenue may not collect a tax under s. 77.705, 2021 stats., for any local professional baseball park district created under subch. III of ch. 229 after the last day of the fiscal quarter in which the local professional baseball park district board makes a certification to the department of revenue under s. 229.685 (2) or after August 31, 2020, whichever is earlier, except that the department of revenue may collect from retailers taxes that accrued before the termination date and fees, interest and penalties that relate to those taxes. Except as provided under s. 77.60 (9), the department of revenue may not issue any assessment nor act on any claim for a refund or any claim for an adjustment under s. 77.585 after the end of the calendar year that is 4 years after the year in which a local professional baseball park district tax has terminated. The department of revenue shall estimate the amount of the refunds, including interest, that the department may need to pay during that 4-year period and retain that amount from the taxes collected for the district after the termination date. Any amount that remains after the payment of refunds shall be distributed to the counties based on the population of each county that is part of the district.
Section 13 . 77.707 (1) of the statutes, as affected by 2023 Wisconsin Act .... (this act), is repealed.
Section 14. 77.707 (2) of the statutes is renumbered 77.707.
Section 15. 77.76 (6) of the statutes is repealed.
Section 16. 229.64 (1) of the statutes is amended to read:
229.64 (1) The legislature determines that the provision of assistance by state agencies to a district under this subchapter, and any appropriation or grant of funds to a district under this subchapter or s. 16.09 or 20.505 (1) (bm) and the moral obligation pledge under s. 229.74 (7) serve a statewide public purpose by assisting the development, construction, improvement, repair, and maintenance of a professional baseball park facilities in the state for providing recreation, by encouraging economic development and tourism, by preserving business activities within the state, by generating additional tax revenues that would not exist without the baseball park facilities, by reducing unemployment, and by bringing needed capital into the state for the benefit and welfare of people throughout the state. The legislature determines that the taxes that may be imposed by a district under subch. V of ch. 77 are special taxes that are generated apart from any direct annual tax on taxable property.
Section 17. 229.65 (1) of the statutes is renumbered 229.65 (1s) and amended to read:
229.65 (1s) “Baseball park facilities" means property, tangible or intangible, owned in whole or in substantial part, operated or leased by a district that is principally for the support or performance of professional baseball operations including parking lots, garages, restaurants, parks, concession facilities, entertainment facilities, and transportation facilities, and other functionally related or auxiliary facilities or structures.
Section 18. 229.65 (1m) of the statutes is created to read:
229.65 (1m) “Baseball park development” means property, other than baseball park facilities, tangible or intangible, operated by a professional baseball team on real estate leased or subleased from a district that is part of the operations of the professional baseball team for any legally permissible use, including retail facilities, hospitality facilities, commercial and residential facilities, health care facilities, and any other functionally related or auxiliary facilities or structures.
Section 19. 229.65 (6m) of the statutes is created to read:
229.65 (6m) “Professional baseball team” means a baseball team that is a member of a league of professional baseball teams that have home stadiums approved by the league in at least 10 states and a collective average attendance for all league members of at least 10,000 persons per game over the 5 years immediately preceding the effective date of this subsection .... [LRB inserts date].
Section 20. 229.67 of the statutes is amended to read:
229.67 Jurisdiction. A district's jurisdiction is any county with a population of more than 600,000 that is the site of baseball park facilities that are home to a professional baseball team and all counties that are contiguous to that county and that are not already included in a different district. Once created, a district's jurisdiction is fixed even if the population of other counties within the district subsequently exceeds 600,000. Once a county is included in a district's jurisdiction the county remains in the district until the district is dissolved under s. 229.71. In this section, “contiguous" includes a county that touches another county only at a corner.
Section 21. 229.68 (intro.) of the statutes is amended to read:
229.68 Powers of a district. (intro.) A district has all of the powers necessary or convenient to carry out the purposes and provisions of this subchapter, except that it may not incur any new obligations after the date on which the district may no longer collect the tax under s. 77.707 (1), 2021 stats., if such an obligation could not be paid out of the district's revenues or assets once the tax under s. 77.707 (1), 2021 stats., is no longer collected. The district may not incur costs or any obligations for signage related to a change in naming rights for the baseball park facilities. In addition to all other powers granted by this subchapter, a district may do all of the following:
Section 22. 229.68 (4) (intro.) of the statutes is amended to read:
229.68 (4) (intro.) In connection with baseball park facilities and, with respect to par. (b), in connection with baseball park facilities and any baseball park development:
Section 23. 229.68 (4) (b) of the statutes is amended to read:
229.68 (4) (b) Acquire; lease, as lessor or lessee; authorize the sublease of; use; or transfer property; except that the district may not enter into any lease that does not receive the affirmative vote of a supermajority majority of the district board.
Section 24. 229.68 (4) (d) of the statutes is amended to read:
229.68 (4) (d) Enter into contracts, subject to such standards as may be established by the district board, which standards may include approval by a professional baseball team pursuant to the terms of a lease with the district. The district board may award any such contract for any combination or division of work it designates and may consider any factors in awarding a contract, including price, time for completion of work and qualifications and past performance of a contractor.
Section 25. 229.68 (9) of the statutes is amended to read:
229.68 (9) Maintain funds and invest the funds in any investment that the district board considers appropriate. A district may delegate the investment authority over any funds held in trust under this subchapter to an investment manager who is registered as an investment adviser under the federal Investment Advisers Act of 1940, 15 USC 80b-3.
Section 26. 229.68 (11) of the statutes is amended to read:
229.68 (11) Promote, advertise and publicize its the baseball park facilities and related activities.
Section 27. 229.68 (12) of the statutes is amended to read:
229.68 (12) Set standards governing the use of, and the conduct within, its the baseball park facilities in order to promote public safety and convenience and to maintain order.
Section 28. 229.68 (13) of the statutes is amended to read:
229.68 (13) Establish and collect fees, and establish shared revenue arrangements or other charges for the use of its the baseball park facilities or for services rendered by the district.
Section 29. 229.68 (15) of the statutes is repealed.
Section 30. 229.682 (1) of the statutes is amended to read:
229.682 (1) Gifts and donations. The district board shall explore and consider ways to solicit and encourage gifts and donations for the development, construction, improvement, repair, and maintenance of baseball park facilities and, to the extent feasible, implement means to solicit such gifts and donations.
Section 31. 229.682 (3) of the statutes is amended to read:
229.682 (3) Special debt payments. The district shall pay, over a 3-year period beginning on October 1, 1996, any outstanding debt used to finance improvements to a baseball stadium that has been used as a home field by a major league professional baseball team in the district, up to a maximum amount of $1,500,000.
Section 32. 229.682 (4) of the statutes is amended to read:
229.682 (4) Special ticket provisions. A major league professional baseball team that uses as its home field baseball park facilities that are constructed under this subchapter shall annually designate, for each county that is in the district's jurisdiction, at least one of the team's home games as a discount ticket day for that county, for which residents of that county may purchase discounted admission tickets.
Section 33. 229.682 (7) of the statutes is amended to read:
229.682 (7) Youth sports organizations. A major league professional baseball team that uses as its home field baseball park facilities that are constructed under this subchapter shall make an annual contribution of at least $20,000 to youth sports organizations in this state for the purchase of equipment or the rental or maintenance of athletic facilities that are used by such organizations. The contributions that are required under this subsection may be made in cash or equipment.
Section 34. 229.685 (1) of the statutes is amended to read:
229.685 (1) The district board shall maintain a special fund into which it deposits only the revenue received from the department of revenue, that is derived from the taxes imposed under subch. V of ch. 77, 2021 stats., and may use this revenue only for purposes related to baseball park facilities.
Section 35. 229.687 of the statutes is created to read:
229.687 Facilities enhancement fund. The district shall establish and maintain a facilities enhancement fund. The fund shall consist of all moneys received from the department of administration under s. 16.09. The district may use moneys deposited in the fund solely for purposes related to the development, construction, improvement, repair, and maintenance of baseball park facilities. Moneys deposited in the fund may not be used for the securitization or retirement of bonds. If any amount remains in the fund after the lease specified in s. 16.09 (3) (a) 1. is no longer in effect, the district board shall return the amount to the department of administration.
Section 36. 229.69 (4) of the statutes is amended to read:
229.69 (4) Grant to the state land or other property, especially dedicated by the grant to use for a professional baseball park facilities or baseball park development.
Section 37. 229.70 (6) of the statutes is amended to read:
229.70 (6) The district shall solicit from any major league professional baseball club team to whom the district leases baseball park facilities its minority hiring goals in connection with the operation of a baseball stadium and its minority contracting goals in connection with vending contractors at a baseball stadium.
Section 38. 229.71 of the statutes is amended to read:
229.71 Dissolution of a district. Subject Upon or after the expiration or termination of all lease arrangements between the district and a professional baseball team with respect to the baseball park facilities, and subject to providing for the payment of its bonds, including interest on the bonds, and the performance of its other contractual obligations, a district may be dissolved by the action of the district board. If the district is dissolved, the property of the district shall be transferred to the state. The state shall apportion and distribute property transferred under this section among the state and the counties in the jurisdiction of the district, based on the tax revenues derived from each county and the appropriation made by the state under s. 20.505 (1) (bm), as determined by the secretary of administration.
Section 39. 229.75 (3) of the statutes is amended to read:
229.75 (3) Bonds issued by the district shall be secured only by the district's interest in any baseball park facilities, including any interest in a lease with the department of administration under s. 16.82 (7); by income from these facilities; by proceeds of bonds issued by the district and other amounts placed in a special redemption fund and investment earnings on such amounts; and by the taxes imposed by the district under subch. V of ch. 77, 2021 stats. The district may not pledge its full faith and credit on the bonds and the bonds are not a liability of the district.
Section 40. 229.76 of the statutes is amended to read:
229.76 State pledge. The state pledges to and agrees with the bondholders, and persons that enter into contracts with a district under this subchapter, that the state will not limit or alter the rights and powers vested in a district by this subchapter, including the rights and powers under s. 229.68 (15), before the district has fully met and discharged the bonds, and any interest due on the bonds, and has fully performed its contracts, unless adequate provision is made by law for the protection of the bondholders or those entering into contracts with a district.
Section 41. 341.14 (6r) (f) 60. of the statutes is amended to read:
341.14 (6r) (f) 60. Persons interested in expressing their support of a major league professional baseball team that uses as its home field baseball park facilities that are constructed under subch. III of ch. 229.
Section 9337. Initial applicability; Revenue.
(1) Baseball park development. The treatment of s. 70.11 (36) (a) first applies to the property tax assessments as of January 1, 2024.
(End)