2. “Family leave" means leave from employment, self-employment, or
availability for employment for the birth or adoptive placement of a new child; to care
for a family member who has a serious health condition or is in medical isolation; for
covered active duty; or to address issues related to being the victim of domestic abuse,
sexual abuse, or stalking.
3. “Medical leave" means leave from employment, self-employment, or
availability for employment when a covered individual is in medical isolation or has
a serious health condition that makes the employee unable to perform his or her
employment duties.
Under the bill, the amount of family or medical leave insurance benefits for a
week for which those benefits are payable is as follows:
1. For the amount of the covered individual's average weekly earnings that are
less than 50 percent of the state annual median wage in the calendar year before the
individual's application year, 90 percent of that individual's average weekly
earnings.
2. For the amount of the covered individual's average weekly earnings that are
more than 50 percent of the state annual median wage in the calendar year before
the individual's application year, 50 percent of that individual's average weekly
earnings.
Beginning on January 1, 2025, the bill requires each individual employed in
this state by an employer that regularly employs at least 50 individuals, including
an individual employed by the state, and any self-employed individual or employee
of a small employer who elects coverage under the family and medical leave benefits
insurance program to contribute to the trust fund a percentage of his or her wages
from employment or income from self-employment. Under the bill, each employer
must contribute the same amount as an employee. The bill requires DWD to collect
those contributions in the same manner as DWD collects contributions to the
unemployment reserve fund under current law.
The bill provides that an employer that provides paid family and medical leave
benefits that are identical to or more generous than those provided under the
program may request an exemption from participation in the program. The bill
requires DWD to promulgate rules to provide exemptions from participation in the
program.
The bill further does the following:
1. Requires DWD to promulgate rules providing for a right to a hearing in cases
of disputes involving an individual's eligibility for benefits or status as a covered
individual under the program.
2. Requires DWD to promulgate rules providing for a right to a hearing in cases
involving the liability of employers for contributions under the program.
3. Allows DWD to seek repayment of family or medical leave insurance benefits
that are paid erroneously or as a result of willful misrepresentation. The bill allows
DWD to establish other procedures for recovering overpayments and allows DWD to
utilize procedures under the unemployment insurance law.
Paid family and medical leave
This bill requires the administrator of the Division of Personnel Management
in the Department of Administration to develop a program for paid family and
medical leave of 12 weeks annually for most state employees. The bill requires the
administrator to submit the plan for approval as a change to the state compensation
plan to the Joint Committee on Employment Relations. If JCOER approves the plan,
the plan becomes effective immediately.
The bill also requires the Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin
System to develop a plan for a program for paid family and medical leave of 12 weeks
annually for employees of the system and requires the board to submit the plan to
the administrator of the Division of Personnel Management in DOA with its
compensation plan changes for the 2023-25 biennium.
UW–Madison engineering building
This bill amends the 2023-25 Authorized State Building Program to add one
project for the University of Wisconsin–Madison. The project involves the demolition
of an engineering facility and construction of a replacement engineering building at
UW–Madison. The bill transfers $197,336,000 from the general fund to the capital
improvement fund for purposes of the project.
Moneys transferred to capital improvement fund
2023 Wisconsin Act 19 transferred moneys from the general fund to the capital
improvement fund to fund projects in the 2023-25 Authorized State Building
Program. This bill specifies that those moneys may be used for those projects.
Current law generally provides that the capital improvement fund may be used only
for purposes of public debt.
2023 Wisconsin Act 19 also provided the following:
1. That excess moneys transferred to the capital improvement fund under the
act not used to fund projects authorized in the 2023-25 Authorized State Building
Program must be transferred back to the general fund.
2. That moneys transferred to the capital improvement fund under the act, not
to exceed $20,000,000, may be used to offset building program project budget cost
overruns caused by inflation.
This bill provides that all moneys transferred to the capital improvement fund
under the act not specified under item 1 above, or are not used to offset cost
adjustments with respect to any building project authorized in the 2023-25
Authorized State Building Program, must be transferred back to the general fund.
Funding for the UW System
This bill provides additional funding for the UW System under its general
program operations appropriation.
Wisconsin grant program
Under current law, the Wisconsin grant program, administered by the Higher
Educational Aids Board, provides grants to postsecondary resident students
enrolled at least half time and registered as freshmen, sophomores, juniors, or
seniors in UW System, technical college, private, and tribal postsecondary
institutions.
The bill increases HEAB's biennial appropriation for Wisconsin grants in the
2023-25 fiscal biennium by various amounts for UW System students, technical
college students, students enrolled in a private, nonprofit institution of higher
education in this state, and tribal college students.
Nurse educator program funding
Under current law, HEAB administers a nurse educator program that provides
1) fellowships to students who enroll in certain postgraduate nursing degree
programs at institutions of higher education; 2) postdoctoral fellowships to recruit
faculty for nursing programs at institutions of higher education; and 3) educational
loan repayment assistance to recruit and retain faculty for nursing programs in
institutions of higher education.
This bill increases HEAB's biennial appropriation for the nurse educator
program by $5,000,000 in each year of the 2023-25 fiscal biennium.
Funding for the Technical College System
This bill provides additional funding for the Technical College System for state
aid for technical colleges.
WRS annuitants returning to work
Under current law, if a Wisconsin Retirement System annuitant, or a disability
annuitant who has attained his or her normal retirement date, is appointed to a
position with a WRS-participating employer or provides employee services to a
WRS-participating employer in which he or she is expected to work at least
two-thirds of what is considered full-time employment by the Department of
Employee Trust Funds, the annuity must be suspended and no annuity payment is
payable until after the participant again terminates covered employment.
This bill removes the requirement that an annuitant suspend his or her annuity
and instead allows an annuitant to elect to suspend the annuity and again become
a participating employee or elect to not suspend his or her annuity and not become
a participating employee. In other words, the bill allows an annuitant who returns
to work for a participating employer but elects not to become a participating
employee for purposes of the WRS to continue to receive his or her annuity.
Under current law, a WRS participant who has applied to receive a retirement
annuity must wait at least 75 days between terminating covered employment with
a WRS employer and returning to covered employment again as a participating
employee. The bill reduces that period to 30 days.
Health care workforce innovation grants
This bill requires DWD to establish and operate a program to provide grants
to regional organizations to design and implement plans to address their region's
health care-related workforce challenges that arose during or were exacerbated by
the COVID-19 pandemic.
Funding for the WisCaregiver Careers program
This bill increases by $6,000,000 in fiscal year 2024-25 the amount
appropriated to DHS to provide funding for the WisCaregiver Careers program. The
WisCaregiver Careers program is a workforce development program that provides
free nurse aide training and evaluation, as well as retention bonuses for individuals
who have been employed as nurse aides in a nursing home for at least six months.
Treatment program grants
Under current law, DHS is required to distribute a total of $750,000 in grants
in each fiscal year to support treatment programs. Grant recipients are required to
use the grant money for supervision, training, and resources, including salaries,
benefits, and other related costs. This bill removes the requirement that DHS
distribute a total of $750,000 in each fiscal year and provides $1,576,600 in fiscal year
2024-25 for grants to support treatment programs.
Graduate medical education grants
This bill increases the maximum amounts that DHS may award each fiscal year
in grants to hospitals to support existing graduate medical training programs.
Under current law, DHS may not distribute more than $225,000 to a particular
hospital or more than $75,000 to fund an individual position in an existing graduate
medical training program during a given fiscal year. The bill increases those limits
to $450,000 and $150,000 per fiscal year, respectively.
Health care workforce opportunity grants
This bill requires DWD to establish and operate a program to provide grants
to local workforce development boards to assist individuals whose employment was
affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and whose employment outcomes have not
improved since then. The department must target the program to individuals
employed or seeking employment in health care-related fields and individuals who
are currently ineligible for services under the federal Workforce Innovation and
Opportunity Act.
Grants to encourage teaching careers
The bill creates a new grant program administered by the Department of Public
Instruction and available to school districts and operators of independent charter
schools to reimburse the cost of “Grow Your Own” programs. Under the bill, Grow
Your Own programs include high school clubs that encourage careers in teaching,
payment of costs associated with current staff acquiring education needed for
licensure, support for career pathways using dual enrollment, support for
partnerships focused on attracting or developing new teachers, or incentives for
paraprofessionals to gain licensure. The bill appropriates $5,000,000 in fiscal year
2024-25 for this purpose.
Teacher improvement program
Under current law, DPI operates a teacher improvement program to provide
prospective teachers with one-semester internships under the supervision of
licensed teachers, in-service activities, and professional staff development research
projects.
Under the bill, DPI must provide stipends to individuals who are participating
in the teacher improvement program. The stipends are $9,600 per individual per
semester and begin in the 2024-25 school year.
Stipends to student teachers
The bill provides stipends, through DPI, to student teachers who are
completing a teacher preparatory program that is approved by the superintendent
of public instruction. The stipends are $2,500 per student teacher per semester and
begin in the 2024-25 school year.
Stipends to teachers overseeing student teachers
The bill provides stipends, through DPI, to teachers who are overseeing a
student teacher in their classrooms. The stipends are in the amount of $1,000 per
teacher per semester and begin in the 2024-25 school year.
Stipends to library interns
The bill provides $50,000 in funding for the Division for Libraries and
Technology in DPI to provide stipend payments to students who are pursuing a
degree in library science and are placed as an intern in a public library or school
library. The stipend payments are $2,500 per student per semester and begin in the
2024-25 school year.
Development of apprenticeship pathways related to health care
This bill provides funding and position authority to DWD to conduct outreach
to stakeholders and partners to develop new apprenticeship pathways related to
health care.
Health care provider innovation grants
Under current law, DHS is required to award grants for certain community
programs. This bill allows DHS to distribute up to $7,225,000 in the 2023-24 fiscal
year and up to $14,500,000 in the 2024-25 fiscal year as grants to health care
providers and long-term care providers to implement best practices and innovative
solutions to increase worker recruitment and retention. The bill increases
appropriations to DHS to fund these grants and to support state administration and
evaluation of the grant program.
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:
SB1,1
1Section
1. 18.08 (2) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB1,9,52
18.08
(2) The capital improvement fund may be expended, pursuant to
3appropriations, only for the purposes and in the amounts for which the public debts
1have been contracted, for the payment of principal and interest on loans or on notes,
2for the payment due, if any, under an agreement or ancillary arrangement entered
3into under s. 18.06 (8) (a) with respect to any such public debt, for the purposes
4identified under s. 20.867 (2) (v)
, (3) (x), and (4) (q), and for expenses incurred in
5contracting public debt.
SB1,2
6Section
2. 18.08 (7) (a) of the statutes, as created by
2023 Wisconsin Act 19,
7is renumbered 18.08 (7) and amended to read:
SB1,9,158
18.08
(7) Notwithstanding sub. (3), moneys transferred under
2023 Wisconsin
9Act 19, section
9251 (1), cannot be commingled with other moneys in the capital
10improvement fund and all earnings on or income from investments of the moneys
11transferred under
2023 Wisconsin Act 19, section
9251 (1), and all excess moneys so
12transferred that are not used to fund building projects authorized in the 2023-25
13Authorized State Building Program
or are not used to offset cost adjustments with
14respect to any building project authorized in the 2023-25 Authorized State Building
15Program, shall be deposited into or transferred to the general fund.
SB1,3
16Section
3. 20.005 (3) (schedule) of the statutes: at the appropriate place, insert
17the following amounts for the purposes indicated:
-
See PDF for table ![PDF](https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/assets/image/file_acrobat.gif)
SB1,4
1Section
4. 20.255 (1) (hg) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB1,11,82
20.255
(1) (hg)
Personnel licensure, teacher supply, information and analysis
3and teacher improvement. The amounts in the schedule to fund licensure
4administrative costs under s. 115.28 (7) (d) and 118.19 (10), teacher supply,
5information and analysis costs under s. 115.29 (5), and teacher improvement under
6s. 115.41
(1). Ninety percent of all moneys received from the licensure of school and
7public library personnel under s. 115.28 (7) (d), and all moneys received under s.
8115.41
(1), shall be credited to this appropriation.
SB1,5
9Section
5. 20.255 (2) (ch) of the statutes is created to read:
SB1,11,1210
20.255
(2) (ch)
Grow your own programs; teacher pipeline capacity building. 11The amounts in the schedule for grants under s. 115.422 to school districts and
12operators of a charter school under s. 118.40 (2r) or (2x).
SB1,6
13Section
6. 20.255 (3) (ci) of the statutes is created to read:
SB1,11,1514
20.255
(3) (ci)
Teacher improvement program stipends. The amounts in the
15schedule for payments to individuals under s. 115.41 (2).
SB1,7
16Section
7. 20.255 (3) (cL) of the statutes is created to read:
SB1,11,1817
20.255
(3) (cL)
Library intern stipend payments. The amounts in the schedule
18for library intern stipend payments under s. 43.05 (12m).
SB1,8
1Section
8. 20.255 (3) (cs) of the statutes is created to read:
SB1,12,32
20.255
(3) (cs)
Student teacher stipends. The amounts in the schedule for
3payments to student teachers under s. 115.421.
SB1,9
4Section
9. 20.255 (3) (ct) of the statutes is created to read:
SB1,12,65
20.255
(3) (ct)
Cooperating teacher stipends. The amounts in the schedule for
6payments to teachers under s. 115.424.
SB1,10
7Section
10. 20.435 (4) (bm) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB1,13,28
20.435
(4) (bm)
Medical Assistance, food stamps, and Badger Care
9administration; contract costs, insurer reports, and resource centers. Biennially, the
10amounts in the schedule to provide a portion of the state share of administrative
11contract costs for the Medical Assistance program under subch. IV of ch. 49 and the
12Badger Care health care program under s. 49.665 and to provide the state share of
13administrative costs for the food stamp program under s. 49.79, other than payments
14under s. 49.78 (8), to develop and implement a registry of recipient immunizations,
15to reimburse 3rd parties for their costs under s. 49.475, for costs associated with
16outreach activities, for state administration of state supplemental grants to
17supplemental security income recipients under s. 49.77,
for state administration and
18evaluation of the health care provider innovation grants program under s. 46.48 (22), 19and for services of resource centers under s. 46.283. No state positions may be funded
20in the department of health services from this appropriation, except positions for the
21performance of duties under a contract in effect before January 1, 1987, related to
22the administration of the Medical Assistance program between the subunit of the
23department primarily responsible for administering the Medical Assistance
24program and another subunit of the department. Total administrative funding
1authorized for the program under s. 49.665 may not exceed 10 percent of the amounts
2budgeted under pars. (p) and (x).
SB1,11
3Section
11. 20.437 (2) (c) of the statutes is created to read:
SB1,13,54
20.437
(2) (c)
Child care quality improvement program. The amounts in the
5schedule for the program under s. 49.133.
SB1,12
6Section
12. 20.437 (2) (d) of the statutes is created to read:
SB1,13,87
20.437
(2) (d)
Child care partnership grant program. The amounts in the
8schedule for the grants under s. 49.132.
SB1,13
9Section
13. 20.445 (1) (bw) of the statutes is created to read:
SB1,13,1210
20.445
(1) (bw)
Health care workforce innovation grants. As a continuing
11appropriation, the amounts in the schedule for health care workforce innovation
12grants under s. 106.29.