2015 Wisconsin Act 55

55,374u Section 374u. 16.855 (14m) (c) 2. of the statutes is amended to read:

16.855 (14m) (c) 2. The prohibition under subd. 1. does not apply to change orders by the department or the Board of Regents that result in changes to the plans or specifications or to back charges allowed by the contract under sub. (13).

55,374y Section 374y. 16.855 (19) (b) of the statutes is amended to read:

16.855 (19) (b) As the work progresses under any subcontract under sub. (14) (e) for construction of a project, the general prime contractor shall, upon request of a subcontractor, pay to the subcontractor an amount equal to the proportionate value of the subcontractor's work properly completed, less retainage. The retainage shall be an amount equal to not more than 5 percent of the subcontractor's work completed until 50 percent of the subcontractor's work has been completed. At 50 percent completion, no additional amounts may be retained, and partial payments shall be made in full to the subcontractor unless the department or the Board of Regents certifies that the subcontractor's work is not proceeding satisfactorily. At 50 percent completion or any time thereafter when the progress of the subcontractor's work is not satisfactory, additional amounts may be retained but the total retainage may not be more than 10 percent of the value of the work completed. Upon substantial completion of the subcontractor's work, any amount retained shall be paid to the subcontractor, less the value of any required corrective work or uncompleted work. All payments the general prime contractor makes under this paragraph shall be within 7 calendar days after the date on which the general prime contractor receives payment from the department or board.

55,375m Section 375m. 16.855 (20) of the statutes is amended to read:

16.855 (20) This section does not apply to construction work performed by University of Wisconsin System students when the construction work performed is a part of a curriculum and where the work is course-related for the student involved. Prior approval of the building commission must be obtained for all construction projects to be performed by University of Wisconsin System students, except projects specified in s. 13.48 (10) (c) and (e).

55,378g Section 378g. 16.855 (22) of the statutes is amended to read:

16.855 (22) The provisions of this section, except sub. (10m), do not apply to construction work for any project that does not require the prior approval of the building commission under s. 13.48 (10) (a) if the project is constructed in accordance with policies and procedures prescribed by the building commission under s. 13.48 (29). If the estimated construction cost of any project, other than a project constructed by or for the University of Wisconsin System that is exempted under sub. (23) (12m) or (24), is at least $50,000, and the building commission elects to utilize the procedures prescribed under s. 13.48 (29) to construct the project, the department shall provide adequate public notice of the project and the procedures to be utilized to construct the project on a publicly accessible computer site.

55,378r Section 378r. 16.855 (23) of the statutes is repealed.

55,378t Section 378t. 16.855 (24) of the statutes is created to read:

16.855 (24) This section does not apply to an eligible energy conservation project approved by the president of the University of Wisconsin System under s. 36.11 (26m) (b).

55,380n Section 380n. 16.856 of the statutes is created to read:

16.856 Prevailing wage. (1) (f) "Prevailing wage rate" means the applicable prevailing wage rate for an area, as determined by the U.S. department of labor under 40 USC 3142.

(5) Disclosure. If a person who is not an employee of the department or the contracting state agency or who is not an employee of the department of workforce development conducting an investigation under s. 109.09 contacts an employee performing the work described in sub. (2m) for the purpose of investigating compliance with this section, the person shall provide a written statement to the employee stating that the person is not affiliated with the department, the contracting state agency, or the department of workforce development and disclosing the principal source of funding for the investigation.

(7) Rules; enforcement. (a) The department shall promulgate any rules that the department determines are necessary to implement and ensure compliance with this section.

(b) If requested by any person performing the work described in sub. (2m), the department shall inspect the payroll records of any contractor, subcontractor, or agent performing work on a project of public works that is subject to this section to ensure compliance with this section.

(c) Section 111.322 (2m) applies to discharge and other discriminatory acts arising in connection with any proceeding under this section.

55,392g Section 392g. 16.87 (5) of the statutes is amended to read:

16.87 (5) This section does not apply to any project for the University of Wisconsin System involving a cost of less than $500,000 that is funded entirely from the proceeds of gifts or grants made to the system specified in s. 13.48 (10) (c) or (e) .

55,392r Section 392r. 16.89 of the statutes is amended to read:

16.89 Construction and services controlled by this chapter. No department, independent agency, constitutional office or agent of the state shall employ engineering, architectural or allied services or expend money for construction purposes on behalf of the state, except as provided in this chapter and except that the Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System may engage such services for any project involving a cost of less than $500,000 that is funded entirely from the proceeds of gifts or grants made to the system specified in s. 13.48 (10) (c) or (e) .

55,393p Section 393p. 16.95 (17) of the statutes is created to read:

16.95 (17) Upon request, provide any necessary certification for a person to receive a tax deduction under 26 USC 179D if the person is the person who is primarily responsible for designing a property, if the property the person designed is installed on or in state-owned property, and if the property qualifies as an energy efficient commercial building property.

55,394 Section 394. 16.956 (2) of the statutes is amended to read:

16.956 (2) Authority. Beginning on July 1, 2006, and ending on June 30, 2015 2020, the department may award a grant to an eligible applicant for the purchase and field testing of one or more idling reduction units as provided in subs. (3) and (4).

55,395 Section 395. 16.956 (4) (cm) of the statutes is amended to read:

16.956 (4) (cm) Subject to par. (d), the department may make grants under this section from July 1, 2009 to June 30, 2015 2020, of 50 percent of the eligible costs for an idling reduction unit installed on a truck tractor, unless the department has previously awarded a grant under this section for an idling reduction unit installed on the truck tractor.

55,396 Section 396. 16.956 (6) of the statutes is amended to read:

16.956 (6) Sunset. Subsections (2) to (4) do not apply after December 31, 2016 2021.

55,396d Section 396d. 16.957 (1) (cm) of the statutes is repealed.

55,396h Section 396h. 16.957 (2) (intro.) of the statutes is amended to read:

16.957 (2) Department duties. (intro.) In consultation with the council, the The department shall do all of the following:

55,396p Section 396p. 16.957 (2) (d) 4. d. of the statutes is amended to read:

16.957 (2) (d) 4. d. Any other issue identified by the department, council, governor, speaker of the assembly or majority leader of the senate.

55,396t Section 396t. 16.957 (4) (b) (intro.) of the statutes is amended to read:

16.957 (4) (b) Rules. (intro.) In consultation with the council, the The department shall promulgate rules that establish the amount of a low-income assistance fee under par. (a). Fees established in rules under this paragraph may vary by class of customer, but shall be uniform within each class, and shall satisfy each of the following:

55,398m Section 398m. 16.97 (2m) of the statutes is repealed.

55,412p Section 412p. 16.973 (7) of the statutes is amended to read:

16.973 (7) Prescribe and revise as necessary performance measures to ensure financial controls and accountability, optimal personnel utilization, and customer satisfaction for all information technology functions in the executive branch outside of the University of Wisconsin System and annually, no later than March 31, report to the joint committee on information policy and technology and the board concerning the performance measures utilized by the department and the actual performance of the department and the executive branch agencies measured against the performance measures then in effect.

55,416g Section 416g. 16.976 (3) of the statutes is amended to read:

16.976 (3) Following receipt of a proposed strategic plan from an executive branch agency, the department shall, before June 1, notify the agency of any concerns that the department may have regarding the plan and provide the agency with its recommendations regarding the proposed plan. The department may also submit any concerns or recommendations regarding any proposed plan to the board for its consideration. The board shall then consider the proposed plan and provide the department with its recommendations regarding the plan. The executive branch agency may submit modifications to its proposed plan in response to any recommendations.

55,416r Section 416r. 16.976 (4) of the statutes is amended to read:

16.976 (4) Before June 15, the department shall consider any recommendations provided by the board under sub. (3) and shall then approve or disapprove the proposed plan in whole or in part.

55,417g Section 417g. 16.977 (intro.) of the statutes is amended to read:

16.977 Information technology portfolio management. (intro.) With the assistance of executive branch agencies and the advice of the board, the department shall manage the information technology portfolio of state government in accordance with a management structure that includes all of the following:

55,417r Section 417r. 16.978 of the statutes is repealed.

55,419b Section 419b. 16.98 (1) of the statutes is amended to read:

16.98 (1) The department shall engage in such activities as the secretary deems necessary to ensure the maximum utilization of federal resources by state agencies and institutions and other eligible organizations and units of government, including community development corporations as defined in s. 234.94 (2). The department shall acquire excess and surplus real and personal property at such cost and shall charge fees to the recipient as is necessary to amortize expenditures for recipients for costs of transportation, packing, crating, handling and program overhead, except that the department may transfer any excess or surplus personal property to the department of tourism, upon request of the department of tourism, at no cost, subject to any limitation or restriction imposed by federal law.

55,419g Section 419g. 16.99 (1d) of the statutes is amended to read:

16.99 (1d) "Charter school sponsor" means an entity described under s. 118.40 (2r) (b) that is sponsoring a charter school and the director under s. 118.40 (2x).

55,422d Section 422d. 16.994 of the statutes is created to read:

16.994 Information technology block grants. (1) Competitive grants. In fiscal years 2015-16 and 2016-17, the department may annually award grants on a competitive basis to eligible school districts for the purpose of improving information technology infrastructure. In awarding grants under this section, the department shall give priority to applications for school districts in which the percentage of pupils who satisfy the income eligibility criteria under 42 USC 1758 (b) (1) for a free or reduced-price lunch is greater than in other applicant school districts. The department shall require an applicant for a grant under this section to provide all of the following:

(a) A description of the specific infrastructure, including any equipment, that the applicant intends to purchase with grant proceeds.

(b) The applicant's plan to purchase, install, and use the information technology infrastructure described in par. (a).

(c) A description of the applicant's readiness to use information technology infrastructure purchased with grant proceeds.

(2) Eligible school districts. A school district is eligible for a grant under this section if the school district's membership in the previous school year divided by the school district's area in square miles is 13 or less.

(3) Maximum awards. The total amount the department may award to an eligible school district under sub. (1) during the 2015-17 fiscal biennium may not exceed the following:

(a) If the membership of the eligible school district is fewer than 750 pupils, $30,000.

(b) If the membership of the eligible school district is 750 pupils to 1,500 pupils, $40 multiplied by the school district's membership.

(c) If the membership of the eligible school district is more than 1,500 pupils, $60,000.

(4) Funding limitation. The department may not award grants under this section that total more than $7,500,000 in any fiscal year.

55,422e Section 422e. 16.994 of the statutes, as created by 2015 Wisconsin Act .... (this act), is repealed.

55,422g Section 422g. 16.996 of the statutes is created to read:

16.996 Educational technology teacher training grants. (1) Purpose. The department shall annually award grants to eligible consortia of school districts for the costs of training teachers to use educational technology.

(2) Eligible consortia. A consortium of school districts is eligible for a grant under this section if all of the following apply:

(a) The consortium consists of 3 or more school districts.

(b) Each school district's membership in the previous school year divided by that school district's area in square miles is 13 or less.

(c) The consortium applies for a grant under this section.

(3) Grant amount. In any year the department awards grants under this section, subject to sub. (4), the department shall pay to each eligible consortium the sum of the following amounts:

(a) For each school district in the consortium that had a membership of less than 750 pupils in the previous year, $7,500.

(b) For each school district in the consortium that had a membership of 750 pupils to 1,500 pupils in the previous year, $10 multiplied by the school district's membership in the previous year.

(c) For each school district in the consortium that had a membership of more than 1,500 pupils in the previous year, $15,000.

(4) Funding. (a) The department may not award grants under this section that total more than $1,500,000 in any fiscal year.

(b) If, in any fiscal year, $1,500,000 is insufficient to pay the full amount under sub. (3), the department shall prorate the payments among the eligible consortia.

55,423 Section 423. 16.997 (2) (a) (intro.) of the statutes is renumbered 16.997 (2) (a) and amended to read:

16.997 (2) (a) Allow an educational agency to make a request to the department for access to either one data line or one lines and video link, except as follows: links.

55,424 Section 424. 16.997 (2) (a) 1. of the statutes is repealed.

55,425 Section 425. 16.997 (2) (a) 2. of the statutes is repealed.

55,426 Section 426. 16.997 (2) (a) 3. of the statutes is repealed.

55,427 Section 427. 16.997 (2c) of the statutes is created to read:

16.997 (2c) The department shall develop criteria to use to evaluate whether to provide more than one data line and video link to an educational agency. The department shall include in the criteria an educational agency's current bandwidth, equipment, and readiness, and the available providers and any other economic development in the geographic area that the educational agency serves.

55,453f Section 453f. 19.36 (7) (a) (intro.) of the statutes is created to read:

19.36 (7) (a) (intro.) In this subsection:

55,453g Section 453g. 19.36 (7) (a) 1. (intro.) of the statutes is amended to read:

19.36 (7) (a) 1. (intro.) In this subsection, "final "Final candidate" means each applicant who is seriously considered for appointment or whose name is certified for appointment, and whose name is submitted for final consideration to an authority for appointment, to any of the following:

55,453L Section 453L. 19.36 (7) (a) 1. a. of the statutes is amended to read:

19.36 (7) (a) 1. a. A state position, except that is not a position in the classified service and that is not a position in the University of Wisconsin System.

55,453p Section 453p. 19.36 (7) (a) 1. c. of the statutes is created to read:

19.36 (7) (a) 1. c. The position of president, vice president, or senior vice president of the University of Wisconsin System; the position of chancellor of an institution; or the position of the vice chancellor who serves as deputy at each institution.