For 2009-11 Budget -- Not Ready For Introduction
2009 BILL
AN ACT ...; relating to: the budget.
Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau
Education
Higher education
Current law requires the Wisconsin Technical College System Board (WTCS Board) to establish tuition for resident and nonresident students. For a resident student, the WTCS Board must comply with requirements that depend on whether the student is enrolled in a liberal arts collegiate transfer program or in a postsecondary or vocational-adult program. For a nonresident student, the WTCS Board must establish tuition based on 100 percent of the statewide cost per full-time equivalent student for operating the program in which the student is enrolled.
This bill changes the requirements for nonresident students. The bill requires the WTCS Board to establish tuition for nonresident students based on 150 percent of the program fees that the WTCS Board is required to establish for resident students.
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:
SECTION 1. 38.24 (3) (a) of the statutes is amended to read:
38.24 (3) (a) For all students who are not residents of this state, nor subject to reciprocal agreements with the board, annually the board shall establish a fee based on 100% of the statewide cost per full-time equivalent student for operating the programs in which they are enrolled 150 percent of program fees established under sub. (1m) (a) and (b).
SECTION 9348. Initial applicability; Technical College System.
(1) NONRESIDENT FEES. The treatment of section 38.24 (3) (a) of the statutes first applies to fees charged to students in the semester beginning after the effective date of this subsection.
(End)
LRB-0502LRB-0502/P2
MDK:jld:ph
2009 - 2010 LEGISLATURE
DOA:......Rhodes, BB0166 - Workforce advancement training grants
For 2009-11 Budget -- Not Ready For Introduction
2009 BILL
AN ACT ...; relating to: the budget.
Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau
education
Higher education
Current law allows the Wisconsin Technical College System (WTCS) Board to make grants to technical college district boards (district boards) for skills training related to the needs of business. Current law prohibits the WTCS Board from making a grant unless certain requirements are satisfied, including that the business is located in this state, has no more than 100 employees, and has no more than $10,000,000 in gross annual income. Also, current law prohibits using a grant to pay more than 80 percent of the cost of training the spouse or child of the business owner, or to pay wages or compensate for lost revenue in connection with providing the training. In addition, current law prohibits the WTCS Board from awarding more than $1,000,000 in grants in a fiscal year.
This bill eliminates all of the prohibitions described above. In addition, the bill eliminates a requirement under current law for district boards to submit reports to the WTCS Board on how grants are used.
The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do enact as follows:
SECTION 1. 38.41 (2) and (3) of the statutes are repealed.
(End)
LRB-0508LRB-0508/8
CMH:wlj:jf
2009 - 2010 LEGISLATURE
DOA:......Skwarczek, BB0135 - Repeal QEO
For 2009-11 Budget -- Not Ready For Introduction
2009 BILL
AN ACT ...; relating to: the budget.
Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau
Employment
Under current law, in local government employment other than law enforcement and fire fighting employment, if a dispute relating to the terms of a proposed collective bargaining agreement has not been settled after a reasonable period of negotiation and after mediation by the Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission (WERC), either party, or the parties jointly, may petition WERC to initiate compulsory, final, and binding arbitration with respect to any dispute relating to wages, hours, and conditions of employment. An arbitrator must adopt the final offer of one of the parties on all disputed issues, which is then incorporated into the collective bargaining agreement.
This process does not apply, however, to a dispute over economic issues involving a collective bargaining unit consisting of school district professional employees if WERC determines, subsequent to an investigation, that the employer has submitted a qualified economic offer (QEO). A QEO consists of a proposal to maintain the percentage contribution by the employer to the employees' existing fringe benefit costs and the employees' existing fringe benefits and to provide for an annual average salary increase having a cost to the employer at least equal to 2.1 percent of the existing total compensation and fringe benefit costs for the employees in the collective bargaining unit plus any fringe benefit savings. Fringe benefit savings is that amount, if any, by which 1.7 percent of the total compensation and fringe benefit costs for all municipal employees in a collective bargaining unit for any 12-month period covered by a proposed collective bargaining agreement exceeds the increased cost required to maintain the percentage contribution by the municipal employer to the municipal employees' existing fringe benefit costs and to maintain all fringe benefits provided to the municipal employees. This bill eliminates the QEO exception from the compulsory, final, and binding arbitration process.
Under current law, school district professional employees must be placed in a collective bargaining unit that is separate from the units of other school district employees. This bill eliminates this requirement.
Finally, the bill eliminates a 3.8 percent cap imposed on salary and fringe benefit annual cost increases for all nonrepresented professional school district employees.
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:
SECTION 1. 111.70 (1) (a) of the statutes is amended to read:
111.70 (1) (a) "Collective bargaining" means the performance of the mutual obligation of a municipal employer, through its officers and agents, and the representative of its municipal employees in a collective bargaining unit, to meet and confer at reasonable times, in good faith, with the intention of reaching an agreement, or to resolve questions arising under such an agreement, with respect to wages, hours and conditions of employment, and with respect to a requirement of the municipal employer for a municipal employee to perform law enforcement and fire fighting services under s. 61.66, except as provided in sub. (4) (m) and (mc) and s. 40.81 (3) and except that a municipal employer shall not meet and confer with respect to any proposal to diminish or abridge the rights guaranteed to municipal employees under ch. 164. The duty to bargain, however, does not compel either party to agree to a proposal or require the making of a concession. Collective bargaining includes the reduction of any agreement reached to a written and signed document. The municipal employer shall not be required to bargain on subjects reserved to management and direction of the governmental unit except insofar as the manner of exercise of such functions affects the wages, hours and conditions of employment of the municipal employees in a collective bargaining unit. In creating this subchapter the legislature recognizes that the municipal employer must exercise its powers and responsibilities to act for the government and good order of the jurisdiction which it serves, its commercial benefit and the health, safety and welfare of the public to assure orderly operations and functions within its jurisdiction, subject to those rights secured to municipal employees by the constitutions of this state and of the United States and by this subchapter.
SECTION 2. 111.70 (1) (b) of the statutes is amended to read:
111.70 (1) (b) "Collective bargaining unit" means a unit consisting of municipal employees who are school district professional employees or of municipal employees who are not school district professional employees that is determined by the commission to be appropriate for the purpose of collective bargaining.
SECTION 3. 111.70 (1) (dm) of the statutes is repealed.
SECTION 4. 111.70 (1) (fm) of the statutes is repealed.
SECTION 5. 111.70 (1) (nc) of the statutes is repealed.
SECTION 6. 111.70 (1) (ne) of the statutes is amended to read:
111.70 (1) (ne) "School district professional employee" means a municipal employee who is a professional employee and who is employed to perform services for a school district.
SECTION 7. 111.70 (4) (cm) 5. of the statutes is amended to read:
111.70 (4) (cm) 5. 'Voluntary impasse resolution procedures.' In addition to the other impasse resolution procedures provided in this paragraph, a municipal employer and labor organization may at any time, as a permissive subject of bargaining, agree in writing to a dispute settlement procedure, including authorization for a strike by municipal employees or binding interest arbitration, which is acceptable to the parties for resolving an impasse over terms of any collective bargaining agreement under this subchapter. A copy of such agreement shall be filed by the parties with the commission. If the parties agree to any form of binding interest arbitration, the arbitrator shall give weight to the factors enumerated under subds. 7., and 7g. for a collective bargaining unit consisting of municipal employees who are not school district employees and under subd. 7r. for a collective bargaining unit consisting of municipal employees.
SECTION 8. 111.70 (4) (cm) 5s. of the statutes is repealed.
SECTION 9. 111.70 (4) (cm) 6. a. of the statutes is amended to read:
111.70 (4) (cm) 6. a. If in any collective bargaining unit a dispute relating to one or more issues, qualifying for interest arbitration under subd. 5s. in a collective bargaining unit to which subd. 5s. applies, has not been settled after a reasonable period of negotiation and after mediation by the commission under subd. 3. and other settlement procedures, if any, established by the parties have been exhausted, and the parties are deadlocked with respect to any dispute between them over wages, hours and conditions of employment to be included in a new collective bargaining agreement, either party, or the parties jointly, may petition the commission, in writing, to initiate compulsory, final and binding arbitration, as provided in this paragraph. At the time the petition is filed, the petitioning party shall submit in writing to the other party and the commission its preliminary final offer containing its latest proposals on all issues in dispute. Within 14 calendar days after the date of that submission, the other party shall submit in writing its preliminary final offer on all disputed issues to the petitioning party and the commission. If a petition is filed jointly, both parties shall exchange their preliminary final offers in writing and submit copies to the commission at the time the petition is filed.
SECTION 10. 111.70 (4) (cm) 6. am. of the statutes is amended to read:
111.70 (4) (cm) 6. am. Upon receipt of a petition to initiate arbitration, the commission shall make an investigation, with or without a formal hearing, to determine whether arbitration should be commenced. If in determining whether an impasse exists the commission finds that the procedures set forth in this paragraph have not been complied with and such compliance would tend to result in a settlement, it may order such compliance before ordering arbitration. The validity of any arbitration award or collective bargaining agreement shall not be affected by failure to comply with such procedures. Prior to the close of the investigation each party shall submit in writing to the commission its single final offer containing its final proposals on all issues in dispute that are subject to interest arbitration under this subdivision or under subd. 5s. in collective bargaining units to which subd. 5s. applies. If a party fails to submit a single, ultimate final offer, the commission shall close the investigation based on the last written position of the party. The municipal employer may not submit a qualified economic offer under subd. 5s. after the close of the investigation. Such final offers may include only mandatory subjects of bargaining, except that a permissive subject of bargaining may be included by a party if the other party does not object and shall then be treated as a mandatory subject. No later than such time, the parties shall also submit to the commission a stipulation, in writing, with respect to all matters which are agreed upon for inclusion in the new or amended collective bargaining agreement. The commission, after receiving a report from its investigator and determining that arbitration should be commenced, shall issue an order requiring arbitration and immediately submit to the parties a list of 7 arbitrators. Upon receipt of such list, the parties shall alternately strike names until a single name is left, who shall be appointed as arbitrator. The petitioning party shall notify the commission in writing of the identity of the arbitrator selected. Upon receipt of such notice, the commission shall formally appoint the arbitrator and submit to him or her the final offers of the parties. The final offers shall be considered public documents and shall be available from the commission. In lieu of a single arbitrator and upon request of both parties, the commission shall appoint a tripartite arbitration panel consisting of one member selected by each of the parties and a neutral person designated by the commission who shall serve as a chairperson. An arbitration panel has the same powers and duties as provided in this section for any other appointed arbitrator, and all arbitration decisions by such panel shall be determined by majority vote. In lieu of selection of the arbitrator by the parties and upon request of both parties, the commission shall establish a procedure for randomly selecting names of arbitrators. Under the procedure, the commission shall submit a list of 7 arbitrators to the parties. Each party shall strike one name from the list. From the remaining 5 names, the commission shall randomly appoint an arbitrator. Unless both parties to an arbitration proceeding otherwise agree in writing, every individual whose name is submitted by the commission for appointment as an arbitrator shall be a resident of this state at the time of submission and every individual who is designated as an arbitration panel chairperson shall be a resident of this state at the time of designation.
SECTION 11. 111.70 (4) (cm) 7. of the statutes is amended to read:
111.70 (4) (cm) 7. 'Factor given greatest weight.' In making any decision under the arbitration procedures authorized by this paragraph, except for any decision involving a collective bargaining unit consisting of school district employees, the arbitrator or arbitration panel shall consider and shall give the greatest weight to any state law or directive lawfully issued by a state legislative or administrative officer, body or agency which places limitations on expenditures that may be made or revenues that may be collected by a municipal employer. The arbitrator or arbitration panel shall give an accounting of the consideration of this factor in the arbitrator's or panel's decision.
SECTION 12. 111.70 (4) (cm) 7g. of the statutes is amended to read:
111.70 (4) (cm) 7g. 'Factor given greater weight.' In making any decision under the arbitration procedures authorized by this paragraph, except for any decision involving a collective bargaining unit consisting of school district employees, the arbitrator or arbitration panel shall consider and shall give greater weight to economic conditions in the jurisdiction of the municipal employer than to any of the factors specified in subd. 7r.
SECTION 13. 111.70 (4) (cm) 7r. (intro.) of the statutes is amended to read:
111.70 (4) (cm) 7r. (intro.) 'Other factors considered.' In making any decision under the arbitration procedures authorized by this paragraph, the arbitrator or arbitration panel shall also give weight to the following factors:
SECTION 14. 111.70 (4) (cm) 8m. a. and c. of the statutes are consolidated, renumbered 111.70 (4) (cm) 8m. and amended to read:
111.70 (4) (cm) 8m. 'Term of agreement; reopening of negotiations.' Except for the initial collective bargaining agreement between the parties and except as the parties otherwise agree, every collective bargaining agreement covering municipal employees subject to this paragraph other than school district professional employees shall be for a term of 2 years. No, but in no case may a collective bargaining agreement for any collective bargaining unit consisting of municipal employees subject to this paragraph other than school district professional employees shall be for a term exceeding 3 years. c. nor may a collective bargaining agreement for any collective bargaining unit consisting of school district employees subject to this paragraph be for a term exceeding 4 years. No arbitration award may contain a provision for reopening of negotiations during the term of a collective bargaining agreement, unless both parties agree to such a provision. The requirement for agreement by both parties does not apply to a provision for reopening of negotiations with respect to any portion of an agreement that is declared invalid by a court or administrative agency or rendered invalid by the enactment of a law or promulgation of a federal regulation.
SECTION 15. 111.70 (4) (cm) 8m. b. of the statutes is repealed.
SECTION 16. 111.70 (4) (cm) 8p. of the statutes is repealed.
SECTION 17. 111.70 (4) (cm) 8s. of the statutes is repealed.
SECTION 18. 111.70 (4) (cn) of the statutes is repealed.
SECTION 19. 111.70 (4) (d) 2. a. of the statutes is amended to read:
111.70 (4) (d) 2. a. The commission shall determine the appropriate collective bargaining unit for the purpose of collective bargaining and shall whenever possible, unless otherwise required under this subchapter, avoid fragmentation by maintaining as few collective bargaining units as practicable in keeping with the size of the total municipal work force workforce. In making such a determination, the commission may decide whether, in a particular case, the municipal employees in the same or several departments, divisions, institutions, crafts, professions, or other occupational groupings constitute a collective bargaining unit. Before making its determination, the commission may provide an opportunity for the municipal employees concerned to determine, by secret ballot, whether or not they desire to be established as a separate collective bargaining unit. The commission shall not decide, however, that any group of municipal employees constitutes an appropriate collective bargaining unit if the group includes both municipal employees who are school district professional employees and municipal employees who are not school district professional employees. The commission shall not decide, however, that any other group of municipal employees constitutes an appropriate collective bargaining unit if the group includes both professional employees and nonprofessional employees, unless a majority of the professional employees vote for inclusion in the unit. The commission shall not decide that any group of municipal employees constitutes an appropriate collective bargaining unit if the group includes both craft employees and noncraft employees unless a majority of the craft employees vote for inclusion in the unit. The commission shall place the professional employees who are assigned to perform any services at a charter school, as defined in s. 115.001 (1), in a separate collective bargaining unit from a unit that includes any other professional employees whenever at least 30% of those professional employees request an election to be held to determine that issue and a majority of the professional employees at the charter school who cast votes in the election decide to be represented in a separate collective bargaining unit. Upon the expiration of any collective bargaining agreement in force, the commission shall combine into a single collective bargaining unit 2 or more collective bargaining units consisting of school district employees if a majority of the employees voting in each collective bargaining unit vote to combine. Any vote taken under this subsection shall be by secret ballot.
SECTION 20. 111.70 (4) (m) 6. of the statutes is amended to read:
111.70 (4) (m) 6. Solicitation of sealed bids for the provision of group health care benefits for school district professional employees as provided in s. 120.12 (24).
SECTION 21. 118.245 of the statutes is repealed.
SECTION 22. 120.12 (24) of the statutes is amended to read:
120.12 (24) HEALTH CARE BENEFITS. Prior to the selection of any group health care benefits provider for school district professional employees, as defined in s. 111.70 (1) (ne), solicit sealed bids for the provision of such benefits.
SECTION 9316. Initial applicability; Employment Relations Commission.
(1) QUALIFIED ECONOMIC OFFERS. The treatment of section 111.70 (1) (a), (b), (dm), (fm), (nc), and (ne) and (4) (cm) 5., 5s., 6. a. and am., 7., 7g., 7r. (intro.), 8m. a., b., and c., 8p., and 8s., (cn), (d) 2. a., and (m) 6. of the statutes first applies to petitions for arbitration that relate to collective bargaining agreements that cover periods beginning on or after July 1, 2009, and that are filed under section 111.70 (4) (cm) 6. of the statutes, as affected by this act, on the effective date of this subsection.
(End)
LRB-0510LRB-0510/P2
CMH:wlj&nwn:ph
2009 - 2010 LEGISLATURE
DOA:......Palchik, BB0170 - Alcohol and other drug abuse grants
For 2009-11 Budget -- Not Ready For Introduction
2009 BILL
AN ACT ...; relating to: the budget.
Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau
HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Mental illness and developmental disabilities
Under current law, DHS distributes grants, on a competitive basis, to county social service departments and to nonprofit organizations to provide alcohol and other drug abuse treatment services in counties with a population of at least 500,000. This bill eliminates the requirement that the population be at least 500,000.
