AB650: Bill Text

LRB-4438/2

ALL:all:all

1997 - 1998 LEGISLATURE

1997 Assembly BILL 650

December 4, 1997 - Introduced by Representatives Jensen, Freese and Foti. Referred to Joint survey committee on Tax Exemptions.

AB650,3,5 An Act to repeal 66.46 (6) (dm) 3. b., 85.52 (3) (dm) and 86.195 (2) (ag) 16m.; to renumber and amend 48.685 (2) (b) 3. and 50.065 (2) (b) 3.; to consolidate, renumber and amend 66.46 (6) (dm) 3. (intro.) and a.; to amend 20.285 (1) (rc), 20.927 (2) (a), 20.927 (2) (b), 20.9275 (2) (a) (intro.), 29.50 (1) (e), 48.685 (1) (a), 48.685 (2) (am) (intro.), 48.685 (2) (b) 1. (intro.), 48.685 (2) (bg), 48.685 (2) (c), 48.685 (3) (a), 48.685 (3) (b), 48.685 (6) (b), 48.685 (7) (a), 49.141 (1) (p), 49.141 (7) (c) (intro.), 49.22 (2m), 49.45 (18) (b) 6., 50.065 (1) (b), 50.065 (1) (c) (intro.), 50.065 (1) (c) 3., 50.065 (2) (a) (intro.), 50.065 (2) (am) (intro.), 50.065 (2) (b) 1. (intro.), 50.065 (2) (bg), 50.065 (2) (c), 50.065 (3) (a), 50.065 (3) (b), 50.065 (5) (intro.), 50.065 (5m), 50.065 (6) (a), 50.065 (6) (b), 50.065 (7) (a), 59.53 (5), 66.04 (2) (b), 66.46 (6) (c), 66.46 (7) (a), 70.375 (6), 71.07 (2dx) (a) 5., 71.28 (1dx) (a) 5., 71.47 (1dx) (a) 5., 71.83 (1) (d) 2., 77.21 (1), 77.51 (4) (c) 6., 77.52 (2) (a) 1., 77.54 (30) (d), 85.52 (3) (cm), 146.40 (4r) (am), 348.27 (9m) (a) 3., 565.05 (1) (intro.), 565.05 (1) (a), 565.17 (5) (a), 632.746 (2) (b), 980.06 (2) (c) and 980.08 (5); and to create 20.927 (2m) and (2r), 36.54 (2) (f), 48.685 (5) (f), 48.685 (7) (am), 50.065 (1) (c) 6., 50.065 (2) (am) 5., 50.065 (2) (b) 1. e., 50.065 (5) (f), 50.065 (7) (am), 66.04 (2s), 66.46 (6) (dp) and 707.46 (3) of the statutes; relating to: restrictions on payment for abortions with public funds; changing the prohibition on use of federal, state or local funds for abortion-related activities by a pregnancy program, project or service; exempting the sales of flex-time time-share property from the sales tax and imposing the real estate transfer fee on all sales of time-share property; the penalty provision for premature sales or transfers of business assets or assets used in farming that were received from family members; pregnancy as a preexisting condition; transfers from the segregated transportation fund to the segregated transportation infrastructure loan fund, and the transportation infrastructure loan program; changing conflict of interest provisions and lottery participation restrictions that affect certain employes of the department of revenue; the indexing of the mining tax; criminal history and abuse record searches of persons applying to the department of health and family services for a license, certification or registration to operate certain entities that care for children or adults and of employes, prospective employes, adult residents and prospective adult residents of those entities; copayments under the medical assistance program for specialized medical vehicle services; the delegation of authority by local units of government over funds held in trust for certain pension plans; the transportation and sale of fish; restrictions on the placement of sexually violent persons who are granted supervised release; eliminating cross-references to the Wisconsin works health plan; tax increment sharing for tax incremental financing districts in Oshkosh that contain polluted soil; specific information signs along STH 172; weight limitations for vehicles and combinations of vehicles transporting bulk potatoes; grants awarded by the environmental education board that are related to forestry; provision of information necessary for the administration of child support and economic support programs; and making an appropriation.

Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau

Restrictions on payment for abortions with public funds

Currently, with certain exceptions, abortions may not be authorized or paid for with federal funds passing through the state treasury or with state, county, city, village or town funds. The exceptions are for abortions that are directly and medically necessary to save the life of or to prevent grave, long-lasting physical damage to the woman, or in a case of sexual assault or incest that has been reported to law enforcement authorities. These abortions may be paid for with public funds if, before performing the abortion, the physician signs a certification attesting to the direct medical necessity of the abortion or attesting to his or her belief that sexual assault or incest occurred. The certification must be affixed to the claim form or invoice that is submitted to any state agency or fiscal intermediary for payment.

This bill requires that the physician's certification also be affixed when submitted by an individual health care provider to a health care coverage provider for payment or for submittal to any agency or fiscal intermediary of the state for payment. In addition, the bill requires that the health care coverage provider submit a quarterly report to the public agency that contracted for the provider's services, specifying the number of, reason for and total cost of any permitted abortions provided under public funds in the previous quarter. The agency must forward a copy of each report to the department of health and family services, which must annually publish a summary of this information.

Use of public funds for abortion-related activities

Under current law, as affected by 1997 Wisconsin Act 27 (the budget act), state agencies and local governmental units may not authorize payment of federal, state or local funds that involve pregnancy programs, projects or services if the program, project or service engages in abortion-related activities using the federal, state or local funds or is funded from another source that requires performance of the abortion-related activities. The prohibited activities are providing abortions, promoting, encouraging or counseling in favor of abortions or making abortion referrals. If these prohibitions are violated, the grant or other funding of federal, state or local money is terminated, the grantee is required to return any money received and the grantee may not receive the federal, state or local moneys for 2 years. A "pregnancy program, project or service" is defined as a program, project or service of an organization that provides services for pregnancy prevention, family planning, pregnancy testing, pregnancy counseling, prenatal care, pregnancy services and reproductive health care services that are related to pregnancy.

The bill changes the prohibition on use of federal, state or local funds for abortion-related activities to apply the prohibition to a pregnancy program, project or service that uses state, local or federal funds and that engages in the prohibited activities.

Sales tax exemption for flex-time transactions and real estate transfer fee for time-share sales

Time shares in property are sold on either a fixed-time basis (the time of occupancy and the unit are specified at the time of the sale) or a flex-time basis (the time of occupancy and the unit are subject to availability and to making a reservation). Fixed-time transactions, like conveyances of real property, are exempt from the sales tax. Flex-time transactions, like rentals of hotel and motel rooms, are subject to the sales tax. The bill exempts flex-time transactions from the sales tax. By requiring that all contracts for the sale of time shares must be recorded, the bill also subjects all sales of time shares to the real estate transfer fee.

Penalty for premature farming sales or asset transfers

Generally, under current law, starting with taxable years that begin on January 1, 1999, 100% of the the gain realized on the sale or transfer of business assets or assets used in farming to persons who are related to the seller or transferor by blood, marriage or adoption within the 3rd degree of kinship is exempt from taxation. Also under current law, if the person who purchases or receives such business assets or assets used in farming sells or otherwise disposes of the assets within 2 years after the person purchases or receives the assets, the person is liable for a penalty. The penalty is equal to the amount of the capital gains exclusion received by the seller or transferor when the person purchased or received the assets, prorated based on the number of months the person held the assets. For example, a person who held the assets for 18 months of the 2-year period during which the penalty applies would be liable for 25% of the amount of the capital gains exclusion received by the seller or transferor.

Under the bill, the penalty on the sale or disposal of such assets within 2 years after the person purchases or receives the assets is equal to the amount of income tax on the capital gains the original seller or transferor of the assets would have been liable for if the exemption for sales or transfers to a person who is related to the seller or transferor by blood, marriage or adoption within the 3rd degree of kinship did not exist. The proration provision of the current law penalty provision is not changed under the bill.

Pregnancy as a preexisting condition

Under current law, a group health benefit plan, which is a health benefit plan that is issued to an employer on behalf of a group that consists of at least 2 employes, may not impose a preexisting condition exclusion related to pregnancy as a preexisting condition. The bill qualifies that requirement by specifying that the preexisting condition exclusion related to pregnancy may not be imposed for the purpose of coverage of expenses related to prenatal and postnatal care, delivery and complications of pregnancy.

Transfers from transportation fund to transportation infrastructure loan fund

Under current law, the department of transportation (DOT) administers a transportation infrastructure loan program, under which DOT makes loans for highway projects or transit capital improvement projects. The loans are paid from the segregated transportation infrastructure loan fund (loan fund). That segregated fund is capitalized with federal moneys and state moneys in matching amounts required by the federal government as a condition of receiving these federal moneys. The joint committee on finance is specifically authorized to transfer state moneys from the segregated transportation fund to the loan fund in amounts not to exceed the amounts necessary to match the federal funds received. The joint committee on finance is also generally authorized to supplement appropriations and to transfer moneys between appropriations.

The bill specifies that the authority of the joint committee on finance to transfer state moneys to the loan fund is limited to transfers of moneys from the transportation fund to the loan fund only in amounts not to exceed the amounts necessary to match federal funds received, and that the joint committee on finance may not exercise its general authority to make such transfers.

Current law also generally prohibits DOT from encumbering or expending any moneys on a project for which a loan is made under the transportation infrastructure loan program. The bill eliminates this prohibition.

Conflict of interest and lottery participation restrictions for DOR employes

Under current law, no employe of the department of revenue (DOR) who performs any duty related to the state lottery or the executive assistant or the secretary or deputy secretary of revenue may do any of the following:

1. Have a direct or indirect interest in, or be employed by, any vendor while serving as a DOR employe performing any duty related to the state lottery or as the executive assistant or as secretary or deputy secretary of revenue or for 2 years following the person's termination of service.

2. Have a direct or indirect interest in or be employed by a business which has entered into a lottery retailer contract.

3. Accept or agree to accept money or any other thing of value from any vendor, retailer or person who has submitted a bid, proposal or application to be a lottery vendor or lottery retailer.

In addition, no DOR employe who performs any duty related to the state lottery or the executive assistant or the secretary or deputy secretary of revenue and no member of such a person's immediate family may purchase a lottery ticket or lottery share.

The bill narrows the application of these restrictions from applying to all DOR employes who perform any duty related to the state lottery to only employes in the lottery division of DOR.

Indexing the mining tax

The bill makes a technical change that indicates the indexing of certain elements of the mining tax has occurred since 1983.

Criminal abuse history and record searches for facilities

Under current law, the department of health and family services (DHFS) may not license a person to operate certain facilities that provide care for children or adults (entities), for example, child caring institutions, group homes, foster homes, day care centers, community-based residential facilities and nursing homes, if DHFS knows or should know that the person has been convicted of, or has pending against him or her a charge for, a serious crime, as defined by DHFS by rule, that the person has been found to have abused or neglected a client or a child or to have misappropriated the property of a client or, if the person must be credentialed by the department of regulation and licensing (DORL), that the person's credential is not current or is limited so as to prevent the person from providing adequate care to a client, unless the person demonstrates that he or she has been rehabilitated. Similarly, under current law, an entity may not hire or contract with a person who will be under the entity's control and who is expected to have access to the entity's clients and may not permit to reside at the entity a person who is expected to have access to the entity's clients if the entity knows or should know that any of those conditions apply to that person, unless the person demonstrates that he or she has been rehabilitated. Current law requires DHFS to obtain, with respect to a person applying for a license to operate an entity, and an entity to obtain, with respect to a prospective employe, contractor or resident, a criminal history search, information contained in the client abuse registry maintained by DHFS, information maintained by DORL regarding the status of the person's credentials, if applicable, and information maintained by DHFS regarding any substantiated reports of child abuse or neglect against the person (criminal history search and abuse record law).

The bill makes all of the following changes relating to the criminal history and abuse record search law:

1. Extends the applicability of the law to prohibiting DHFS not only from licensing, but also from certifying or registering a person to operate an entity if the person is a person who may not be licensed under current law.

2. Limits the application of the law to children and adults who receive direct care or treatment services from an entity and to entities that are licensed or certified by, or registered with, but not otherwise regulated by, DHFS to provide direct care or treatment to clients. The bill also excludes public health dispensaries from coverage under the law.

3. Requires DHFS, in defining by rule "serious crime" for purposes of the law, to include in that definition not only crimes involving abuse or neglect of a client for which a person may not demonstrate that he or she has been rehabilitated, but also crimes involving misappropriation of the property of a client or abuse or neglect of a client for which a person may demonstrate that he or she has been rehabilitated. The bill also requires DHFS to establish a separate list of crimes or acts involving abuse or neglect of a client for which no person may demonstrate that he or she has been rehabilitated. Under current law, the list of offenses for which no person may demonstrate that he or she has been rehabilitated is limited to certain offenses listed in the statutes.

4. Requires an entity to report to DHFS, for inclusion in the client abuse registry, and to report to DORL, for purposes of credentialing a person, misappropriation only of a client's property, and not of any property, by a person employed by or under contract with the entity.

5. Transfers from the entity to DHFS the responsibility for investigating the background of a resident or prospective resident of the entity who is expected to have access to the entity's clients.