SB205,13,1917 (g) If an authority created under par. (a) includes as a participating political
18subdivision a county that has designated a county jurisdictional area under sub. (3)
19(a) 1., the authority shall also include at least one municipality within that county.
SB205,14,420 (h) If an authority has been created under this subsection, the participating
21political subdivisions of the authority may amend or modify their original
22resolutions creating or joining the authority if, after any amendment or modification,
23the resolutions of all participating political subdivisions of the authority remain
24identical and continue to satisfy the requirements under this section for the creation
25of an authority, except the requirement under par. (e). Any such amendment or

1modification of the original resolutions creating or joining the authority does not
2create a new authority unless specifically provided otherwise in the amendment or
3modification, even if the amendment or modification is undertaken for the purpose
4of including additional participating political subdivisions in the authority.
SB205,14,125 (i) 1. Subject to subd. 2., an identical resolution under par. (a) or (b) that is
6approved by a municipality under par. (d) is not effective unless approved by the
7county that contains the geographical area of the municipality to be included in the
8authority within 45 days of submission of the resolution to that county for approval.
9For a county to withhold its approval under this paragraph, the county must adopt
10a resolution by which the county declares its intention to create an authority that will
11include the municipality in the authority's jurisdictional area, and declares that it
12will commence, or has commenced, a study relating to the creation of the authority.
SB205,14,1413 2. An identical resolution that is not approved by a county under subd. 1. may
14go into effect, without county approval, unless each of the following occurs:
SB205,14,1715 a. The county that withheld approval completes its study relating to the
16creation of the authority under subd. 1. within 18 months after the county first
17withheld its approval of the resolution.
SB205,14,2018 b. All of the geographic area of the municipality that is within the county that
19withheld approval is included within the jurisdictional area of an authority within
2024 months after the county first withheld its approval of the resolution.
SB205,14,2321 (j) A county that has designated a county jurisdictional area under sub. (3) (a)
222. or 3. may create an authority without joining together with one or more other
23political subdivisions to create the authority.
SB205,15,2 24(3) County jurisdictional area. (a) Subject to par. (c), a county that is a
25participating political subdivision in an authority must designate, by resolution, the

1county jurisdictional area of the authority. The county jurisdictional area shall be
2one of the following:
SB205,15,53 1. The portion of the county that is within the combined territorial boundaries
4of each of the cities, villages, and towns in the county that are also participating
5political subdivisions of the authority.
SB205,15,66 2. The territorial boundaries of the county.
SB205,15,107 3. The combined territorial boundaries of each of the cities, villages, and towns
8in the county with at least 75 percent of their populations residing within a
9metropolitan planning area, as defined in 23 USC 134 (b) (1), at the time of
10designation by the county.
SB205,15,1411 (b) Under par. (a) 3., counties that contain all or a part of more than one
12metropolitan planning area may designate a county jurisdictional area for one or
13more of the metropolitan planning areas for inclusion in the same authority or
14different authorities.
SB205,15,1815 (c) A county may not designate a county jurisdictional area under par. (a) 2. or
163. without prior approval, by resolution, by each city, village, town, or tribal
17government wholly or partially within the proposed county jurisdictional area that
18is any of the following:
SB205,15,2219 1. The owner, operator, or controlling authority of a transit system that serves
20at least 10 percent of the passengers, as expressed in unlinked trips, served by all
21transit systems in the county on average over the 3 years preceding creation of the
22authority, as determined by the department of transportation.
SB205,15,2323 2. A participating political subdivision in an authority.
SB205,15,25 24(4) Powers. Notwithstanding s. 59.84 (2) and any other provision of this
25chapter or ch. 59 or 85, an authority may do all of the following:
SB205,16,2
1(a) Establish, maintain, and operate a comprehensive unified local transit
2system primarily for the transportation of persons.
SB205,16,63 (b) Acquire a comprehensive unified local transit system by purchase,
4condemnation under s. 32.05, or otherwise and provide funds for the operation and
5maintenance of the system. Upon the acquisition of a comprehensive unified local
6transit system, the authority may:
SB205,16,87 1. Operate and maintain it or lease it to an operator or contract for its use by
8an operator.
SB205,16,109 2. Contract for superintendence of the system with an organization that has
10personnel with the requisite experience and skill.
SB205,16,1311 3. Delegate responsibility for the operation and maintenance of the system to
12an appropriate administrative officer, board, or commission of a participating
13political subdivision.
SB205,16,1614 4. Work with the department of transportation to maintain and improve
15railroad rights-of-way and improvements on these rights-of-way for future transit
16use.
SB205,16,1817 (c) Contract with a public or private organization to provide transit services in
18lieu of directly providing these services.
SB205,16,2019 (d) Purchase and lease transit facilities to public or private transit companies
20that operate within and outside the jurisdictional area.
SB205,16,2221 (e) Apply for federal or other aids to purchase transit facilities or operate a
22transit system.
SB205,17,623 (f) Coordinate, provide, or assist in providing specialized transportation
24services, as defined in s. 85.21 (2) (g), for individuals who are disabled or aged 60 or
25older, including services funded under 42 USC 3001 to 3057n, 42 USC 5001, and 42

1USC 5011 (b), under ss. 49.43 to 49.499 and 85.21, and under other public funds
2administered by the county. An authority may contract with a county that is a
3participating political subdivision for the authority to provide specialized
4transportation services, but an authority is not an eligible applicant under s. 85.21
5(2) (e) and may not receive payments directly from the department of transportation
6under s. 85.21.
SB205,17,97 (g) Acquire, own, hold, use, lease as lessor or lessee, sell or otherwise dispose
8of, mortgage, pledge, or grant a security interest in any real or personal property or
9service.
SB205,17,1110 (h) Acquire property by condemnation using the procedure under s. 32.05 for
11the purposes set forth in this section.
SB205,17,1812 (i) Enter upon any state, county, or municipal street, road, or alley, or any public
13highway for the purpose of installing, maintaining, and operating the authority's
14facilities. Whenever the work is to be done in a state, county, or municipal highway,
15street, road, or alley, the public authority having control thereof shall be duly
16notified, and the highway, street, road, or alley shall be restored to as good a condition
17as existed before the commencement of the work with all costs incident to the work
18to be borne by the authority.
SB205,17,2019 (j) Fix, maintain, and revise fees, rates, rents, and charges for functions,
20facilities, and services provided by the authority.
SB205,17,2221 (k) Make, and from time to time amend and repeal, bylaws, rules, and
22regulations to carry into effect the powers and purposes of the authority.
SB205,17,2323 (L) Sue and be sued in its own name.
SB205,17,2424 (m) Have and use a corporate seal.
SB205,18,3
1(n) Employ agents, consultants, and employees, engage professional services,
2and purchase such furniture, stationery, and other supplies and materials as are
3reasonably necessary to perform its duties and exercise its powers.
SB205,18,54 (o) Incur debts, liabilities, or obligations including the borrowing of money and
5the issuance of bonds under subs. (7) and (10).
SB205,18,96 (p) Invest any funds held in reserve or sinking funds, or any funds not required
7for immediate disbursement, including the proceeds from the sale of any bonds, in
8such obligations, securities, and other investments as the authority deems proper in
9accordance with s. 66.0603 (1m).
SB205,18,1110 (q) Do and perform any acts and things authorized by this section under,
11through, or by means of an agent or by contracts with any person.
SB205,18,1412 (r) Exercise any other powers that the board of directors considers necessary
13and convenient to effectuate the purposes of the authority, including providing for
14passenger safety.
SB205,18,2115 (s) Impose, by the adoption of a resolution by the board of directors, the taxes
16under subch. V of ch. 77 in the authority's jurisdictional area. If an authority adopts
17a resolution to impose the taxes, it shall deliver a certified copy of the resolution to
18the department of revenue at least 120 days before its effective date. The authority
19may, by adoption of a resolution by the board of directors, repeal the imposition of
20taxes under subch. V of ch. 77 and shall deliver a certified copy of the repeal
21resolution to the department of revenue at least 120 days before its effective date.
SB205,19,5 22(5) Limitations on authority powers. (a) Whenever the proposed operations
23of an authority would be competitive with the operations of a common carrier in
24existence prior to the time the authority commences operations, the authority shall
25coordinate proposed operations with the common carrier to eliminate adverse

1financial impact for the carrier. This coordination may include route overlapping,
2transfers, transfer points, schedule coordination, joint use of facilities, lease of route
3service, and acquisition of route and corollary equipment. If this coordination does
4not result in mutual agreement, the proposals of the authority and the common
5carrier shall be submitted to the department of transportation for arbitration.
SB205,19,86 (b) In exercising its powers under sub. (4), an authority shall consider any plan
7of a metropolitan planning organization under 23 USC 134 that covers any portion
8of the authority's jurisdictional area.
SB205,19,109 (c) An authority must revise its transit plan under sub. (2) (c) 11. at least once
10every 5 years.
SB205,19,14 11(6) Authority obligations to employees of mass transit systems. (a) An
12authority acquiring a comprehensive unified local transit system shall assume all of
13the employer's obligations under any contract between the employees and
14management of the system to the extent allowed by law.
SB205,19,2515 (b) An authority acquiring, constructing, controlling, operating, or contracting
16for the superintendence of or operation of a comprehensive unified local transit
17system shall negotiate an agreement with the representative of the labor
18organization, notwithstanding s. 111.70 (2), (3), and (6), that covers the employees
19affected by the acquisition, construction, control, or operation to protect the interests
20of employees affected. This agreement shall include all of the provisions identified
21in s. 59.58 (4) (b) 1. to 8. and may include provisions identified in s. 59.58 (4) (c). An
22affected employee has all the rights and the same status under subch. IV of ch. 111
23that he or she enjoyed immediately before the acquisition, construction, control, or
24operation and may not be required to serve a probationary period if he or she attained
25permanent status before the acquisition, construction, control, or operation.
SB205,20,2
1(c) In all negotiations under this subsection, a senior executive officer of the
2authority shall be a member of the authority's negotiating body.
SB205,20,7 3(7) Bonds; generally. (a) An authority may issue bonds, the principal and
4interest on which are payable exclusively from all or a portion of any revenues
5received by the authority. The authority may secure its bonds by a pledge of any
6income or revenues from any operations, rent, aids, grants, subsidies, contributions,
7or other source of moneys whatsoever.
SB205,20,98 (b) An authority may issue bonds in such principal amounts as the authority
9deems necessary.
SB205,20,1310 (c) Except with respect to refunding bonds under sub. (10), bond proceeds may
11be used only for capital expenditures related to the acquisition of transit system
12equipment having a useful life of at least 5 years. This paragraph does not apply to
13expenditures made for the acquisition of all or part of an existing transit system.
SB205,20,1614 (d) 1. Neither the members of the board of directors of an authority nor any
15person executing the bonds is personally liable on the bonds by reason of the issuance
16of the bonds.
SB205,20,2117 2. The bonds of an authority are not a debt of the participating political
18subdivisions. Neither the participating political subdivisions nor the state is liable
19for the payment of the bonds. The bonds of any authority shall be payable only out
20of funds or properties of the authority. The bonds of the authority shall state the
21restrictions contained in this paragraph on the face of the bonds.
SB205,21,7 22(8) Issuance of bonds. (a) Bonds of an authority shall be authorized by
23resolution of the board of directors. The bonds may be issued under such a resolution
24or under a trust indenture or other security instrument. The bonds may be issued
25in one or more series and may be in the form of coupon bonds or registered bonds

1under s. 67.09. The bonds shall bear the dates, mature at the times, bear interest
2at the rates, be in the denominations, have the rank or priority, be executed in the
3manner, be payable in the medium of payment and at the places, and be subject to
4the terms of redemption, with or without premium, as the resolution, trust
5indenture, or other security instrument provides. Bonds of an authority are issued
6for an essential public and governmental purpose and are public instrumentalities
7and, together with interest and income, are exempt from taxes.
SB205,21,98 (b) The authority may sell the bonds at public or private sales at the price or
9prices determined by the authority.
SB205,21,1310 (c) If an officer whose signatures appear on any bonds or coupons ceases to be
11an officer of the authority before the delivery of the bonds or coupons, the officer's
12signature shall, nevertheless, be valid for all purposes as if the officer had remained
13in office until delivery of the bonds or coupons.
SB205,21,15 14(9) Covenants. An authority may do all of the following in connection with the
15issuance of bonds:
SB205,21,1616 (a) Covenant as to the use of any or all of its property, real or personal.
SB205,21,1817 (b) Redeem the bonds, or covenant for the redemption of the bonds, and provide
18the terms and conditions of the redemption.
SB205,21,2419 (c) Covenant as to charge fees, rates, rents, and charges sufficient to meet
20operating and maintenance expenses, renewals, and replacements of any transit
21system, principal and debt service on bonds, creation and maintenance of any
22reserves required by a bond resolution, trust indenture, or other security instrument
23and to provide for any margins or coverages over and above debt service on the bonds
24that the board of directors considers desirable for the marketability of the bonds.
SB205,22,5
1(d) Covenant as to the events of default on the bonds and the terms and
2conditions upon which the bonds shall become or may be declared due before
3maturity, as to the terms and conditions upon which this declaration and its
4consequences may be waived, and as to the consequences of default and the remedies
5of bondholders.
SB205,22,86 (e) Covenant as to the mortgage or pledge of, or the grant of a security interest
7in, any real or personal property and all or any part of the revenues of the authority
8to secure the payment of bonds, subject to any agreements with the bondholders.
SB205,22,119 (f) Covenant as to the custody, collection, securing, investment, and payment
10of any revenues, assets, moneys, funds, or property with respect to which the
11authority may have any rights or interest.
SB205,22,1412 (g) Subject to sub. (7) (c), covenant as to the purposes to which the proceeds from
13the sale of any bonds may be applied, and as to the pledge of such proceeds to secure
14the payment of the bonds.
SB205,22,1715 (h) Covenant as to limitations on the issuance of any additional bonds, the
16terms upon which additional bonds may be issued and secured, and the refunding
17of outstanding bonds.
SB205,22,1918 (i) Covenant as to the rank or priority of any bonds with respect to any lien or
19security.
SB205,22,2320 (j) Covenant as to the procedure by which the terms of any contract with or for
21the benefit of the holders of bonds may be amended or abrogated, the amount of
22bonds, the holders of which must consent thereto, and the manner in which such
23consent may be given.
SB205,23,3
1(k) Covenant as to the custody and safekeeping of any of its properties or
2investments, the insurance to be carried on the property or investments and the use
3and disposition of insurance proceeds.
SB205,23,64 (L) Covenant as to the vesting in one or more trustees, within or outside the
5state, of those properties, rights, powers, and duties in trust as the authority
6determines.
SB205,23,97 (m) Covenant as to the appointing of, and providing for the duties and
8obligations of, one or more paying agent or other fiduciaries within or outside the
9state.
SB205,23,1210 (n) Make all other covenants and do any act that may be necessary or
11convenient or desirable in order to secure its bonds or, in the absolute discretion of
12the authority, tend to make the bonds more marketable.
SB205,23,1613 (o) Execute all instruments necessary or convenient in the exercise of the
14powers granted under this section or in the performance of covenants or duties,
15which may contain such covenants and provisions as a purchaser of the bonds of the
16authority may reasonably require.
SB205,24,3 17(10) Refunding bonds. An authority may issue refunding bonds for the
18purpose of paying any of its bonds at or prior to maturity or upon acceleration or
19redemption. An authority may issue refunding bonds at such time prior to the
20maturity or redemption of the refunded bonds as the authority deems to be in the
21public interest. The refunding bonds may be issued in sufficient amounts to pay or
22provide the principal of the bonds being refunded, together with any redemption
23premium on the bonds, any interest accrued or to accrue to the date of payment of
24the bonds, the expenses of issue of the refunding bonds, the expenses of redeeming
25the bonds being refunded, and such reserves for debt service or other capital or

1current expenses from the proceeds of such refunding bonds as may be required by
2the resolution, trust indenture, or other security instruments. To the extent
3applicable, refunding bonds are subject to subs. (8) and (9).
SB205,24,5 4(11) Bonds eligible for investment. (a) Any of the following may invest funds,
5including capital in their control or belonging to them, in bonds of the authority:
SB205,24,66 1. Public officers and agencies of the state.
SB205,24,77 2. Political subdivisions.
SB205,24,88 3. Insurance companies.
SB205,24,99 4. Trust companies.
SB205,24,1010 5. Banks.
SB205,24,1111 6. Savings banks.
SB205,24,1212 7. Savings and loan associations.
SB205,24,1313 8. Investment companies.
SB205,24,1414 9. Personal representatives.
SB205,24,1515 10. Trustees.
SB205,24,1616 11. Other fiduciaries not listed in this paragraph.
SB205,24,2017 (b) The authority's bonds are securities that may be deposited with and
18received by any officer or agency of the state or any political subdivision for any
19purpose for which the deposit of bonds or obligations of the state or any political
20subdivision is authorized by law.
SB205,25,3 21(12) Budgets; rates and charges; audit. The board of directors of an authority
22shall annually prepare a budget for the authority. Rates and other charges received
23by the authority shall be used only for the general expenses and capital expenditures
24of the authority, to pay interest, amortization, and retirement charges on bonds, and
25for specific purposes of the authority and may not be transferred to any political

1subdivision. The authority shall maintain an accounting system in accordance with
2generally accepted accounting principles and shall have its financial statements and
3debt covenants audited annually by an independent certified public accountant.
SB205,25,5 4(13) Withdrawal from authority. (a) A participating political subdivision may
5withdraw from an authority if all of the following conditions are met:
SB205,25,86 1. The governing body of the political subdivision adopts a resolution by a
7majority vote of the members of the governing body requesting withdrawal of the
8political subdivision from the authority.
SB205,25,119 2. The political subdivision has paid, or made provision for the payment of, all
10obligations of the political subdivision to the authority, including its obligations
11relative to any outstanding bonds issued by the authority.
SB205,25,1612 3. Any tax authorized under sub. (4) (s) that is levied by the authority within
13the political subdivision continues to be levied for the period of time for which the
14authority has authorized the tax in a resolution imposing the tax under sub. (4) (s)
15if such a resolution specifies a time period for the tax or until the effective date of a
16tax repeal resolution under sub. (4) (s), whichever occurs first.
SB205,26,617 (b) Unless an earlier date for the termination of the provision of transit services
18has been agreed upon by the withdrawing political subdivision and the authority, if
19a political subdivision has withdrawn from an authority as provided in par. (a), the
20political subdivision shall continue to receive services from the authority, in the same
21manner and to the same extent as those provided to the remaining participating
22political subdivisions, for so long as the tax continues to be levied as provided in par.
23(a) 3. Nothing in this paragraph prohibits an authority from changing the manner
24and extent to which it provides services, including in the withdrawing political
25subdivision, as long as the services provided in the withdrawing political subdivision

1remain comparable to those provided in the remaining political subdivisions while
2the tax continues to be levied in the withdrawing political subdivision. The
3remaining political subdivisions may choose to increase the tax under sub. (4) (s) and
4are not required to extend the additional services provided by such additional tax to
5the withdrawing political subdivision if the additional tax is not also collected in the
6withdrawing political subdivision.
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