Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau
Lead testing of potable water sources in schools
This bill requires school boards, operators of independent charter schools, and
governing bodies of private schools participating in a parental choice program or in
the Special Needs Scholarship Program to test all potable water sources in schools
for lead concentration at least once every three years. Under the bill, if the results
of a test of a potable water source in a school show a concentration of lead that is
greater than the concentration considered safe for drinking water under the federal
Safe Drinking Water Act (lead contamination), the school board, operator, or
governing body of the school must do all of the following:
1. Disconnect the water source and, if necessary, provide an alternative
drinking water supply.
2. Develop and submit a plan to the Department of Public Instruction for
remediating lead contamination in the water source.

3. Post the remediation plan on the school board's, operator's, or governing
body's Internet site or make the plan available to the public for examination on
request.
The bill provides that, if a school board, operator, or governing body conducts
two consecutive lead tests in a school at least three years apart and the results of the
tests show that the potable water sources in the school contain lead levels not higher
than one part per billion, the school board, operator, or governing body is not required
to conduct any additional lead tests at the school.
Exception to referendum restrictions for lead remediation
Under current law, if a school board wants to borrow money through a bond
issue or exceed the revenue limit otherwise applicable to the school district, the
school board must obtain the approval of the school district's electors at a
referendum. Currently, a school board may, with certain exceptions, schedule such
a referendum only concurrent with the next regularly scheduled spring primary or
election or partisan primary or general election and only if the election falls no sooner
than 70 days after the date on which the board adopts or files the applicable
resolution. Also under current law, a school board may submit such a resolution to
electors for approval or rejection no more than two times in any calendar year.
This bill creates an exception to those referendum restrictions for a school board
that conducts a test under the bill that shows lead contamination in a potable water
source at a school in the school district. Under the bill, such a school board may call
a special referendum to be held within the six-month period immediately following
the date on which the school board submits to DPI a plan to remediate the
contaminated water source, provided the special referendum is to be held not sooner
than 70 days after the filing of the resolution of the school board and provided that
the special referendum includes only costs associated with the remediation plan.
BCPL loans
This bill allows the Board of Commissioners of Public Lands to use school trust
funds to issue loans to school districts, municipalities, technical college districts, and
cooperative educational service agencies for the purpose of remediating lead
contamination in schools.
Safe Drinking Water Loan Program
Under current law, the Safe Drinking Water Loan Program under the
environmental improvement fund provides low-interest loans to municipalities for
drinking water infrastructure projects, to help them comply with federal drinking
water standards. This bill allows SDWLP funds to be used to reduce the principal
and interest rates on BCPL loans made for the purpose of remediating lead
contamination in schools. Under the bill, if there are not sufficient funds to pay all
applicants for SDWLP loans in any fiscal year, then 1) 20 percent of the funds that
are available must be allocated to reduce the principal or interest rates on BCPL
loans made for the purpose of remediating lead contamination in schools; 2)
payments to reduce principal on those loans may be made only in the fourth quarter
of any fiscal year and only if sufficient funding is available; and 3) projects to
remediate lead contamination in schools that are located within the same city, town,
or village may not, in total, receive more than 20 percent of the funds that are

allocated for remediating lead contamination in schools. If the 20 percent of SDWLP
funding that is set aside for these purposes is not sufficient to fund all applicants for
projects to reduce lead contamination in schools in any fiscal year, the bill requires
the funds that are available to be distributed equitably among approved applicants.
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:
SB423,1 1Section 1. 24.61 (3) (a) 1. dm. of the statutes is created to read:
SB423,3,22 24.61 (3) (a) 1. dm. Remediating lead contamination in a school building.
SB423,2 3Section 2. 24.61 (3) (a) 2. of the statutes is amended to read:
SB423,3,64 24.61 (3) (a) 2. A town, village, city, or county as provided under s. 67.04 or
5otherwise authorized by law, or to remediate lead contamination in a school with
6which the town, village, city, or county has contracted
.
SB423,3 7Section 3. 24.61 (3) (a) 3. of the statutes is amended to read:
SB423,3,108 24.61 (3) (a) 3. A technical college district as provided under s. 67.04 or
9otherwise authorized by law, or to remediate lead contamination in a school with
10which the district has contracted
.
SB423,4 11Section 4. 24.61 (3) (a) 3m. of the statutes is created to read:
SB423,3,1312 24.61 (3) (a) 3m. A cooperative educational service agency for the purpose of
13remediating lead contamination in a school with which the agency has contracted.
SB423,5 14Section 5. 118.07 (6) of the statutes is created to read:
SB423,4,615 118.07 (6) (a) Except as provided under par. (d), the school board of a school in
16a school district, operator of a charter school under s. 118.40 (2r) or (2x), or governing
17body of a private school participating in a parental choice program under s. 118.60
18or 119.23 or in the program under s. 115.7915 shall, at least once every 3 years, test

1all potable water sources at the school for lead concentration. The school board,
2operator, or governing body shall conduct a test under this paragraph in accordance
3with the guidance document and testing protocol published by the federal
4environmental protection agency under 42 USC 300j-24 (b) and submit the test
5sample for processing to the laboratory of hygiene or a certified laboratory, as defined
6in s. 299.11 (1) (b).
SB423,4,117 (b) The school board of a school in a school district, operator of a charter school
8under s. 118.40 (2r) or (2x), or governing body of a private school participating in a
9parental choice program under s. 118.60 or 119.23 or in the program under s.
10115.7915 shall, no later than 30 days after receiving the results of a test conducted
11under par. (a), do all of the following:
SB423,4,1412 1. Post the results on the school board's, operator's, or governing body's Internet
13site or, if the school board, operator, or governing body does not have an Internet site,
14make the results available to the public for examination on request.
SB423,4,1515 2. Provide the results to the department.
SB423,4,1916 (c) If the results of a test of a potable water source at a school conducted under
17par. (a) show a concentration of lead that is greater than the concentration
18considered safe for drinking under the Safe Drinking Water Act, 42 USC 300f et seq.,
19the school board, operator, or governing body of the school shall do all of the following:
SB423,4,2520 1. Immediately disconnect the water source and, if necessary, provide an
21alternative drinking water supply until the school board, operator, or governing body
22conducts a test of the water source in accordance with the requirements under par.
23(a) the results of which show a concentration of lead that is equal to or less than the
24concentration considered safe for drinking under the Safe Drinking Water Act, 42
25USC 300f
et seq.
SB423,5,2
12. No later than 6 months after receiving the results, develop and submit a plan
2to the department for remediating lead contamination in the water source.
SB423,5,63 3. No later than 30 days after submitting a remediation plan under subd. 2.,
4post the plan on the school board's, operator's, or governing body's Internet site or,
5if the school board, operator, or governing body does not have an Internet site, make
6the plan available to the public for examination on request.
SB423,5,97 4. If a remediation plan submitted under subd. 2. may be paid for, in whole or
8in part, by applying for a loan under s. 24.61 (3) (a) 1. dm., 2., 3., or 3m., notify and
9provide the test results to the department of natural resources.
SB423,5,1610 (d) If the school board of a school in a school district, operator of a charter school
11under s. 118.40 (2r) or (2x), or governing body of a private school participating in a
12parental choice program under s. 118.60 or 119.23 or in the program under s.
13115.7915 conducts 2 consecutive tests under par. (a) in a school at least 3 years apart
14the results of which show that the potable water sources in the school contain lead
15levels not higher than one part per billion, the school board, operator, or governing
16body is not required to conduct any additional tests under par. (a) at the school.
SB423,6 17Section 6. 121.91 (3) (a) 1. of the statutes is amended to read:
SB423,6,1018 121.91 (3) (a) 1. If a school board wishes to exceed the limit under sub. (2m)
19otherwise applicable to the school district in any school year, it shall promptly adopt
20a resolution supporting inclusion in the final school district budget of an amount
21equal to the proposed excess revenue. The resolution shall specify whether the
22proposed excess revenue is for a recurring or nonrecurring purpose, or, if the
23proposed excess revenue is for both recurring and nonrecurring purposes, the
24amount of the proposed excess revenue for each purpose. The resolution shall be filed
25as provided in s. 8.37. Within 10 days after adopting the resolution, the school board

1shall notify the department that it will schedule a referendum for the purpose of
2submitting the resolution to the electors of the school district for approval or rejection
3and shall submit a copy of the resolution to the department. Except as provided in
4subd. subds. 2. and 3., the school board shall schedule the referendum to be held at
5the next regularly scheduled spring primary or election or partisan primary or
6general election, provided such election is to be held not sooner than 70 days after
7the filing of the resolution of the school board. A school board may proceed under this
8subdivision and under s. 67.05 (6a) (a) 2. a. no more than 2 times in any calendar year.
9The school district clerk shall certify the results of the referendum to the department
10within 10 days after the referendum is held.
SB423,7 11Section 7. 121.91 (3) (a) 3. of the statutes is created to read:
SB423,6,2312 121.91 (3) (a) 3. If the school board of a school district receives results for a test
13conducted under s. 118.07 (6) (a) that show a concentration of lead in a potable water
14source at a school in the school district that exceeds the limit described under s.
15118.07 (6) (c), the school board may call a special referendum to be held within the
166-month period immediately following the date on which the school board submits
17a remediation plan regarding the water source to the department under s. 118.07 (6)
18(c) 2., provided the special referendum is to be held not sooner than 70 days after the
19filing of the resolution of the school board under subd. 1. A school board may call a
20special referendum under this subdivision only to submit to the electors of the school
21district for approval or rejection a resolution supporting inclusion in the final school
22district budget of an amount equal to the proposed excess revenue attributable to
23costs of lead remediation conducted in compliance with the remediation plan.
SB423,8 24Section 8 . 281.61 (1) (am) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB423,7,5
1281.61 (1) (am) “Local governmental unit" means a city, village, town, county,
2town sanitary district, public inland lake protection and rehabilitation district, joint
3local water authority created under s. 66.0823, or municipal water district, or a
4school district, technical college district, or cooperative education service agency for
5the purposes of s. 24.61 (3) (a) 1. dm., 3., and 3m
.
SB423,9 6Section 9 . 281.61 (8) (b) of the statutes is created to read:
SB423,7,217 281.61 (8) (b) The department of administration shall allocate to projects for
8remediating lead contamination in a school under s. 24.61 (3) (a) 1. dm., 2., 3., or 3m.
920 percent of the available funds in each fiscal year or such lesser amount that fully
10funds those projects. Of this amount, the department of administration may allocate
11funds for reducing principal payments only in the fourth quarter of any fiscal year,
12and only if sufficient funds are available to fund all approved applications. If the
13amount of funds available under this paragraph is not sufficient to fund all approved
14applications for projects for remediating lead contamination in a school under s.
1524.61 (3) (a) 1. dm., 2., 3., or 3m., the department of administration shall allocate
16funding in an equitable manner to all approved applicants. Notwithstanding par.
17(bL), in any fiscal year, applicants for projects for remediating lead contamination
18under s. 24.61 (3) (a) 1. dm., 2., 3., or 3m. for schools that are located within a single
19city, town, or village may not, in total, receive more than 20 percent of the amount
20of financial assistance planned to be provided or committed for projects under this
21paragraph for that fiscal year.
SB423,10 22Section 10. Nonstatutory provisions.
SB423,8,223 (1) The school board of a school in a school district, operator of a charter school
24under s. 118.40 (2r) or (2x), or governing body of a private school participating in a

1parental choice program under s. 118.60 or 119.23 or in the program under s.
2115.7915 shall conduct the first test required under s. 118.07 (6) (a) as follows:
SB423,8,43 (a) For a school building or an addition to a school building constructed before
4January 1, 1974, no later than 1 year after the effective date of this paragraph.
SB423,8,75 (b) For a school building or an addition to a school building constructed on or
6after January 1, 1974, and before January 1, 1985, no later than 2 years after the
7effective date of this paragraph.
SB423,8,98 (c) For a school building or an addition to a school building constructed on or
9after January 1, 1985, no later than 3 years after the effective date of this paragraph.
SB423,8,1610 (2) If the school board of a school in a school district, operator of a charter school
11under s. 118.40 (2r) or (2x), or governing body of a private school participating in a
12parental choice program under s. 118.60 or 119.23 or in the program under s.
13115.7915 tested all potable water sources at the school in accordance with the
14requirements under s. 118.07 (6) (a) no more than 5 years before the effective date
15of this subsection, the school board, operator, or governing body shall do all of the
16following:
SB423,8,1817 (a) Notwithstanding sub. (1), conduct the first test required under s. 118.07 (6)
18(a) no later than 6 years after the effective date of this paragraph.
SB423,8,2019 (b) No later than 3 months after the effective date of this paragraph, provide
20the test results to the department of public instruction.
SB423,9,221 (c) If the test results for a potable water source show a concentration of lead that
22is greater than the concentration considered safe for drinking under the Safe
23Drinking Water Act, 42 USC 300f et seq., no later than 6 months after providing the
24test results to the department of public instruction under par. (b), develop and submit

1a remediation plan to the department of public instruction regarding the water
2source.
SB423,9,33 (End)
Loading...
Loading...