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2017 - 2018 LEGISLATURE
2017 ASSEMBLY BILL 64
February 8, 2017 - Introduced by JOINT COMMITTEE ON FINANCE, by
request ofGovernor Scott Walker. Referred to Joint Committee on
Finance. Referred toJoint Survey Committee on Tax Exemptions.
AN ACT relating to: state finances and appropriations,
constituting the
executive budget act of the 2017 legislature.
Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau
INTRODUCTION
This bill is the “executive budget bill" under section 16.47 (1)
of the statutes.It contains the governor's recommendations for
appropriations for the 2017-2019fiscal biennium.
The bill repeals and recreates the appropriation schedule in
chapter 20 of thestatutes, thereby setting the appropriation levels
for the 2017-2019 fiscal biennium.The descriptions that follow
relate to the most significant changes in the law that areproposed
in the bill. In most cases, changes in the amounts of existing
spendingauthority and changes in the amounts of bonding authority
under existing bondingprograms are not discussed.
For additional information concerning this bill, see the
Department ofAdministration's publication Budget in Brief and the
executive budget books, theLegislative Fiscal Bureau's summary
document, and the Legislative ReferenceBureau's drafting files,
which contain separate drafts on each policy item.
__________________________________________________________________
GUIDE TO THE BILL
As is the case for all other bills, the sections of the budget
bill that affect statutesare organized in ascending numerical order
of the statutes affected.
Treatments of prior session laws (styled “laws of [year],
chapter ...." from 1848to 1981, and “[year] Wisconsin Act ...."
beginning with 1983) are displayed next byyear of original
enactment and by act number.
1
2
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The remaining sections of the budget bill are organized by type
of provision and,within each type, alphabetically by state agency.
The first two digits of the four-digitsection number indicate the
type of provision:
91XX Nonstatutory provisions.92XX Fiscal changes.93XX Initial
applicability.94XX Effective dates.
The remaining two digits indicate the state agency or subject
area to which theprovision relates:
XX01�Administration.XX02�Agriculture, Trade and Consumer
Protection.XX03�Arts Board.XX04�Building Commission.XX05�Child
Abuse and Neglect Prevention Board.XX06�Children and
Families.XX07�Circuit Courts.XX08�Corrections.XX09�Court of
Appeals.XX10�District Attorneys.XX11�Educational�Approval
Board.XX12�Educational�Communications Board.XX13�Elections
Commission.XX14�Employee Trust Funds.XX15�Employment Relations
Commission.XX16�Ethics Commission.XX17�Financial
Institutions.XX18�Governor.XX19�Health and Educational Facilities
Authority.XX20�Health Services.XX21�Higher Educational Aids
Board.XX22�Historical Society.XX23�Housing and Economic Development
Authority.XX24�Insurance.XX25�Investment Board.XX26�Joint Committee
on Finance.XX27�Judicial
Commission.XX28�Justice.XX29�Legislature.XX30�Lieutenant
Governor.XX31�Local Government.XX32�Military Affairs.XX33�Natural
Resources.
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XX34�Public Defender Board.XX35�Public Instruction.XX36�Public
Lands, Board of Commissioners of.XX37�Public Service
Commission.XX38�Revenue.XX39�Safety and Professional
Services.XX40�Secretary of State.XX41�State Fair Park
Board.XX42�Supreme Court.XX43�Technical College
System.XX44�Tourism.XX45�Transportation.XX46�Treasurer.XX47�University�of�Wisconsin�Hospitals
and Clinics Authority;
Medical College of Wisconsin.XX48�University of Wisconsin
System.XX49�Veterans Affairs.XX50�Wisconsin Economic Development
Corporation.XX51�Workforce Development.XX52�Other.
For example, for general nonstatutory provisions relating to the
StateHistorical Society, see SECTION 9122. For any agency that is
not assigned a two-digitidentification number and that is attached
to another agency, see the number of thelatter agency. For any
other agency not assigned a two-digit identification numberor any
provision that does not relate to the functions of a particular
agency, seenumber “52" (Other) within each type of provision.
Separate section numbers and headings appear for each type of
provision andfor each state agency, even if there are no provisions
included in that section numberand heading. Section numbers and
headings for which there are no provisions willbe deleted in
enrolling and will not appear in the published act.
Following is a list of the most commonly used abbreviations
appearing in theanalysis.
DATCP Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection.
. .DCF Department of Children and Families. . . . . .DETF
Department of Employee Trust Funds. . . . .DFI Department of
Financial Institutions. . . . . . .DHS Department of Health
Services. . . . . .DMA Department of Military Affairs. . . . .DNR
Department of Natural Resources. . . . . .DOA Department of
Administration. . . . . .DOC Department of Corrections. . . . .
.DOJ Department of Justice. . . . . .DOR Department of Revenue. . .
. . .
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DOT Department of Transportation. . . . . .DPI Department of
Public Instruction. . . . . . .DSPS Department of Safety and
Professional Services. . . . .DVA Department of Veterans Affairs. .
. . . .DWD Department of Workforce Development. . . . .JCF Joint
Committee on Finance. . . . . .LRB Legislative Reference Bureau. .
. . . .OCI Office of the Commissioner of Insurance. . . . . .PSC
Public Service Commission. . . . . .SHS State Historical Society. .
. . . .TCS Technical College System. . . . . .UW University of
Wisconsin. . . . . . .WEDC Wisconsin Economic Development
Corporation. . . .WHEDA Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development
Authority. .WHEFA Wisconsin Health and Educational Facilities
Authority. . .
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AGRICULTURE
This bill changes the amount of license fees and agricultural
chemical cleanupsurcharges that manufacturers and distributors of
fertilizer and of soil or plantadditives, manufacturers and
labelers of pesticides, dealers and distributors ofrestricted-use
pesticides, and commercial applicators of pesticides are required
topay to DATCP, and provides that many of these fees are reduced
depending on theamount available in the agricultural chemical
cleanup fund. The bill also requiresa licensed pesticide
manufacturer or labeler who stops selling or distributing
apesticide to pay a final license fee and a final agricultural
chemical cleanupsurcharge, and changes the amount of each license
fee received from a pesticidemanufacturer or labeler that is
deposited into the environmental fund. The bill alsoeliminates the
requirement that a pesticide manufacturer or labeler pay
anenvironmental cleanup surcharge for certain pesticide products
intended for use onwood, and creates a reduced feed inspection fee
and weights and measures inspectionfee for licensed commercial feed
distributors who distribute less than 200 tons ofcommercial feed
per year. In addition, the bill eliminates the classification of
an“exempt buyer,” which under current law allows certain licensed
commercial feedmanufacturers or distributors to claim credits
against certain required inspectionfees. The bill also increases
the maximum amount of corrective action costs, incurredin response
to a harmful discharge of an agricultural chemical, that may be
incurredwhile still remaining eligible for a 75 percent
reimbursement from DATCP.
This bill repeals the farm to school program, under which DATCP
promotesprograms that connect schools with nearby farms to provide
children with locallyproduced foods in school meals, and eliminates
the farm to school council, whichadvises DATCP and reports to the
legislature about the needs and opportunities forfarm to school
programs.
This bill increases the general obligation bonding authority for
the Soil andWater Resource Management Program, which awards grants
to counties to help fundtheir land and water conservation
activities, by $7,000,000. The bill also requires
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DATCP and DNR, when preparing their annual grant allocation plan
for makingthese grants, to consider the existence of any impaired
water bodies or agriculturalenterprise areas, and to give priority
to projects that are in or near, or that affect,those areas.
This bill transfers the Agricultural Education and Workforce
DevelopmentCouncil from DATCP to DWD and adds the secretary of
workforce development asa member of the council's executive
committee. In addition, the bill requires theVeterinary Examining
Board to create, by rule, a procedure for addressingallegations
that a licensed veterinarian's or veterinary technician's ability
to practiceis impaired by alcohol or other drugs.
COMMERCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
This bill makes several changes to the appropriations for WEDC,
includingcapping WEDC's expenditure of general purpose revenue at
$12,474,000 in fiscalyear 2017-18 and $18,774,000 in each fiscal
year thereafter and requiring that thebalance in the appropriation
from the economic development fund for WEDC'soperations and
programs be $0 before WEDC may expend moneys from its
generalpurpose revenue appropriation for that purpose.
This bill repeals the prohibition that, with one exception, WEDC
may notoriginate any new loan after June 30, 2017. Instead, the
bill places the followinglimitations on each loan WEDC originates
after that date:
1. With one exception, the loan must be funded, not from
appropriations, butonly from repayments to WEDC of other loans.
2. The loan may not be forgivable upon the loan recipient's
achievement of oneor more conditions or goals.
The bill also requires each new lending program WEDC implements
oradministers to adhere as closely as practicable to commonly
accepted commerciallending practices.
Under this bill, WEDC may cancel the designation of an
enterprise zone ifWEDC revokes all of the certifications for tax
benefits within that zone. After WEDCcancels a designation, WEDC
may designate a new enterprise zone. The bill alsoprovides that if
a current enterprise zone expires after 12 years, as required
undercurrent law, WEDC may designate a new enterprise zone.
This bill specifies that WEDC may certify no more than
$10,000,000 of taxcredits under the historic rehabilitation tax
credit each year. The bill also requiresthat the tax credits be
awarded competitively, based on the potential to create jobs,the
benefit to the state of certifying the credit relative to the cost
of the credit, theprojected impact on the local economy, the
likelihood that the activity would occurwithout the credit, and the
number of historic rehabilitation tax credits certified inthe same
county or municipality in prior years. In addition, the bill
provides that ifthe activity for which the person claims a credit
creates fewer full-time jobs thanprojected, as reported to DOR, the
person must repay to DOR the amount of the creditclaimed in
proportion to the number of full-time jobs created compared to
thenumber of full-time jobs projected.
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This bill provides that WEDC must provide at least $500,000 in
grants in eachof the fiscal years 2017-18 and 2018-19 through its
grant program for fabricationlaboratories.
Under current law, WEDC may certify a business as a qualified
new businessventure if, among other requirements, for taxable years
beginning after December31, 2010, the business has not received
more than $8,000,000 in investments thatqualified for tax credits
under the early stage seed investment program. This billraises that
threshold to $12,000,000 for taxable years beginning after December
31,2016.
BUSINESS ORGANIZATIONS AND FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS
This bill specifies one-hour and four-hour expedited processing
fees forbusiness entity filings with DFI. Under current law, DFI
establishes all expeditedprocessing fees by rule.
CORRECTIONAL SYSTEM
ADULT CORRECTIONAL SYSTEM
This bill eliminates the parole commission as of January 1,
2018, and transfersto DOC the responsibility for interviewing
inmates who are eligible for parole,making parole decisions, and
determining appropriate programming for inmatesseeking to be
paroled. Under current law, a person who is convicted of
committinga crime before December 31, 1999, may become eligible for
parole after beingconfined in prison, a county house of
corrections, or certain other facilities for aportion of his or her
sentence for the crime. When he or she becomes eligible forparole,
an eight-member parole commission within DOC consisting of a
chairpersonnominated by the governor and seven commission members
appointed by thechairperson handles parole matters.
This bill directs the Legislative Audit Bureau to conduct a
study of the policiesand procedures of DOC and the Division of
Hearings and Appeals in DOA for theprobation and parole revocation
process.
JUVENILE CORRECTIONAL SYSTEM
This bill increases from 16 to 18 the age under which a person
who is sentencedto the Wisconsin state prisons must be placed at a
juvenile correctional facility or asecured residential care center
for children and youth, unless DOC determines basedon various
factors that placement in a state prison, other than the Wisconsin
SecureProgram Facility, is appropriate.
This bill changes the amounts that DOC charges, or that DCF
deducts fromallocations, to counties for the costs of certain
juvenile correctional services DOCprovides according to per person
daily cost assessments (daily rates). The billestablishes the
following daily rates:
1. For fiscal year 2017-18, the daily rate is $344 for care in a
Type 1 juvenilecorrectional facility, and $344 for care for
juveniles transferred from a juvenilecorrectional institution.
2. For fiscal year 2018-19, the daily rate is $352 for care in a
Type 1 juvenilecorrectional facility, and $352 for care for
juveniles transferred from a juvenilecorrectional institution.
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COURTS AND PROCEDURE
PUBLIC DEFENDER
This bill consolidates several appropriations to the Office of
the State PublicDefender into one general appropriation to cover
all operational costs of the Officeof the State Public Defender.
The bill also allows the Public Defender Board torequest
authorization for certain additional full-time or part-time
positions to befunded from general purpose revenues from the
governor rather than from JCF.
OTHER COURTS AND PROCEDURE
This bill also authorizes the Joint Committee on Employment
Relations toreview and establish annual salaries for judges and
justices under a proposalsubmitted by the director of state courts.
Under current law, annual salaries forjudges and justices are
reviewed and established in the state compensation plan inthe same
manner as positions in the state classified service.
This bill moves the appropriations for administering the
Judicial Commissionto the Supreme Court. Under current law, the
Judicial Commission investigates anymisconduct or permanent
disability of a judge or court commissioner. The SupremeCourt
reviews and determines the appropriate discipline or action to take
inresponse to the Judicial Commission's investigation.
Generally under current law, when a petition is filed for
judicial review of anagency action, the agency must provide the
court with a typewritten or printed recordof the agency's
administrative proceeding. The bill allows the Division of
Hearingsand Appeals to instead provide a court with a copy of an
audio or video recording ofthe proceeding, unless the court orders
the preparation of a transcript.
This bill eliminates the Judicial Council and its
appropriations.
EDUCATION
PRIMARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION
This bill modifies the Youth Options Program, under which a
pupil enrolled ina public school may take one or more courses at an
institution of higher educationfor high school or postsecondary
credit, and renames the program to be the EarlyCollege Credit
Program.
Under the current Youth Options Program, any pupil in the 11th
or 12th gradesmay apply to an institution of higher education to
take one or more courses at theinstitution. If the course satisfies
high school graduation credits and is notcomparable to a course
offered by the school district, the school board must pay
theinstitution of higher education on behalf of the pupil. If the
course is comparable toa course offered by the school district or
is taken for postsecondary credit, the pupilis responsible for
paying for the course.
This bill opens the ECCP to pupils in all high school grades,
and explicitlyauthorizes a pupil to participate in the ECCP in a
summer session or semester. Thebill also changes the method for
determining the cost of a college course, assigns acertain portion
of the cost to the state, and specifies the maximum cost to be paid
bythe school board, the state, and, for a course taken only for
postsecondary credit, bythe pupil. In addition, the bill directs
DWD to pay the state's portion of the cost of
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tuition. Finally, the bill requires an institution of higher
education to admit a pupilunder the program if certain conditions
are met.
This bill also restores the part-time Open Enrollment Program to
its statusprior to the enactment of the 2013-15 Biennial Budget Act
(2013 Act 20). Prior tothe enactment of 2013 Act 20, a high school
pupil could, under the part-time OpenEnrollment Program, apply to
take one or two courses at a public school locatedoutside the
pupil's school district of residence under certain circumstances.
Underthe part-time OEP, the pupil's resident school board was
required to pay to thenonresident school board an amount equal to
the cost of providing the course to thepupil, as determined by DPI.
Also under the part-time OEP, the resident schoolboard could reject
the pupil's application if either of the following applied: 1)
theresident school board determined that the course conflicted with
the pupil'sindividualized education program; or 2) the cost of
paying for the pupil to attend thecourse would impose an undue
financial burden on the resident school district.
This bill requires DPI to include in the annual accountability
reports preparedfor schools and school districts additional
information about high school pupils,including the number of pupils
attending a course through the part-time OEP orECCP programs, the
number of pupils participating in a youth apprenticeship, andthe
number of pupils earning industry-recognized credentials.
This bill eliminates various requirements that apply to school
boards, including1) that a school board annually schedule a minimum
number of hours of direct pupilinstruction; 2) that a school board
hold a monthly regular school board meeting; 3)that a school board
not enter into an employment contract with a schooladministrator
for a term that exceeds two years; and 4) that a school district
clerksubmit a statement of the school district's indebtedness to
the secretary of state,upon request.
This bill allows a school board to contract with one or more
school boards tosatisfy the school board's obligations to provide a
variety of services and programs,including providing instruction on
lifesaving skills, providing emergency nursingservices and guidance
and counseling services, establishing a
bilingual-biculturaleducation program, establishing a technical
preparation program in each highschool in the school district,
ensuring access to programs for gifted and talentedpupils,
designating a school attendance officer for the school district,
and employinga certified reading specialist.
This bill eliminates the school district revenue limit
adjustment for projects toimplement energy efficiency measures or
to purchase energy efficiency products, butpermits a school
district that adopted a resolution to initiate an energy
efficiencyproject before the effective date of the bill to increase
the school district revenue limitby the amount spent on the energy
efficiency project in a school year for theremainder of the term of
the bond, note, or trust fund loan.
This bill requires DWD to award a grant to a school district
that partners witheither the UW System or the flexible option
program in the UW Extension to designand implement a teacher
development program. The teacher development programmust be
designed to prepare school district employees who are not teachers
to obtaina teaching permit or initial teaching license.
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This bill eliminates the requirement that an individual who
currently holds avalid and current initial teaching license, a
professional teaching license, a mastereducator license, or an
administrator license, issued by DPI, renew that license.
Inaddition, the bill eliminates renewal requirements for licenses
issued after theeffective date of the bill. The bill makes no
changes to the substantive requirementsfor initial licensure or to
the conditions for revocation of these licenses. However, thebill
does transfer responsibility for periodically conducting background
checks onindividuals who hold a license from DPI to the school
board in which the individualis employed.
This bill allows a faculty member in the UW System, the TCS, or
any private,nonprofit member of the Wisconsin Association of
Independent Colleges andUniversities to teach at a public high
school without a license to teach issued by DPIif the faculty
member is in good standing and possesses a bachelor's degree.
For a license to teach based on reciprocity and for an
administrator's licensebased on reciprocity, this bill eliminates
the requirement that an applicant musthave received an offer to
teach or to be an administrator in a school located in thisstate in
order to qualify for the license.
This bill permits a school district to provide compensation to a
student teacherfor time spent in a classroom that involves direct
interaction with pupils.
This bill provides additional per pupil aid of $188 in the
2017-18 school yearand $380 in the 2018-19 school year and in each
school year thereafter to a schooldistrict that certifies all of
the following:
1. In the 2017-18 and 2018-19 school years, school district
employees will berequired to pay at least 12 percent of health care
coverage costs.
2. The school district will distribute the additional per pupil
aid to a school inthe school district in an amount equal to the
number of pupils enrolled in the school.
In addition, this bill requires DPI to increase the additional
per pupil aid by $12in the 2017-18 school year and by $24 in the
2018-19 school year if the GroupInsurance Board executes a contract
to provide self-insured group health plans tostate employees for
the 2018 and 2019 calendar years.
This bill makes certain additional school districts eligible for
sparsity aid.Under current law, a school district is eligible for
sparsity aid in the amount of $300per pupil if the school
district's membership in the previous school year does notexceed
745 pupils and if the membership divided by the school district's
area insquare miles is less than ten. The bill increases the per
pupil payment to $400. Alsounder this bill, a school district with
the same density of pupils per square miles andwith a membership in
the previous school year of more than 745 students but no morethan
1,000 students is eligible for sparsity aid in the amount of $100
per pupil.
This bill increases the reimbursement rate to school districts
and independentcharter school operators for transporting a pupil
who lives more than 12 miles fromthe school the pupil attends from
$300 per school year to $365 per school year; andincreases the
reimbursement rate to school districts for transportation to and
fromsummer classes from $4 to $10 for a pupil who lives at least
two miles but not morethan five miles from the school the pupil
attends and from $6 to $20 for a pupil wholives more than five
miles from the school the pupil attends. The bill also
eliminates
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the requirement that DPI reduce the amount of state aid a
charter school operatorreceives for transporting a pupil if the
pupil is transported for less than a full schoolyear because the
pupil is not enrolled in the school district or independent
charterschool for the entire school year.
As part of the Technology for Educational Achievement program,
known asTEACH, DOA awards information technology block grants for
improvinginformation technology infrastructure to school districts
that have 13 pupils persquare mile or less. Under current law, the
information technology block grantprogram ends on July 1, 2017.
This bill continues the information technology blockgrant program
until July 1, 2019, and expands the permitted uses of grants
underthe program to include providing mobile hotspots on buses and
purchasing mobilehotspots for individuals to borrow from schools.
In addition, the eligibility for thesegrants in the 2017-18 school
year is expanded to include school districts that haveup to 26
pupils per square mile.
This bill requires DPI to develop, implement, and administer a
program toaward grants to school districts and independent charter
schools for the purpose ofcollaborating with community mental
health providers to provide mental healthservices to pupils.
This bill requires DPI to provide trainings on evidence-based
strategies relatedto addressing mental issues in schools to school
district personnel and independentcharter school personnel. Under
the bill, these trainings must include at least thefollowing
evidence-based strategies: screening, brief intervention, and
referral totreatment, known as SBIRT; trauma sensitive schools; and
youth mental health firstaid.
This bill requires DPI to make payments to school districts and
independentcharter schools that increased the amount the school
district or independent charterschool spent to employ, hire, or
retain social workers over the amount spent by theschool district
or independent charter school to employ, hire, or retain social
workersin the immediately preceding school year.
This bill creates a grant program for public schools, including
independentcharter schools, and a private school participating in
the Milwaukee Parental ChoiceProgram that are located within the
geographic boundaries of a first class city schooldistrict
(currently, only the school district operating in the city of
Milwaukee,Milwaukee Public Schools). Under the grant program, DPI
provides awards toschools that were placed in a performance
category of “significantly exceedsexpectations" or “exceeds
expectations" on the most recent accountability report andto
schools that improved their score on the most recent accountability
report by atleast three points over the previous accountability
report. In each school year, thebill prohibits DPI from making
awards under the program until DOA approvesaward amounts calculated
under the grant program. Finally, the bill requires a firstclass
city school board to distribute any funds it receives under this
grant programto the school administrator of the school that earned
the award.
This bill requires the MPS school board to develop and implement
a grantprogram to award grants to public schools, except
independent charter schools,located in Milwaukee for the purpose of
developing, redesigning, or implementing a
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summer school program. Additionally, the bill requires DPI to
annually distributefunding to the MPS board for this purpose.
This bill expands the entities to which DPI must award grants
for the purposeof providing services and activities to gifted and
talented pupils to include all schooldistricts. Under current law,
DPI is required to provide these grants to nonprofitorganizations,
cooperative educational service agencies, institutions in the
UWSystem, and a school district operating in a first class
city.
This bill creates a program in DPI to award grants to a
nonprofit organizationto provide training and an online bullying
prevention curriculum to pupils in gradeskindergarten to 8.
This bill explicitly authorizes DPI to request that DOA
reimburse charterschools, including independent charter schools,
charter schools under contract withthe director of the Office of
Educational Opportunity, and noninstrumentalitycharter schools, for
certain costs incurred in connection with a special
educationprogram and the provision of special education and related
services by the charterschool. Current law allows DPI to reimburse
school districts, cooperativeeducational service agencies, and
county children with disabilities education boardsfor the same
services under the same conditions.
This bill requires a private school participating in the Special
NeedsScholarship Program to obtain verification that a child with a
disability who hasapplied to attend the private school under the
program has an IndividualizedEducation Program or services plan in
effect before notifying DPI that the privateschool intends to
accept the application of the child. Under current law, DPI
mustverify that an IEP or services plan is in effect. The bill also
allows an IEP teamappointed by a nonresident school board to
conduct a reevaluation of a child with adisability who is attending
a private school under the program in the nonresidentschool
district. Current law requires the IEP team appointed by the
resident schoolboard to reevaluate such a child. Finally, the bill
permits the state superintendentof public instruction to bar a
private school from participating in the program if theprivate
school misrepresents information required under the program.
If the federal government permits entities other than public
entities to receivefederal funding for providing equitable services
to children with disabilities who areenrolled by their parents in
private schools, the bill requires an ombudsmandesignated by DPI to
identify a private fiscal agent to receive such federal
funding.
This bill makes the following changes to the Milwaukee parental
choiceprogram, the Racine parental choice program, and the
statewide parental choiceprogram:
1. Eliminates the requirement that a private school
participating in a parentalchoice program must annually satisfy at
least one of the following standards: a) atleast 70 percent of the
pupils in the program advance one grade level each year; b)the
private school's average attendance rate for the pupils in the
program is at least90 percent; c) at least 80 percent of the pupils
in the program demonstrate significantacademic progress; or d) at
least 70 percent of the families of pupils in the programmeet
parent involvement criteria established by the private school.
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2. Eliminates the requirement that a private school
participating in a parentalchoice program provide a minimum number
of hours of direct pupil instruction.
3. Requires a private school participating in a parental choice
program toconduct a background investigation of teachers and
administrators who arecurrently employed by the private school and
to conduct a background investigationof teachers and administrators
hired after the date on which the bill is enacted aspart of the
hiring process. Additionally, the bill requires the private school
to conductan additional background investigation at least once
every five years if a teacher oradministrator continues to be
employed by the private school.
4. Allows DPI to bar a private school from participating in a
parental choiceprogram in the current school year and the following
school year for misrepresentingany information required under the
program.
5. Prohibits DPI from requiring a private school participating
in a parentalchoice program to submit an annual operating budget to
DPI as evidence of theprivate school's fiscal and internal control
practices or of its financial viability. Theprohibition applies
only if the private school is not a new private school and
theprivate school is in good standing with DPI.
6. Allows an applicant for a parental choice program to receive
directly fromDOR a determination about the applicant's income
eligibility for the parental choiceprogram as part of the
application process.
7. Requires a private school that is continuing to participate
in a parentalchoice program to submit certain school policies at
DPI's request, instead ofsubmitting all of the policies to DPI each
year as required under current law, and toprovide to DPI only
signatures of new members of its governing board, rather
thansignatures from all of the members of its governing body each
year. For a privateschool that did not participate in a parental
choice program in the previous year, thebill requires the private
school to submit all of its policies and signatures from all ofthe
members of its governing body to DPI by January 10 of the
immediatelypreceding school year.
This bill eliminates the requirement that a virtual charter
school ensure thatits teachers are available to provide a minimum
number of hours of direct pupilinstruction and prohibits the
governing body of a virtual charter school from allowinga pupil to
start attending the virtual charter school during a semester in
which thepupil has had four or more unexcused absences from
school.
HIGHER EDUCATION
This bill requires the Board of Regents of the UW System to
allocate a specifiedportion of its annual general purpose revenue
funding to distribute among the UWinstitutions, which are the
individual four-year universities and the two-year UWColleges as a
whole, based on their performance in the prior fiscal year
regardingspecified criteria. In each fiscal year, the Board of
Regents must allocate $21,250,000of its annual general purpose
revenue funding for making the distributions.However, if the Board
of Regents does not begin making the distributions until fiscalyear
2018-19, then, in that fiscal year, the Board of Regents must
allocate$42,500,000 of its general purpose revenue funding for the
2017-19 fiscal bienniumfor making the distributions.
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This bill requires the following percentages of the portion
allocated to bedistributed according to an institution's
performance regarding each of the followingsets of criteria:
1. Thirty percent: length of time to obtain a degree; student
participation indual enrollment programs; percentage of students
completing degrees within three,four, and six years; percentage of
students awarded degrees in healthcare, science,technology,
engineering, or mathematics; low-income student graduation rate;
andfaculty instructional hours.
2. Fifteen percent: average number of high-impact practices
experienced byundergraduates and percentage of students who
participated in internships duringundergraduate enrollment.
3. Thirty percent: percentage of students who obtained full-time
postgraduateemployment; percentage of students who obtained
full-time postgraduateemployment in fields related to their
degrees; percentage of the state workforce whograduated from the
institution in the five prior fiscal years; percentage of
studentswho are employed or continue their education within one
year of graduation; and thenumber of degrees awarded in high-demand
fields as determined by DWD.
4. Ten percent: minimization of expenditures for supplies,
services, personnel,and other administrative expenses.
5. Five percent: number of state residents served by the
UW-Extension oroutreach programs at the institution and
expenditures on noncredit studentcommunity service programs.
6. Ten percent: two additional criteria specified by the Board
of Regents.This bill requires the Board of Regents to establish
formulas for distributing the
above percentages among institutions based on their rankings
regardingperformance for each of the above sets of criteria.
However, the Board of Regentsmust control for the number of
students enrolled at each institution so that largerinstitutions
are not advantaged over smaller institutions. In addition, the
Board ofRegents may substitute criteria for the UW Colleges or
exempt the UW Colleges froma ranking and distribution. No later
than January 1, 2018, the Board of Regentsmust submit a plan to the
secretary of administration for making the distributions.The plan
must include the method used for ranking performance. Within 30
days ofreceipt of the plan, the secretary of administration must
approve the plan or requireresubmittal. The bill prohibits the
Board of Regents from implementing the planuntil approved by the
secretary.
Beginning in fiscal year 2018-19, this bill requires the Board
of Regents torequire each institution to prepare an annual
“Performance Funding Report Card”that summarizes performance
regarding the above criteria and other metrics. Inaddition, the
Board of Regents must publish data regarding each
institution'sperformance on the UW System Accountability Dashboard
that the Board of Regentsmaintains on the UW System's Internet
site.
This bill makes changes to performance funding requirements for
technicalcollege districts. Current law required the TCS Board to
submit a plan to JCF byMarch 31, 2014, for allocating general state
aid to technical college districts basedon performance with respect
to specified criteria. Upon approval by JCF, current law
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required the TCS Board to allocate the general state aid among
the districts so that,by fiscal year 2016-17, 30 percent of the aid
was allocated according to the plan and70 percent was allocated
according to a formula for equalizing the aid based ondistrict
property values. Under current law, after fiscal year 2016-17, none
of theaid is allocated according to the plan and 100 percent is
allocated according to theequalization formula.
Under this bill, in fiscal year 2017-18, 30 percent of the aid
is allocatedaccording to the plan and 70 percent is allocated
according to the equalizationformula. For subsequent fiscal years,
the bill requires the TCS Board to allocate 70percent of the aid to
technical college districts according to the equalization
formulaand to submit a new plan to the secretary of administration
for allocating thefollowing percentages of the aid based on a
district's performance regarding thefollowing sets of criteria,
which are based on the criteria specified under current law:
1. Ten and one-half percent: participation in dual enrollment
programs and thedevelopment and implementation of a policy to award
course credit for educationalexperience and training not obtained
through an institution of higher education.
2. Ten and one-half percent: student placement in jobs related
to the students'programs of study; number of degrees and
certificates awarded in high-demandfields, as jointly determined by
DWD and the TCS Board; number of programs orcourses with
industry-validated curriculum; and workforce training provided
tobusinesses and individuals.
3. Six percent: number of adults served by specified basic adult
education,skills, and training courses and the success rate of
adult students completing thecourses; transition of adult students
from basic education to skills training; andtraining and other
service provided to special populations or demographic groupsthat
are unique to a technical college district.
4. Three percent: participation in statewide or regional
collaboration ofefficiency initiatives.
This bill requires the TCS Board to submit the above plan to the
secretary ofadministration by March 31, 2018. The TCS Board may not
implement the planunless approved or modified by the secretary of
administration. Beginning in fiscalyear 2018-19, the bill requires
the TCS Board to submit an annual report to thesecretary of
administration regarding the allocations made under the plan
anddistrict performance regarding the criteria. The bill also
requires each technicalcollege district to prepare an annual
“Performance Funding Report Card” thatsummarizes district
performance with respect to the above criteria.
This bill requires the TCS Board to submit an accountability
report byDecember 31 of each year to the governor and the
legislature. The report mustinclude information regarding the
following: 1) graduation rates and related data;2) postgraduation
state residency of students; 3) the number of degrees, diplomas,and
certificates awarded in high-demand fields; 4) financial reports;
5) studentfamily income and minority group membership; 6) student
transfers; 7) costs forresident students; 8) the collegiate
transfer program; 9) faculty profiles; 10)partnerships and
collaborative relationships among technical colleges,
employers,
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state or local governments, or school districts; and 11)
incentive grants made undercurrent law. specified under current
law.
In academic years 2017-18 and 2018-19, this bill prohibits
technical collegedistrict boards from charging fees to resident
students for liberal arts, collegiatetransfer, postsecondary, or
vocational-adult programs that exceed the fees chargedin the
2016-17 academic year. In those same academic years, the bill also
prohibitsthe boards from charging materials fees to any student
that exceed the fees chargedin the 2016-17 academic year. In
addition, the bill allows technical college districtboards to
charge students who reside in their districts uniform program and
materialfees that are less than the uniform fees established by the
TCS Board.
This bill makes payment by students of allocable segregated fees
at UW schoolsoptional. The bill defines “allocable segregated fees"
as segregated fees that providesubstantial support for campus
student activities and that students are responsiblefor allocating,
in consultation with the school's chancellor and subject
toconfirmation of the Board of Regents.
This bill prohibits four-year UW schools from awarding a
bachelor's degree toa student unless the student has had an
internship experience or work experience.The Board of Regents must
establish policies for determining whether a student hassatisfied
this internship or work requirement.
This bill requires the Board of Regents and the TCS Board to
enter into anagreement that, beginning in the 2018-19 academic
year, ensures that not fewerthan 60 core general education course
credits are transferable within and betweeneach UW school and
technical college. Current law required such an agreement for30
credits beginning in the 2014-15 academic year. As under current
law, the billrequires the two boards to ensure that in-state
tribally controlled colleges andcertain private schools have an
opportunity to participate in the agreement. The billalso requires
the Board of Regents to measure the effectiveness of policies the
boardhas established under current law for the appropriate transfer
of credits betweeninstitutions within the system. In addition, the
bill requires the board to submit areport to the legislature that
describes any barriers to credit transferability.
This bill requires each university in the UW System to submit
statements to theBoard of Regents regarding completion of majors
for baccalaureate degrees withinthree academic years. By January 1,
2018, the bill requires a university to submitstatements for at
least 10 percent of its baccalaureate degree programs. By June
30,2020, the bill requires a university to submit statements for at
least 60 percent ofsuch programs. Upon submitting a statement, a
university must post the statementon the university's Internet
site. The Board of Regents must provide copies to thestate
superintendent of public instruction for further distribution. The
bill alsorequires the Board of Regents and UW-Madison chancellor to
include informationabout baccalaureate degrees awarded within three
academic years in annualaccountability reports that must be
submitted to the governor and legislature undercurrent law.
This bill requires the Board of Regents to develop and implement
a plan no laterthan January 1, 2018, that includes specified
policies for each institution within theUW System, including
UW-Madison, for monitoring faculty and instructional
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academic staff teaching workloads. The plan must also include
policies forrewarding faculty and instructional academic staff who
teach more than a standardacademic load. The Board of Regents and
the chancellor of UW-Madison must revisetheir personnel systems and
employment relation policies and practices as necessaryto be
consistent with the plan. In addition, the Board of Regents and
UW-Madisonchancellor must include aggregate data on faculty and
instructional academic staffteaching hours in annual accountability
reports required under current law. TheBoard of Regents must also
publish the aggregate data on the accountabilitydashboard on the UW
System's Internet site and provide links to individual facultyand
academic staff member teaching hours on that dashboard.
This bill makes a change to the residency requirement for the
fee remissionprogram for veterans' spouses and children at UW
schools and technical colleges.Under the bill, this fee remission
program for a veteran's spouse and children appliesif the veteran
was not a resident of this state when he or she entered the armed
forcesbut resided in this state for at least five consecutive years
immediately precedingregistration at a UW school or technical
school.
This bill requires the Board of Regents and each UW school to be
committed tofreedom of expression and inquiry and to protect and
promote this freedom formembers of the UW System's community.
This bill transfers responsibility for leases of real property
occupied by theBoard of Regents for use as student housing from DOA
to the Board of Regents.
During the 2017-19 fiscal biennium, this bill prohibits the
Board of Regentsfrom using the procedure for state agencies to
supplement their budgets fromcompensation reserves.
This bill eliminates the Educational Approval Board and
transfers all of itsfunctions to DSPS.
Under this bill, the College Savings Program Board, which
administers theEdVest program, is an agency attached to DFI instead
of being attached to DOA.
OTHER EDUCATIONAL AND CULTURAL AGENCIES
This bill requires SHS to operate the Circus World Museum.
Current lawallows SHS, which owns the museum, to enter into a lease
with the Circus WorldMuseum Foundation, Inc., to operate the
museum. The bill eliminates SHS'sauthority to enter into that lease
and provides that, if a lease is in effect on the bill'seffective
date, the lease terminates on January 1, 2018, or the termination
datespecified in the lease, whichever is earlier. Also, for
individuals employed by thefoundation when the lease terminates,
the bill requires SHS to offer employment tothose individuals, but
only if vacant authorized or limited term positions areavailable
and SHS has funding for those positions.
EMPLOYMENT
Generally, under current law, certain workers employed on the
site of projectsof public works 1) must be paid the prevailing wage
rate, as determined under thefederal Davis-Bacon Act; and 2) may
not be required or permitted to work more than10 hours per day and
40 hours per week, unless they are paid overtime pay for allexcess
hours. The prevailing wage laws include two separate laws: one
applies tocertain projects of public works to which the state is a
party (state prevailing wage
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law), and one applies to projects under a contract based on bids
to which the stateis a party for the construction or improvement of
highways (highway prevailing wagelaw). This bill eliminates the
state prevailing wage law and the highway prevailingwage law.
Under current law, the Labor and Industry Review Commission
(LIRC) reviewsadministrative decisions of DWD relating to
unemployment insurance (UI) anddiscrimination in employment or in
equal enjoyment of places of publicaccommodation (discrimination)
and reviews administrative decisions of theDivision of Hearings and
Appeals relating to worker's compensation. Review byLIRC is a
prerequisite to any judicial review. This bill eliminates LIRC and
insteadprovides for administrative review of administrative
decisions relating to worker'scompensation by the administrator of
the Division of Hearings and Appeals andprovides for administrative
review of administrative decisions relating to UI anddiscrimination
by the respective administrator of the division in DWD
thatadministers the law in question.
This bill creates statutory offers of settlement procedures for
resolvingcomplaints involving violations of the state fair
employment law, family and medicalleave law, or organ and bone
marrow donation law. The bill allows the parties to suchcomplaints
to make settlement offers to resolve claims and, in cases where
asettlement offer is declined, provides for cost and fee shifting
or interest dependingon whether the complainant receives a more
favorable award than what wasincluded in the settlement offer.
This bill allows DWD, as part of its workforce training program,
commonlyreferred to as the Fast Forward Program, to award grants
for any of the following:
1. Projects to provide high school students with
industry-recognizedcertifications in high-demand fields.
2. Programs that train teachers and that train individuals to
become teachers,including teachers in dual enrollment programs.
3. Partnerships designed to improve workforce retention through
employeesupport and training.
4. Increasing the number of students who are placed with
employers forinternships.
5. A nursing training program for middle school and high school
students.In addition, this bill requires DWD to allocate at least
$5,000,000 in fiscal year
2017-18 for grants to technical colleges for workforce training
programs and at least$1,500,000 in the fiscal biennium for the
grants described above related to nursingcredentials and allows DWD
to allocate up to $1,000,000 to fund grants for thecreation and
operation of mobile classrooms to provide job skills training
toindividuals in underserved areas of this state, including inmates
at correctionalfacilities who are preparing for reentry into the
workforce. The bill also allows DWDto allocate up to $50,000 in
each fiscal year to fund the upkeep and maintenance ofthose mobile
classrooms.
Under current law, the testimony at a hearing held under the
worker'scompensation law must be taken down by a stenographic
reporter or, if there is an
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emergency, recorded by a recording machine. The bill allows the
testimony to berecorded by a recording machine regardless of
whether there is an emergency.
This bill requires DWD to designate an employee to serve as an
apprenticeshipcoordinator to expand and streamline apprenticeship
program offerings for inmatesin correctional facilities.
This bill requires DWD to allocate $50,000 for the purpose of
conducting a studyregarding the feasibility of establishing a
program, using a social impact bond model,to assist claimants for
unemployment insurance benefits by offering them mobilitygrants to
relocate to areas with more favorable employment opportunities.
ENVIRONMENT
WATER QUALITY
Under current law, a person operating a public water supply
system mustprepare a water supply plan, approved by DNR, that shows
the proposed watersupply service areas and an assessment of the
environmental and economic impactsof carrying out the water supply
plan, along with other information. If the planningarea is within
an area for which an areawide water quality planning agency has
beendesignated, the agency is responsible for designating the
proposed water supplyservice area in the water supply plan. This
bill provides that the Great Lakes - St.Lawrence River Basin Water
Resources Council may designate, in a water supplyplan, the water
supply service area for a public water supply system making
awithdrawal from the Great Lakes basin. Under the bill, water
supply service areasdesignated by the council do not need to be
consistent with the approved areawidewater quality management plan
for the planning area.
This bill also requires DNR and DATCP to conduct a study and
makerecommendations on transferring the regulation of concentrated
animal feedingoperations (CAFOs) from DNR to DATCP and to submit a
joint report to the governor,JCF, and appropriate standing
committees of the legislature by December 31, 2018,stating whether
DATCP may act as the federal EPA's delegated agent in
regulatingCAFOs, whether improvements would result from the
transfer, and whether thetransfer would have a financial impact on
the water pollutant discharge eliminationsystem (WPDES) permit
program. If the departments recommend the transfer, thedepartments
must also recommend in the report an effective date for the
transfer andthe number of positions and funding to be transferred
and must describe how rulesthat have already been promulgated by
DNR and DATCP will be affected.
In addition, this bill lowers the interest rate for certain
loans for projects tocontrol water pollution, provided under the
Clean Water Fund Program for the2017-19 biennium or later, from 70
percent of the market interest rate to 55 percentof the market
interest rate. This bill also eliminates the financial
hardshipassistance program under the Clean Water Fund Program and
modifies therequirements for municipalities to receive low-interest
loans under the Clean WaterFund Program. Under current law, a
municipality may obtain financial hardshipassistance, in the form
of a grant or a loan at a lowered interest rate, for certain
waterquality projects if 1) the median household income in the
municipality is 80 percentor less of the median household income in
this state; and 2) the estimated annualwastewater treatment charges
per residential user in the municipality exceeds 2
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percent of the median household income in the municipality.
Under the bill, if amunicipality has a population of less than
1,000 and the median household incomein the municipality is 65
percent or less of the median household income in this state,the
municipality is eligible for an interest-free loan under the Clean
Water FundProgram. If a municipality has a population of less than
10,000 and the medianhousehold income in the municipality is 80
percent or less of the median householdincome in this state, the
municipality is eligible for a clean water fund loan at 33percent
of the market interest rate.
This bill also allows moneys in the environmental fund that have
been receivedfor the purpose of environmental management to be
considered to have been receivedfor debt service payments for
certain nonpoint source water pollution abatementprojects, in the
amount of $3,152,500 in each fiscal year. In addition, the bill
expandsthe purposes for which money from the environmental
improvement fund may beused to include general program operation
costs and administration costs for thewater pollutant discharge
elimination system permitting program.
This bill also eliminates the requirement that DNR allocate
$500,000 in eachfiscal year for contracts for educational and
technical assistance provided by theUW-Extension relating to the
nonpoint source water pollution abatement program.
In addition, this bill increases the authorized general
obligation bonding limitfor DNR to provide financial assistance to
local governmental units for constructingor modifying public water
systems that facilitate compliance with national primarydrinking
water regulations by $5,800,000.
This bill also increases the authorized general obligation
bonding limit for DNRto fund nonpoint source water pollution
abatement projects by $5,900,000 and toprovide financial assistance
for projects that manage urban storm water and runoffand for flood
control and riparian restoration projects by $3,000,000 and for
projectsthat increase dam safety, including projects to maintain,
repair, or remove a dam, by$4,000,000.
HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
PUBLIC ASSISTANCE
Under current law, DCF is directed to allocate specific amounts
of federalmoneys, including child care development funds and moneys
received under theTemporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
block grant program, in each fiscalyear for various public
assistance programs, for child care-related purposes,including day
care licensing activities, and for paying a portion of the claims
underthe earned income tax credit. This bill directs DCF to
allocate TANF block grantmoneys for a number of programs, including
the following:
1. $2,700,000 in fiscal year 2017-18 and $2,700,000 in fiscal
year 2018-19 forpayments to individuals who transition from W-2
employment to unsubsidizedemployment and receive case management
services.
2. $500,000 in each fiscal year for DOA grants to temporary
shelter facilitiesfor case management services for homeless
families.
3. $500,000 in fiscal year 2018-19 to fund an early absenteeism
pilot programunder which DCF awards grants on a competitive basis
to public elementary schoolsfor the purpose of reducing chronic
absenteeism in early grades.
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4. $400,000 in fiscal year 2017-18 and $600,000 in fiscal year
2018-19 for apublic messaging campaign to promote the importance of
the success sequence, theinvolvement of fathers in the lives of
their children, and the implications of teenagepregnancy.
The bill also removes the geographic restriction, currently
limited toMilwaukee, on TANF funding of services to prevent child
abuse or neglect andrequires a county to match a certain percentage
of the amount the county receivesof the TANF moneys allocated for
safety and out-of-home placement services.
This bill requires DCF, DPI, DHS, and DWD to collaborate on a
report to thelegislature about the population overlap of families
that receive public benefits andchildren who are chronically absent
from school.
WISCONSIN WORKS
Under current law, the Wisconsin Works (W-2) program,
administered by DCF,provides, among other things, work experience
and benefits for low-income custodialparents who are at least 18
years old. The W-2 program provides work experienceby placing
participants in one of the following categories of employment
positions:trial jobs, community service jobs, subsidized private
sector employment, ortransitional placements.
Under current law, controlled substances screening, testing, and
treatmentrequirements apply to an individual who applies for the
Transform Milwaukee Jobsprogram or the Transitional Jobs program,
who applies for W-2 services and benefitsfor noncustodial parents,
or who applies for or is ordered by a court to register for awork
experience and job training program. This bill adds the following
W-2 workexperience programs for custodial parents to the programs
to which the screeningand testing requirements apply: the Temporary
Employment Match program, whichprovides a subsidy for wages to an
individual's employer, and the Community ServiceJobs program and
Transitional Placement program, both of which provide aparticipant
with a monthly grant. With respect to an individual applying for a
W-2program, the bill also applies the screening, testing, and
treatment requirements toall adult members of an individual's W-2
group whose income or assets are includedin determining the
individual's eligibility for a program. However, the bill
exemptsfrom all controlled substances screening and testing
requirements a custodial parentof a child who is eight weeks old or
less, a woman with a high-risk pregnancy, a W-2participant who
moves to an unsubsidized job and receives only case
managementservices, and a dependent child.
Also under the bill, an individual applying for a community
service job or atransitional placement is eligible for the monthly
grants under those programs evenif the individual or his or her
group member tests positive for the use of a controlledsubstance
without presenting evidence of a valid prescription and refuses
toparticipate in substance abuse treatment or the individual or his
or her groupmember fails to cooperate with the testing or treatment
requirements. However, thebill requires DCF to reduce the monthly
grant and pay it not to the individual butto a protective payee who
must hold the money and use it exclusively on behalf of
theindividual's dependent children. The bill limits this partial
eligibility to 12 months
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or until the individual again becomes eligible for full
participation in a W-2 program,if sooner.
Under current law, an individual who moves from a W-2 employment
positionto unsubsidized employment is eligible for case management
services to help theindividual retain the unsubsidized employment.
Under this bill, an individual whoreceives such case management
services is also eligible for a supplement of $50 permonth over a
period of 12 months if the individual meets work
participationrequirements under the TANF block grant program.
This bill also places a limit on liquid assets for eligibility
for Wisconsin Shares.Under Wisconsin Shares, which is a part of the
W-2 program under current law, anindividual who is the parent of a
child under the age of 13 or, if the child is disabled,under the
age of 19, who needs child care services to participate in
variouseducational or work activities (approved activities), and
who satisfies othereligibility criteria, such as having a family
gross income at or below 185 percent ofthe poverty line, may
receive a child care subsidy for child care services. The bill
addsanother eligibility criterion: unless the individual is a
foster parent, subsidizedguardian or interim caretaker, or kinship
care relative, the total liquid assets of anindividual's family may
not exceed $25,000 for the individual to be eligible forWisconsin
Shares.
This bill also allows an individual who receives a child care
subsidy through theWisconsin Shares program to continue to be
eligible to receive a partial subsidy ifthat individual's family
gross income increases to above 200 percent of the povertyline for
a family the size of the individual's family, but the individual's
copaymentincreases by $1 for every $3 by which the family's gross
income exceeds 200 percentof the poverty line.
This bill also provides that, if an individual who is eligible
for a child caresubsidy under Wisconsin Shares permanently ceases
participating in an approvedactivity, the individual will remain
eligible for the child care subsidy for a period ofthree months
after the individual ceases participation or until the
individual'seligibility is redetermined, whichever is earlier. The
bill also provides that anindividual will remain eligible for a
child care subsidy while the individualexperiences a temporary
break in an approved activity, such as a break due to illness,to
care for a family member, a school or holiday break, a regular
break from seasonalwork, or any other temporary break from an
approved activity that does not exceedthree months.
Under current law, if a payment to a child care provider under
the WisconsinShares program is based on authorized hours of child
care, DCF is required to tracka child's hourly usage of child care
authorizations over a six-week period and, if thechild's hourly
usage over that six-week period is less than 60 percent of
theauthorized hours, DCF must reduce the authorized hours to 90
percent of themaximum number of hours that the child attended
during that six-week period.Current law excludes some vacation and
sick leave when calculating the number ofhours a child attended
during a six-week period. This bill adds that DCF must notreduce
the authorized hours based on a reduction in hours attended due to
atemporary break from an approved activity.
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This bill provides that an individual does not lose eligibility
for a child caresubsidy under Wisconsin Shares for a child who
attains the age of 13 or, if the childis disabled, attains the age
of 19 until the individual's eligibility is redetermined. Thebill
also provides that a child's development and learning and the
promotion ofcontinuity of care must be taken into consideration
when determining the numberof hours of child care authorized, and
that those hours need not be based on theindividual's schedule of
educational or work activities or the number of hours theindividual
spends in educational or work activities.
This bill adds a requirement that a child for whom a Wisconsin
Shares childcare subsidy is sought be immunized according to the
immunization requirementsimplemented by DHS.
Under current law, the Learnfare program requires school age
children of W-2participants, with some exceptions, to meet certain
school enrollment standards. Anindividual who fails to meet the
school attendance requirement may be subject tosanctions determined
by DCF by rule. Under current law, an individual fails to meetthe
school attendance requirement if the individual is not enrolled in
school or wasnot enrolled in the immediately preceding semester.
Under this bill, an individualwho is habitually truant or who in
the immediately preceding semester washabitually truant also fails
to meet the school attendance requirement.
FOODSHARE
FoodShare, also known as the food stamp program and the
federalSupplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, provides benefits
to eligiblelow-income households for the purchase of food.
FoodShare is administered by DHS.The federal government pays the
benefits for FoodShare, while the state and federalgovernment share
the cost of administration.
This bill specifies that DHS may require a subset of, instead of
all, ableindividuals who are 18 to 60 years of age and who are not
Wisconsin Worksparticipants to participate in the FoodShare
employment and training program,known as FSET, to the extent
allowed by the federal government. Currently,able-bodied adults
without dependents are required to comply with certain
workrequirements as a condition of FoodShare eligibility, though
the FSET program isvoluntary. DHS may currently require able
individuals who are 18 to 60 years of ageand who are not Wisconsin
Works participants to participate in FSET, with certainexceptions
that are not affected by the bill. The bill also specifies that DHS
mayimplement the requirement to participate in FSET in certain
areas of the state, asdetermined by DHS.
DHS is currently required to promulgate rules to develop and
implement drugscreening, testing, and treatment policy for
able-bodied adults without dependentsin the FSET program. If the
rules are promulgated, DHS must screen, test, and treatable-bodied
adults without dependents in the FSET program for illegal use of
acontrolled substance. This bill applies these requirements for
rule promulgation andimplementation of a drug screening, testing,
and treatment program to allable-bodied adults, regardless of
whether they have dependents.
This bill prohibits an individual who is not elderly, blind, or
disabled and whosehousehold has more than $25,000 in liquid assets,
such as cash or financial resources
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that can be converted to cash without penalties from eligibility
for FoodSharebenefits. The bill also prohibits certain individuals
and parents who refuse tocooperate in obtaining child support or
determining the paternity of a child or whoare delinquent in child
support payments and do not satisfy an exception specifiedin the
bill from being eligible for FoodShare benefits.
MEDICAL ASSISTANCE
This bill makes changes to the income eligibility and premium
methodology forthe Medical Assistance Purchase Plan program, known
as MAPP, and to thefinancial eligibility determinations for certain
long-term care and MedicalAssistance programs to the extent those
changes are approved by the federalgovernment.
This bill changes the premium methodology for MAPP. Under the
bill, everyindividual receiving MAPP benefits must pay a premium of
$25 per month unless thepremium would be an undue hardship, as
determined by DHS. An individual whoseincome exceeds 100 percent of
the federal poverty line must also pay 3 percent of hisor her
adjusted earned and unearned income that exceeds 100 percent of the
FPL.The bill excludes actual out-of-pocket medical and remedial
expenses, long-termcare costs, and impairment-related work expenses
from income for purposes ofdetermining the premium for MAPP and
excludes from income for purposes ofdetermining eligibility under
MAPP medical and remedial expenditures andlong-term care costs in
excess of $500 per month that would be incurred by theindividual in
absence of coverage under MAPP or a Medicaid long-term
careprogram.
For determinations of financial eligibility and any cost-sharing
requirementsfor the Community Options Program (COP), for certain
community integrationprograms, the Family Care program, Family Care
partnership, IRIS, and certainMedical Assistance programs, this
bill requires DHS to exclude any assetsaccumulated in a person's
independence account and any assets from retirementbenefits
accumulated from income or employer contributions while employed
andreceiving state-funded benefits under COP or MAPP benefits. The
bill sets the samerequirement for excluding retirement benefits
from eligibility determinations for theMAPP program as assets
accumulated in an independence account are alreadyexcluded under
current law.
This bill also changes the income limit for Medical Assistance
programeligibility for certain elderly, blind, or disabled
individuals who are medically needyto 100 percent of the federal
poverty line for a family the size of the individual'sfamily.
Currently, the income limit for these individuals is this combined
benefitamount or 133 and one-third percent of the maximum aid to
families with dependentchildren payment, whichever is lower.
This bill requires DHS to submit to the federal government a
request for anamendment to the Medicaid waiver for the childless
adult demonstration project toprovide employment and training
services for childless adults eligible for thedemonstration
project. Currently, the childless adult demonstration project,
alsoknown as BadgerCare Plus Core, provides health services to
adults without childrenwho are under the age of 65 and who have
family incomes that do not exceed 100
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percent of the federal poverty line. BadgerCare Plus Core
operates under a waiverof federal Medicaid laws.
This bill eliminates the ambulatory surgical center assessment.
Under currentlaw, DOR may impose an assessment on ambulatory
surgical centers. If theassessment is imposed, 99.5 percent of the
moneys collected are transferred to theMedical Assistance trust
fund which pays some of the costs for the MedicalAssistance
program. The bill removes the authority from DOR to impose
theassessment.
This bill requires that DHS issue an order to compel payment
from a recipient,or parent of a minor recipient, of Medical
Assistance who is liable for repayment tothe Medical Assistance
program of an incorrect payment or an employer who owesa penalty
under the BadgerCare Plus program personally or by a type of mail
thatrequires a signature of acceptance. Under the bill, refusal or
failure by the personor employer liable for a repayment to accept
or receive the order to compel paymentdoes not prevent DHS from
enforcing the order. Under the bill, if the person oremployer
liable for repayment does not make a payment, if a contested
caseregarding the repayment is not pending, and if the time for
contesting the repaymentorder has lapsed, DHS may submit a true and
accurate, instead of certified, copy ofthe order to compel to the
circuit court. Under the bill, an affidavit of the collectionsunit
of DHS, instead of a sworn statement of the secretary of DHS, is
consideredevidence of the amount owed. Currently, as under the
bill, a circuit court thenrenders a judgment against the person or
employer liable for repayment.
This bill eliminates current law reimbursement under the Medical
Assistanceprogram for services provided by a special educator under
the Birth to Threeprogram, also known as early intervention
services, and instead allows DHS to paythe costs for services
provided under the Birth to Three program that are includedin the
individualized family service plan and that were not previously
authorized forpayment under the state Medical Assistance
program.
This bill allows DHS to require a county to maintain a specified
level ofcontribution, which is determined by DHS based on
historical county expenditures,for the disabled children's
long-term support program. Counties are required by thebill to
cooperate with DHS to determine an equitable funding methodology
andcounty contribution mechanism going forward and to ensure that
countycontributions are being expended for the disabled children's
long-term supportprogram. The bill also allows DHS to contract with
a county or group of counties todeliver disabled children's
long-term support program services.
CHILDREN
This bill grants juvenile courts exclusive original jurisdiction
over any childwho is a victim of, or at substantial risk of
becoming the victim of, child sextrafficking.
This bill makes certain changes relating to background checks of
1) a personwho has or who is seeking a license to operate a child
care center, certification forpurposes of reimbursement under the
Wisconsin Shares child care subsidy program,or a contract with a
school board to operate a child care center (collectively “child
careprogram"); 2) an employee or contractor of a child care
provider (caregiver); and 3)
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a nonclient resident of the child care provider's home to
conform to the federal ChildCare and Development Block Grant Act of
2014. The bill also makes certain changesrelating to the training
required of a person certified as a child care provider forpurposes
of reimbursement under Wisconsin Shares and of a caregiver of such
aprovider to conform those training requirements to the Child Care
and DevelopmentBlock Grant Act of 2014.
This bill allows DCF to visit and inspect the premises and
records of any childcare program established or contracted for by a
school board if the child care programreceives funding from
Wisconsin Shares. Under current law, DCF is authorized tovisit and
inspect the premises and records of a licensed child care center. A
schoolboard may establish or contract for the provision of child
care programs for childrenunder current law. While such a child
care program must meet the standards forlicensed child care centers
established by DCF, current law does not require it to belicensed
as a child care center.
This bill requires DCF, in cooperation with DPI, to develop and
implement atext message-based intervention program to increase the
share of college-intendinghigh school seniors who successfully
enroll in a postsecondary educationalinstitution, and requires DCF
to award grants to eligible school districts in fiscalyears 2018-19
and 2019-20 to offset a portion of school or district costs
associatedwith the intervention.
HEALTH
This bill reduces the blood lead level defined as “lead
poisoning or leadexposure” from 10 or more micrograms per 100
milliliters of blood to 5 or moremicrograms per 100 milliliters of
blood. The presence of lead poisoning or leadexposure in a child
under six years of age allows DHS to request admission to
thepremises to conduct a lead investigation. DHS also awards grants
for lead poisoningor lead exposure prevention and may promulgate
rules specifying lead poisoning orlead exposure screening methods
and intervals for children under six years of age.
This bill requires that first responders and emergency medical
techniciansrenew their certifications or licenses every four years
instead of every two years. Thebill creates an endorsement for an
intravenous technician for all levels of emergencymedical
technicians. An intravenous technician is trained to administer
intravenousand intraosseous infusions of medicated and nonmedicated
fluids.
This bill allows DHS to pay for aid for first responder training
andexaminations. Currently, DHS may pay aid for emergency medical
technician —basic training and examinations. The bill also allows
ambulance service providersthat receive aids from DHS to escrow
unused moneys and use those moneys in asubsequent year for first
responder training and examinations or emergency medicaltechnician
training and examinations at any level.
MENTAL HEALTH AND DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES
This bill creates youth crisis stabilization facilities, which
have a maximum ofeight beds and which admit minors to prevent or
de-escalate the minor's mentalhealth crisis and avoid admission of
the minor to a more restrictive setting. Youthcrisis stabilization
facilities must be certified by DHS to operate.
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This bill removes the requirement that a licensed physician or
psychologist ofa state treatment facility sign a statement of the
need for treatment for an inmatein a state prison to be
involuntarily committed. Current law requires that a petitionfor
involuntary commitment of an inmate of a state prison contain
allegations thatthe inmate is mentally ill, a proper subject for
treatment, and in need of treatment;that less restrictive forms of
treatment were unsuccessful; and that the inmate hasbeen informed
of his or her treatment needs and rights. The petition must
alsocontain, among other things, the inmate's sentence and expected
release and signedstatements by both a licensed physician or
psychologist of a state prison and alicensed physician or
psychologist of a state treatment facility attesting that theinmate
needs either inpatient treatment at a state treatment facility or
outpatienttreatment in the prison.
OTHER HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
This bill makes various changes to the Board on Aging and
Long-Term Careand the ombudsman program. The bill specifies that
the seven members of BOALTCmust be members of the public and must
not be persons who currently own, or ownedor had a certain interest
within the previous five years in, a long-term care provideror
health care insurance company. The bill specifies that BOALTC
appoints anexecutive director who serves as the state long-term
care ombudsman and that thepopulation served by the ombudsman
program are those 60 years of age or older whoreceive long-term
care in certified or licensed long-term care facilities or
underprograms administered by state or federal governmental
agencies. The bill specifiesthat BOALTC's ability to monitor and
make recommendations, as it currently doesfor COP, extends to the
Family Care Program, the Family Care PartnershipProgram, and the
Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly and specifies thatthe
ability to provide advocacy services, as it does currently for
potential or actualenrollees of the Family Care Program, extends to
potential or actual enrollees of theFamily Care Partnership Program
and the Program of All-Inclusive Care for theElderly and to
potential or actual recipients of the self-directed services
option,known as IRIS. The bill clarifies that the long-term care
ombudsman program mustcomply with certain federal statutes and
regulations. The bill also, among otherthings, prohibits any person
from willfully interfering with the actions of anombudsman by
acting or attempting to act to intentionally prevent, interfere
with,or impede the ombudsman from performing functions or
responsibilities under law.
This bill allows DHS to recognize accreditation by certain
accreditingorganizations that are approved by the federal Centers
for Medicare and MedicaidServices instead of performing inspections
and investigations itself for licensure ofhome health agencies and
hospices. DHS, under current law, is allowed to acceptaccreditation
of hospices by the Joint Commission in lieu of performing
inspectionsand investigations. The bill expands accrediting
organizations from which DHS willrecognize accreditation of
hospices.
This bill creates an allocation of moneys from Indian gaming
receipts toAmerican Indian tribes for the performance of a
feasibility study for anddevelopment of a business plan for a youth
wellness center.
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HOUSING
This bill allows WHEDA to implement two separate programs
related to thefederal Housing Choice Voucher Program. First, the
bill authorizes WHEDA todevelop policies and procedures for and
implement a two-year pilot program thatgives priority to
chronically homeless individuals and families on the waiting
listWHEDA or a public housing agency that contracts with WHEDA
maintains underthe federal Housing Choice Voucher Program. The bill
also authorizes WHEDA toprovide case management services for
chronically homeless individuals and familieswho receive a voucher
after being prioritized on the waiting list.
Second, the bill authorizes WHEDA to request approval from the
federalDepartment of Housing and Urban Development to implement a
pilot program thatrequires a recipient of a voucher under the
federal Housing Choice Voucher Programto satisfy work requirements
as a condition of the voucher. The bill also provides thatWHEDA may
provide certain employment, training, and self-sufficiency
services,in partnership with certain organizations that contract
with WHEDA, to recipientsof vouchers under the federal Housing
Choice Voucher Program.
This bill eliminates the requirement that a recipient of a
transitional housinggrant awarded by DOA may not permit homeless
persons to reside in housingfacilities provided by the grant
recipient for more than 24 months. The bill alsoeliminates the
requirement that DOA reasonably balance among geographic areasof
this state certain other grants and loans DOA makes to defray the
housing costsof persons and families of low and moderate
income.
INSURANCE
Under current law, a local governmental unit, including any
city, county, town,village, school, or library board, may pass a
resolution to insure its property, andproperty that it does not own
but for which it is contractually liable if the propertyis damaged
or destroyed, in the local government property insurance fund
(fund).The fund is managed by the commissioner of insurance and
provides protection forthe property insured in the fund against
fire and extended coverage perils. This billprovides that no new
coverage may be issued under the fund on or after July 1, 2017;no
coverage may be renewed after December 31, 2017; no coverage may
extendbeyond December 31, 2018; and all claims must be filed by
July 1, 2019, or they willnot be covered under the fund, and any
moneys remaining after all operations ceasewill be distributed
among the local governmental units that were insured on July
1,2017.
This bill transfers some of the information technology employees
from OCI tothe Division of Enterprise Technology in DOA. The bill
also transfers assets andliabilities, personal property, contracts,
rules and orders, and pending mattersrelated to information
technology from OCI to DOA.
JUSTICE
This bill requires DOJ to award grants to cities to reimburse
overtime salaryand fringe benefit costs for beat patrol officers.
The grants are limited to the ten citiesthat apply that have the
highest rates of violent crime. The bill allows DOJ todetermine the
amount of a grant, except that no more than $400,000 may be
awarded
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to a city for a calendar year. The bill also specifies
requirements for applying for thegrants.
This bill changes the information that DOJ must include in its
report to DOAand JCF regarding restitution received by crime
victims. Under the bill, the reportmust specify the total number of
individuals who received restitution instead ofidentifying the
individuals who received restitution and must provide the
totalamount paid to all recipients instead of providing the amount
paid to each recipient.
LOCAL GOVERNMENT
This bill clarifies that if a unit of government has a
responsibility to carry outa certain function, and it enters into
an intergovernmental cooperation contract withanother unit of
government to jointly perform the responsibility, the
jointlyestablished entity fulfills the unit of government's
responsibility to carry out thatfunction until the contract expires
or is terminated. In addition, if two or more unitsof government
enter into such a contract and create a commission to jointly
orregionally administer a function or project, the commission shall
be considered to bea single entity that represents, and may act on
behalf of, the joint interests of thesignatories to the
contract.
Generally, under current law, local levy limits are applied to
the property taxlevies that are imposed by political subdivisions
in December of each year. Currentlaw prohibits a political
subdivision from increasing its levy by a percentage thatexceeds
its “valuation factor,” which is defined as the greater of either
zero percentor the percentage change in the political subdivision's
equalized value due to newconstruction, less improvements
removed.
Current law contains a number of exceptions to the levy limit.
Under one ofthese exceptions, a political subdivision may increase
its current year levy limit, upto a maximum increase of 1.5 percent
of the actual levy of the prior year, if theallowable levy from the
prior year was greater than the actual levy in that year(carryover
utilization).
Also under current law, a political subdivision must reduce its
levy limit if theamount of its levy in the current year, for its
payment of debt service for debt issuedbefore July 1, 2005, is less
than its levy for that purpose in the previous year
(negativeadjustment for debt service). The amount of the levy
reduction is the amount bywhich its levy for such debt service was
reduced. Under current law, the negativeadjustment for debt service
requirement does not apply to a political subdivision inany year in
which the political subdivision does not increase its levy increase
limitby carryover utilization.
This bill eliminates the carryover utilization exception to the
negativeadjustment for debt service requirement.
MILITARY AFFAIRS
This bill authorizes the adjutant general to operate a state
emergencyoperations center during a de