The Senate held their final floor vote of the 2015-16
legislative session on Tuesday while the Assembly held their final vote on
February 18. While it is possible that either house could return to tie
up loose ends, it appears unlikely at this time. With both houses
finished for the session, that means any legislation that didn’t make it to the
Governor’s desk this week is considered “dead” and will need to be
re-introduced next session. The 2017-18 session will begin in January 2017.
Here is a summary of what happened to legislation that was
of interest to WEMTA this session:
Bills that Were Signed
into Law
Deleting the State
Treasurer from the Constitution (Rep.
Schraa and Sen. Gudex): Assembly Joint
Resolution 5 does not need to be signed into law, but it’s passage this
session is significant since it marks an important first step in officially
deleting the state treasurer from the constitution and replacing the treasurer
with the lieutenant governor on the Board of Commissioners of Public Lands. The
resolution must be approved by both houses of the legislature again next
session and then it can be voted on in a statewide referendum. Since it has now
been passed by the Legislature once, it will likely be on the fast-track next
session.
Unclaimed Savings Bonds
into Common School Fund (Rep. Katsma
and Sen. Marklein): Assembly Bill 721
was passed by the Senate on Tuesday, so it has not yet officially been signed
into law but it is making its way to the Governor’s desk. AB 721 allows
the state to claim savings bonds that haven't been cashed in within 5 years.
The money would go into the Common School Fund. A fiscal note released by the
Department of Revenue said that the fiscal effect of the bill on the Common
School Fund is indeterminate. However, they estimate that they currently have
possession of $500,000 worth of savings bonds that they consider unclaimed
property.
Exceptions to Gun Free
School Zones (Rep. Kleefisch and Sen.
Wanggaard): 2015
Wisconsin Act 23 creates an exception to the state’s gun free school zone’s
law to for certain off-duty, retired or out-of-state police officers.
Federated Library Board
Membership (Rep. Horlacher and Sen.
Nass): 2015
Wisconsin Act 99 reduces the minimum board membership of a federated public
library system that has territory in two or more counties from 15 members to 11
members.
Delinquent Library
Accounts (Rep. VanderMeer and Sen.
Harsdorf): 2015
Wisconsin Act 169 allows a public library to provide a collections agency
or law enforcement agency with information about patrons who have
delinquent accounts. Under the bill, a delinquent account must total $50
before it can be referred to law enforcement.
School Safety Pilot
Program (Rep. Skowronski and Sen.
Lazich): 2015
Wisconsin Act 228 requires DPI to develop a one-year pilot tracking program
to operate in three school districts during the 2016-17 school year. The three
school districts must include: (1) a school district with fewer than 3,000
pupils; (2) a school district with 3,000 to 6,999 pupils; and (3) a school
district with 7,000 pupils or more. Participating school districts will keep
track of crimes, harassment, bullying and other violations of the law that take
place on school property and report them to DPI.
Teacher Loan Forgiveness
for Rural Schools (Rep. Quinn and
Sen. Darling): Assembly Bill 793
was passed by the Senate on Tuesday so it has not yet been signed into law, but
it is making its way to the Governor’s desk. AB 793 extends the teacher loan
forgiveness program to teachers who take positions in rural counties.
Currently, the program only applies to Milwaukee.
Bills that Did Not Pass This Session
BCPL Land Bank Authority (Rep. Sanfelippo): Assembly Bill 71
would have eliminated the Board of Commissioners of Public Lands’ authority to
purchase land. Although this may not have directly impacted the Common School
Fund, it would have affected other funds that the BCPL manages. No action was
taken on this bill this session.
Making Superintendent Political Appointee (Rep.
Sanfelippo): Assembly
Joint Resolution 84 would have made the state superintendent a political
appointee instead of an elected official.
Under AJR 84, the governor would nominate a state
superintendent and the state senate would approve the appointment. No action
was taken on AJR 84 this session.
Broadband Expansion Grant Eligibility (Rep. Billings
and Sen. Bewley): Assembly
Bill 63 / Senate
Bill 33 would have made school districts, technical college districts and
public libraries eligible to receive broadband expansion grants. No action was
taken on these bills this session.
Increase Broadband Grant Funding (Rep. Quinn and Sen.
Tiffany): Assembly
Bill 798 / Senate
Bill 674 would have increased funding for broadband expansion grants
from $6 million to $10 million. It would also would have allowed PSC to issue
the entire $10 million appropriation in 2015-16 and 2016-17. A public hearing
was held on the Assembly version of the bill, but no further action was taken
on either proposal.
Forfeitures into Common School Fund (Rep. Tauchen and
Sen. Nass): Assembly
Bill 537 / Senate
Bill 521 would have updated the state’s forfeiture law so that all proceeds
from the sale of forfeited assets would go into the common school fund,
however, the bill did narrow the circumstances under which the state could keep
assets that were forfeited in relation to a crime. A public hearing was held on
the Assembly and Senate versions of the bill but no additional action was
taken.
STEM Grants for Schools (Rep. Tranel and Sen.
Tiffany): Assembly
Bill 799 / Senate
Bill 661 would have created a Science, Technology, Engineering and
Mathematics (STEM) grant program for rural schools. AB 799 would provide grants
between $3,000 and $20,000 to schools with less than 1,000 students to
establish, maintain, and expand educational programming related to science,
technology, engineering, and mathematics. AB 799 was approved by the Assembly
Committee on Mining and Rural Development, but no further action was taken on either
proposal this session.
Referendum Prohibitions (Rep. Schraa and Sen.
Strobel): Assembly
Bill 481 / Senate
Bill 355 would have prohibited a school district from holding a referendum
for two years following a failed referendum. The proposal applied to loans and
bonds, revenue limit adjustments, state trust fund loans issued by BCPL,
temporary borrowing, and promissory notes. School districts that experience a
natural disaster would have been exempt from the ban for six months following
the disaster. In addition, the proposal would have only allowed a school
district to schedule a referendum on the April spring election day or the
November general election day. A public hearing was held on both versions
of this bill, but no further action was taken this session.
WRS Retirement Age (Rep. Sanfelippo and Sen.
Strobel): Assembly
Bill 397 / Senate
Bill 329 would have increased the minimum WRS retirement age to 57. The
minimum retirement age for protective occupations would have been increased to
52. No action was taken on these bills this session.
School Cyberbullying (Rep. Kahl and Sen. Ringhand): Assembly Bill 496
/ Senate Bill
473 would have required DPI’s model policy to include a definition of
cyberbullying and an appropriate response to bullying that occurs off school
grounds. It would have also required school district employees to refer
bullying incidents that violate the law to law enforcement. No action was taken
on these bills this session.
