Legislation Prohibiting the Use of CSF Dollars for Certain Materials, Allowing Prosecution of School Employees Over Obscene Materials Introduced

Legislation referred to as the "Protect Childhood Innocence" package was introduced in the Wisconsin State Senate this week by Senator Andre Jacque (R-De Pere) and Representative Scott Allen (R-Waukesha). These bills would impact school libraries and school librarians by restricting the use of Common School Fund dollars and allowing for the prosecution of school employees over obscene materials violations. 

In a memo to colleagues, the lawmakers said these bills were introduced because: "Since the pandemic, parents have paid more attention to what material their students are encountering and demanding that their students not encounter sexually explicit material in school."

Prohibitions on CSF Dollars: Senate Bill 304, would prohibit school districts from using Common School Fund dollars to purchase any item that would be considered obscene material under 944.21(2)(c) of state statute, which defines obscene material to mean a writing, picture, film or other recording that:

1. The average person, applying contemporary community standards, would find appeals to the prurient interest if take as a whole;

2. Under contemporary community standards, describes or shows sexual conduct in a patently offensive way; and

3. Lacks serious literary, artistic, political, educational or scientific value, if taken as a whole. 

Allowing Prosecution of School Employees: Senate Bill 305 would remove public elementary and secondary schools, private schools, and tribal schools from the list of institutions for which an employee is protected from prosecution for an obscene materials violation under 944.21 of Wisconsin statutes, effective August 20, 2024. 

If you have concerns about these bills, you can contact your state senator and state representative. 

JFC Eliminates BCPL Deputy Commissioner of Public Lands, Senior Accountant Positions

The Joint Finance Committee met today to vote on several agency budgets, including BCPL. While the Committee approved BCPL's request for more supplies and services funding, they rejected their request for increased funding to help fill two vacant positions and instead voted to eliminate those positions.

See below for a full summary of the action.

Secretary of State 

The Committee did not take any action on the Secretary of State budget, so the office will have a base budget (same funding levels as current budget). 

The Governor’s budget would have provided the Secretary of State with $203,500 in 2023-24 and $218,700 in 2024-25 and two new positions for the Office. However, this item was removed from the budget on May 2. 

Board of Commissioners of Public Lands

Vacant Position Elimination: The Committee voted 12-4 to provide BCPL with $11,700 GPR per year to fully fund all currently filled positions and delete the vacant Deputy Commissioner of Public Lands and senior accountant positions, subsequently reducing BCPL funding by $148,400 per year.  The Governor’s budget would have provided an additional $69,400 GPR per year to help fill vacant positions, which BCPL has struggled to fill with the current salary levels.

Democrats offered a motion that would have provided BCPL with $69,400 GPR per year for vacant positions, but it was rejected by the Committee, 4-12. 

Investment and Land Management Expenses: The Committee voted 12-4 to approve the Governor’s proposal to provide BCPL with an additional $65,000 per year for supplies and services. BCPL's expanded investment authority has incurred additional costs for due diligence reporting, investment accounting, and legal work related to new investments. In 2021-22, BCPL expended 98.5% of its supplies and services budget.

Forester Position: The Committee voted 12-4 to provide $52,200 SEG in 2023-24 and $69,500 SEG for 1 forester position to be funded by the conservation fund instead of GPR. The Governor’s budget provided the same amount of funding but through GPR instead of SEG revenue. BCPL's two current forester positions are responsible for managing 77,845 acres. BCPL staff say that the additional position will increase timber harvest revenues for the school trust funds.

State Treasurer 

Increased Resources for the Office: The Committee rejected a motion by Democrats to provide $52,200 in 2023-24 and $69,600 in 2024-25 to create an office manager position. The Office of the State Treasurer has operated with 1.0 position (the State Treasurer) since 2015. The Committee took no other action on the State Treasurer budget, so the office will continue at base (current) funding and staffing levels. 

Educational Communications Board

Vacant Position Elimination: The Committee voted 12-4 to eliminate 2.68 PR positions that have been vacant for 24 months or more.

PSC to Host Statewide Internet for All Listening Tour

The Public Service Commission (PSC) is holding several listening sessions around the state to help develop the state 5-year Action Plan and state Digital Equity Plan. 

Wisconsin could expect an allocation of $800 million to $1.1 billion to implement the state’s five-year action plan for broadband and approximately $25 million to implement the state’s Digital Equity Plan under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s ‘Internet for All’ programs. 

Visit the Event website for full listening session details: https://psc.wi.gov/Pages/ServiceType/Broadband/ListeningTour.aspx 

Monday, May 8 | 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM UW-Stout Memorial Student Center (302 10 th Ave E, Menomonie, WI 54751) In partnership with Momentum West 

Tuesday, May 9 | 8:30 AM – 10:30 AM Seven Winds Casino Lodge & Event Center (13767 W County Road B, Hayward, WI 54843) In partnership with Visions Northwest 

Tuesday, May 9 | 2:30 PM – 4:30 PM Pines Event Center (5840 Forest Ln, Rhinelander, WI 54501) In partnership with Grow North 

Tuesday, May 9 | 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM Milwaukee 7 Office (301 W Wisconsin Ave, Ste 220, Milwaukee, WI 53203) In partnership with Milwaukee 7 

Monday, May 15 | 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM La Crosse Public Library Auditorium (800 Main St, La Crosse, WI 54601) In partnership with 7 Rivers Alliance 

Friday, May 19 | 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM Fox Valley Technical College – Appleton Campus (1825 N Bluemound Dr, Appleton, WI 54912) In partnership with New North 

Monday, May 22 | 6:00 PM – 7:30 PM Virtual meeting on zoom 

Tuesday, May 23 | 9:00 AM – 11:00 AM Madison College Truax Gateway/Welcome Center (1701 Wright St., Madison, WI 53704) In partnership with Madison Region Economic Partnership 

Tuesday, May 23 | 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM Platteville Public Library (225 W Main St, Platteville, WI 53818) In partnership with Prosperity Southwest 

Thursday, June 1 | 3:00 PM – 5:00 PM Mid-State Technical College – Wisconsin Rapids Campus (502 32 nd St N, Wisconsin Rapids, WI 54494) In partnership with Centergy 

Tuesday, June 6, 8:30 AM – 10:00 AM Virtual meeting on zoom

Budget Committee Voting on BCPL Budget May 4!

The Joint Finance Committee, the Legislature's budget-writing committee, is voting on the Board of Commissioners of Public Lands budget on Thursday, May 4 at 11 a.m. The Joint Finance Committee has the option to approve the BCPL funding increases proposed by the Governor, provide lower increases than what was proposed by the Governor, or remove the increases from the budget entirely. 

 

WEMTA members can contact their state senators and state representatives before May 4 and ask them to support Alternatives A1 and B1 in LFB Paper #205, which will provide a total increase of $268,800 over the biennium to BCPL to help hire vacant positions and keep up with the costs of managing the Common School Fund.

 

The funding increases proposed by the Governor would provide $69,400 per year to hire a Deputy Commissioner of Public Lands and a senior accountant, and $65,000 per year to keep up with trust fund management costs. 

 

Here are Some Talking Points You can Use:

 

• The Board of Commissioners of Public Lands (BCPL) is incredibly important to school libraries. BCPL manages the Common School Fund, the only dedicated source of K-12 school library funding in Wisconsin. 

• BCPL needs increased funding to offer the compensation necessary to attract candidates for vacant agency positions, including a Deputy Commissioner of Public Lands and senior accountant.  It is incredibly important to fill these key positions, which help administer and oversee the investment of the $1.4 billion school trust fund. 

• BCPL indicates that without increased funding for positions, existing agency employees will likely need to take on additional work and to postpone certain job tasks such as developing due diligence reports on new investments and managing certain fund investments. 

• BCPL gained expanded investment authority in 2016, which has allowed them to diversify and expand their investments, directly benefiting the Common School Fund, which has produced record disbursements to school libraries over the past several years. Increased supplies and services funding is needed to accompany the expanded investment activities.  

• A strong BCPL means a strong Common School Fund. Investing in the agency is an investment in school libraries. 

How to Contact Your Legislators:

 

The first step in contacting your legislator is knowing who your legislator is. The easiest way to do this is the tool found on the Legislature’s home page, at http://legis.wisconsin.gov. In the right-hand side of that page is a link that says Find My Legislators!  Type your address in the box below that link to get the names of your state representative and senator.