LRB-4033/1
ARG:bjk:rs
2007 - 2008 LEGISLATURE
February 12, 2008 - Introduced by Senator Vinehout, cosponsored by
Representatives Hebl, Hixson, Albers, Berceau, Smith, Zepnick, Turner and
Molepske. Referred to Committee on Transportation and Tourism.
SB478,1,4
1An Act to create 20.395 (2) (fq) and 86.317 of the statutes;
relating to: creating
2a winter highway maintenance grant program in the Department of
3Transportation, providing an exemption from emergency rule procedures,
4granting rule-making authority, and making an appropriation.
Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau
This bill creates a winter highway maintenance grant program in the
Department of Transportation (DOT). Under the program, DOT must annually
award grants to cities, villages, towns, and counties (political subdivisions) to
reimburse these political subdivisions for expenditures associated with winter
maintenance activities on local roads resulting from regional severe weather.
"Severe weather" is defined as weather conditions, for a winter maintenance season,
in which the amount of snow and ice precipitation and the number of snow or ice
events in a DOT transportation region are greater than the region's average amount
of snow and ice precipitation and average number of snow or ice events over the
immediately preceding five-year period. The amount of each grant is determined by
DOT under the standard, criteria, or formula established by DOT by rule, except that
no grant may exceed $50,000.
The bill appropriates $500,000, in a continuing appropriation, from the
transportation fund for the program. DOT must promulgate rules to implement and
administer the program.
For further information see the state and local fiscal estimate, which will be
printed as an appendix to this bill.
The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do
enact as follows:
SB478, s. 1
1Section
1. 20.005 (3) (schedule) of the statutes: at the appropriate place, insert
2the following amounts for the purposes indicated:
-
See PDF for table 
SB478, s. 2
3Section
2. 20.395 (2) (fq) of the statutes is created to read:
SB478,2,64
20.395
(2) (fq)
Winter highway maintenance grant program, state funds. As a
5continuing appropriation, the amounts in the schedule for the winter highway
6maintenance grant program under s. 86.317.
SB478, s. 3
7Section
3. 86.317 of the statutes is created to read:
SB478,2,9
886.317 Winter highway maintenance grant program. (1) Definitions. 9In this section:
SB478,2,1110
(a) "Local roads" means county trunk highways, town roads, or streets under
11the authority of cities or villages.
SB478,2,1212
(b) "Political subdivision" means a county, city, village, or town.
SB478,2,1413
(c) "Program" means the winter highway maintenance grant program under
14this section.
SB478,3,6
1(d) "Region" means any of the transportation regions that, as of the effective
2date of this paragraph .... [revisor inserts date], the department has identified as the
3southwest region, southeast region, northeast region, north central region, and
4northwest region or, if at any time any such region no longer exists, any of the
5transportation regions into which the department has divided the state for
6operational and administrative purposes.
SB478,3,117
(e) "Severe weather" means weather conditions, for a winter maintenance
8season, in which the amount of snow and ice precipitation and the number of snow
9or ice events in a region are greater than the region's average amount of snow and
10ice precipitation and average number of snow or ice events over the immediately
11preceding 5-year period.
SB478,3,1212
(f) "Street" has the meaning given in s. 340.01 (64).
SB478,3,1413
(g) "Winter maintenance activities" means activities to remove, control, or treat
14snow or ice on local roads.
SB478,3,1615
(h) "Winter maintenance season" means from December 1 of a calendar year
16to March 31 of the following calendar year.
SB478,3,19
17(2) Administration. (a) The department shall administer a winter highway
18maintenance grant program to reimburse political subdivisions for winter
19maintenance activities on local roads, as provided in this section.
SB478,4,420
(b) From the appropriation under s. 20.395 (2) (fq), the department shall make
21grants to political subdivisions to reimburse these political subdivisions for
22expenditures associated with winter maintenance activities on local roads resulting
23from severe weather in the region in which the political subdivision is located. The
24department shall award grants under this paragraph to all political subdivisions
25that submit a proper application and meet the requirements under this section. The
1amount of each grant awarded by the department shall be determined according to
2the standards, criteria, or formulas established by the department by rule under sub.
3(3), except that the department may not award any grant under this section
4exceeding $50,000 for a winter maintenance season.
SB478,4,75
(c) The department may not award a grant under par. (b) for winter
6maintenance activities unless the winter maintenance activities were performed by
7one of the following:
SB478,4,88
1. A political subdivision.
SB478,4,139
2. A 3rd-party contractor of a political subdivision under a contract that was
10awarded under a competitive bidding process and that provides that the 3rd-party
11contractor will be paid by the political subdivision based upon the contractor's actual
12cost of performing winter maintenance activities in the year in which such activities
13are performed.
SB478,4,1714
(d) Not later than May 1 of each year, any political subdivision may apply to
15the department, in the manner and form prescribed by the department, for a grant
16under this section. All grants under this section shall be awarded between May 1 and
17June 30 of each year.
SB478,4,21
18(3) Rules. The department shall promulgate rules to implement and
19administer the program. The rules shall include specific criteria for evaluating grant
20applications and standards, criteria, or formulas for determining the amount of each
21grant awarded, including procedures for prorating grant amounts if necessary.
SB478,5,223
(1) The department of transportation shall submit in proposed form the rules
24required under section 86.317 (3) of the statutes, as created by this act, to the
1legislative council staff under section 227.15 (1) of the statutes no later than the 30th
2day after the effective date of this subsection.
SB478,5,153
(2) Using the emergency rules procedure under section 227.24 of the statutes,
4the department of transportation shall promulgate the rules required under section
586.317 (3) of the statutes, as created by this act, for purposes of implementing this
6act, for the period before the effective date of the rules submitted under subsection
7(1). The department shall promulgate these emergency rules no later than the 30th
8day after the effective date of this subsection. Notwithstanding section 227.24 (1) (c)
9and (2) of the statutes, these emergency rules may remain in effect until July 1, 2009,
10or the date on which permanent rules take effect, whichever is sooner.
11Notwithstanding section 227.24 (1) (a) and (3) of the statutes, the department is not
12required to provide evidence that promulgating a rule under this subsection as an
13emergency rule is necessary for the preservation of the public peace, health, safety,
14or welfare and is not required to provide a finding of emergency for a rule
15promulgated under this subsection.
SB478, s. 5
16Section
5.
Effective dates. This act takes effect on the 30th day after
17publication, except as follows:
SB478,5,1818
(1)
Section 4 of this act takes effect on the day after publication.
