Under current law, the technology for educational achievement in Wisconsin
board (board) awards grants from the universal service fund to certain school
districts to pay a portion of the costs incurred under certain contracts for
telecommunications access that the school districts entered into before October 14,
1997. The public service commission (PSC) is required to use the moneys in the
universal service fund only for specified purposes which do not include the grants
awarded by the board to the school districts. This bill specifies that the PSC may use
the universal fund to make the grants awarded by the board to school districts.
Environment and natural resources
Under current law, this state awards grants to local governmental units for the
operation of local recycling programs. The grants are funded through the year 2000.
This bill specifies that the eligibility requirements and the formula for
determining the amount of the grant for the year 2000 are the same requirements
and formula used for 1999. The bill also establishes the year 2000 as the sunset date
of the grant program.
This bill corrects a reference to the location of a boat landing for which Richland
County received funding under the recreational boating project program in the 1997
biennial budget act.
This bill eliminates 2 references in the statutes to the environmental
performance council, which was proposed to be created in the 1997 budget bill but
was deleted from the budget bill in the legislative process.
This bill also makes 2 minor adjustments in appropriations to DNR.
This bill provides funding to the department of natural resources to study fish
in the Great Lakes.
Social services
Under current law, an individual may receive a child care subsidy under the
Wisconsin works program for child care needed to obtain a high school diploma or to
participate in a course of study for a declaration of equivalency of high school
graduation (GED), if the individual meets certain eligibility requirements. Among
other things, the individual must be under 20 years of age and must reside in certain
types of supervised living arrangements. These supervised living arrangements
include residency with a custodial parent or a kinship care relative and residency in
a foster home, a group home or an independent living arrangement supervised by an
adult. This bill modifies these eligibility requirements so that the supervised living
arrangement requirement applies only to persons under 18.
Currently, DHFS must allocate $1,224,000 of general purpose revenues in each
fiscal year to county aging units to provide benefit specialist services for persons who
are aged at least 60. DHFS must also allocate $132,500 in each fiscal year to area
agencies on aging for training, supervision and legal back-up services for benefit
specialists. Under
1997 Wisconsin Act 27 (the biennial budget act), although the
appropriation amount for these purposes was increased, after partial veto, to provide
$2,348,400 in each fiscal year for elderly benefit specialist services, the statutes
authorizing this program were not correspondingly changed.
This bill requires DHFS to allocate $2,298,400 in general purpose revenues to
counties in each fiscal year to provide elderly benefit specialist services. The bill also
requires DHFS to allocate $182,500 in general purpose revenues to area agencies on
aging in each fiscal year for training, supervision and legal back-up services for
benefit specialists.
Under current law, on January 1, 1998, DHFS takes over from the Milwaukee
County department of social services the responsibility for providing child welfare
services in Milwaukee County. Current law requires Milwaukee County to
contribute $31,280,700 in state fiscal year 1997-98 and $62,561,400 in state fiscal
year 1998-99 for the provision of those services. This bill adjusts those amounts to
$30,489,200 in state fiscal year 1997-98 and $60,978,400 in state fiscal year
1998-99.
Under current law, a county department of human services or social services
(county department) must conduct a criminal background investigation of all
persons applying for kinship care payments (kinship care relatives), of all employes
and prospective employes of a kinship care relative who have or would have regular
contact with the child for whom the kinship care payments are being made and of all
adult residents and prospective adult residents of the home of a kinship care relative.
As part of the background investigation, the county department must require the
person being investigated to be photographed and fingerprinted, if the person is, or
within the last 5 years has been, a nonresident or if the county department
determines that there is a reasonable basis for further investigation. This bill
eliminates the requirement that a county department require a person meeting any
of those criteria be photographed.
1997 Wisconsin Act 27 (the budget act) eliminated the Wisconsin works health
plan. This bill eliminates cross-references to the Wisconsin works health plan that
erroneously remained in the budget act.
Taxation and tax administration
This bill makes a technical correction to make the administration of the
aviation fuel tax consistent.
This bill responds to uncertainty about the validity of 2 vetoes to
1997
Wisconsin Act 27. The bill provides that any person who is not otherwise required
to collect sales taxes or use taxes may register with the department of revenue and
that medicines that may not be dispensed without a prescription and that are
furnished without charge to a physician, nurse, nurse anesthetist, advanced practice
nurse, osteopath, dentist, podiatrist or optometrist are exempt from the sales tax and
the use tax.
The rate of taxation under current law, for taxable years beginning before
January 1, 1998, for the lowest income tax bracket for single individuals, certain
fiduciaries, heads of households and married persons is 4.9% of taxable income, the
rate for the middle bracket is 6.55% and the rate for the highest bracket is 6.93%.
For taxable years beginning after December 31, 1997, current law lowers the
rate of taxation for all brackets by 1.0%. Therefore, for taxable years beginning after
December 31, 1997, the rate of taxation under current law for the lowest bracket for
single individuals, certain fiduciaries, heads of households and married persons is
4.85% of taxable income, the rate for the middle bracket is 6.48% and the rate for the
highest bracket is 6.87%.
For taxable years beginning after December 31, 1998, current law also indexes
for inflation the maximum dollar amount in each tax bracket and the corresponding
minimum dollar amount in the next bracket, and the dollar amounts of the standard
deduction that may be claimed by individual income tax payers.
Current law also prohibits the department of revenue (DOR) from adjusting the
withholding tables to reflect the changes in rates of taxation for any taxable year that
begins before January 1, 2000. This bill prohibits DOR from adjusting the
withholding tables to reflect the changes in dollar amounts because of tax bracket
and standard deduction indexing for any taxable year that begins before January 1,
2000.
This bill also makes a technical change in the calculation of the income tax
liability of nonresident and part-year resident individuals. Under current law, one
of the 2 formulas used to calculate the tax liability of nonresident and part-year
resident individuals applies to taxable years beginning after December 31, 1996, and
ending before January 1, 1998. The other formula use to calculate their tax liability
applies to taxable years beginning after December 31, 1997. This bill changes the
applicability of the first formula such that it applies to taxable years beginning after
December 31, 1996, and before January 1, 1998.
This bill creates 4.5 FTE positions for DOR for the administration of the rental
vehicle fee.
Under the international fuel tax agreement (IFTA), to which this state is a
party, every person who drives a larger motor truck into this state using motor fuel
purchased outside this state pays the Wisconsin motor vehicle fuel tax and the oil
inspection fee by purchasing in this state motor vehicle fuel in an amount that is
equivalent to the gallonage consumed while driving the truck in this state, or by
remitting the tax and fee directly to the department of transportation (DOT) or to
another jurisdiction that is a party to IFTA.
1997 Wisconsin Act 27, the biennial state
budget act, increased the motor vehicle fuel tax rate.
This bill requires DOT to recalculate the amount of motor vehicle fuel tax
payable under IFTA for the 4th quarter of 1997 to reflect the midquarter increase to
this state's motor vehicle fuel tax rate.
Under current law, sales of food, beverages and similar goods under a contract
or an agreement by an institution of higher education to a student are exempt from
the sales tax and the use tax if the goods are consumed by the student. This bill
expands the exemption to include sales for which the payments are made by students
through use of an account of that institution.
Other
This bill clarifies that the salary-setting authority of the University of
Wisconsin board of regents is subject to general salary-setting provisions affecting
all boards, commissions and elective and appointive state officials. The bill does not
affect the authority of the University of Wisconsin board of regents to adjust salaries
for incumbents of certain positions in an amount different from that provided in the
compensation plan if the adjustment is for the purpose of correcting a salary inequity
or recognizing competitive factors.
1997 Wisconsin Act 27 created a reserve "Class B" license, which authorizes the
sale of intoxicating liquor to be consumed on the premises where sold, and
established a quota on the number of these licenses which a municipality may issue.
This bill corrects cross-references relating to a municipal clerk's duty to record
certain information required for determining the municipality's quota of reserve
"Class B" licenses.
The bill also clarifies that a fee that is payable only upon the initial issuance
of a "Class B" license is not an "annual" fee.
The budget bill,
1997 Wisconsin Act 27, abolishes the state emergency response
board effective July 1, 1998, and gives that board's former responsibilities to the
division of emergency management in the department of military affairs. Under
current law, the state emergency response board is required to notify the joint
committee on finance before entering into any agreements with regional emergency
response teams related to emergency responses to level A releases, those releases
that require the highest level of protection for the responders. This bill transfers that
requirement to the division of emergency management in the department of military
affairs.
Under current law, the department of corrections (DOC) assesses supervision
fees to persons who are on probation. If a person on probation fails to pay supervision
fees assessed by DOC, the court that placed the person on probation may, after a
hearing, extend a probationer's period of probation, modify the terms and conditions
of probation or revoke the person's probation. In addition, if the court does not extend
the period of probation, a court's finding that the person owes supervision fees can
be entered as a civil judgment against the person, which DOC can use to collect the
unpaid fees. Finally, DOC may seek revocation of a person's probation using the
administrative revocation process if the person fails to pay supervision fees.
This bill eliminates the courts' authority to revoke a person's probation for
failing to pay supervision fees. The bill does not affect the authority of DOC to seek
revocation of probation using the administrative revocation process.
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:
SB362, s. 2
1Section
2. 20.566 (1) (qm) of the statutes is created to read:
SB362,9,42
20.566
(1) (qm)
Administration of rental vehicle fee. From the transportation
3fund, the amounts in the schedule for the administration of the rental vehicle fee
4under subch. XI of ch. 77.
SB362, s. 3
5Section
3. 20.865 (4) (u) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB362,9,156
20.865
(4) (u)
Segregated funds general program supplementation. From the
7appropriate segregated funds, a sum sufficient to supplement appropriations made
8from such funds, as provided in s. 13.101
, or made under 1997 Wisconsin Act .... (this
9act), section 9143 (1). The governor may under this paragraph allot sums not in
10excess of $1,000 to any state agency when necessary, without a meeting of the joint
11committee on finance. All supplements made under this paragraph to an
12appropriation by the governor shall be certified by him or her to the department of
13administration, and expenditures therefrom shall be shown in the state budget
14report as an additional cost of the state agency for which such supplements were
15made.
SB362, s. 4
16Section
4. 20.865 (4) (u) of the statutes, as affected by 1997 Wisconsin Act ....
17(this act), is amended to read:
SB362,9,1918
20.865
(4) (u)
Segregated funds general program supplementation. From the
19appropriate segregated funds, a sum sufficient to supplement appropriations made
1from such funds, as provided in s. 13.101
, or made under 1997 Wisconsin Act .... (this
2act), section 9143 (1). The governor may under this paragraph allot sums not in
3excess of $1,000 to any state agency when necessary, without a meeting of the joint
4committee on finance. All supplements made under this paragraph to an
5appropriation by the governor shall be certified by him or her to the department of
6administration, and expenditures therefrom shall be shown in the state budget
7report as an additional cost of the state agency for which such supplements were
8made.
SB362,10,2411
20.923
(1) Establishment of executive salary groups. To this end, a
12compensation plan consisting of 10 executive salary groups is established in
13schedule one of the state compensation plan for the classified service from ranges 18
14through 27. No salary range established above salary range 23 may be utilized in the
15establishment and compensation of positions in the classified service without
16specific approval of the joint committee on employment relations. The dollar value
17of the salary range minimum and maximum for each executive salary group shall be
18reviewed and established in the same manner as that provided for positions in the
19classified service under s. 230.12 (3). The salary-setting authority of individual
20boards, commissions, elective and appointive officials elsewhere provided by law is
21subject to and limited by this section, and the salary rate for these positions upon
22appointment and subsequent thereto shall be set by the appointing authority
23pursuant to this section, except
as provided in s. 36.09 (1) (j) and as otherwise
24required by article IV, section 26, of the constitution.
SB362, s. 6
25Section
6. 25.40 (2) (b) 20s. of the statutes is created to read:
SB362,11,1
125.40
(2) (b) 20s. Section 20.566 (1) (qm).
SB362,11,134
44.72
(4) (b)
Subsidized loan applications, terms and conditions. The board
5shall establish application procedures for, and the terms and conditions of,
6subsidized loans under this subsection. The terms may include provision of
7professional building construction services under s. 16.85 (15). The board shall
8determine the interest rate on these loans. The interest rate shall be as low as
9possible but shall be sufficient to fully pay all interest expenses incurred by the state
10and to provide reserves that are reasonably expected to be required in the judgment
11of the board to ensure against losses arising from delinquency and default in the
12repayment of subsidized loans.
The term of a subsidized loan under this subsection
13may not exceed 10 years.
SB362,11,2016
44.72
(4) (d)
Funding for subsidized loans. The board, with the approval of the
17governor and subject to the limits of s. 20.866 (2) (zc) and (zcm), may request that the
18building commission contract public debt in accordance with ch. 18 to fund loans
19under this subsection.
The term of public debt contracted under s. 20.866 (2) (zc) and
20(zcm) may not exceed 10 years.
SB362, s. 9
21Section
9. 46.81 (2) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB362,12,222
46.81
(2) From the appropriation under s. 20.435 (7) (dj), the department shall
23allocate
$1,224,000 $2,298,400 in each fiscal year to aging units to provide benefit
24specialist services for older individuals. The department shall ensure that each
1aging unit receives funds and shall take into account the proportion of the state's
2population of low-income older individuals who reside in a county.
SB362, s. 10
3Section
10. 46.81 (5) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB362,12,74
46.81
(5) From the appropriation under s. 20.435 (7) (dj) the department shall
5allocate
$132,500 $182,500 in each fiscal year to area agencies on aging. Each area
6agency on aging shall use the funds for training, supervision and legal back-up
7services for benefit specialists within its area.
SB362,12,1210
48.561
(3) (a) A county having a population of 500,000 or more shall contribute
11$31,280,700 $30,489,200 in state fiscal year 1997 -- 98 for the provision of child
12welfare services in that county by the department.
SB362,12,1715
48.561
(3) (a) A county having a population of 500,000 or more shall contribute
16$60,978,400 in each state fiscal year for the provision of child welfare services in that
17county by the department.
SB362,13,620
48.57
(3p) (d) If the person being investigated under par. (b) or (c) is a
21nonresident, or at any time within the 5 years preceding the date of the application
22has been a nonresident, or if the county department or, in a county having a
23population of 500,000 or more, the department of health and family services
24determines that the person's employment, licensing or state court records provide a
25reasonable basis for further investigation, the county department or department of
1health and family services shall require the person to be
photographed and 2fingerprinted on 2 fingerprint cards, each bearing a complete set of the person's
3fingerprints. The department of justice may provide for the submission of the
4fingerprint cards to the federal bureau of investigation for the purposes of verifying
5the identity of the person fingerprinted and obtaining records of his or her criminal
6arrest and conviction.
SB362,13,139
49.141
(1) (p) "Wisconsin works" means the assistance program for families
10with dependent children, administered under ss. 49.141 to 49.161
, except that
11"Wisconsin works" does not include the Wisconsin works health plan under s. 49.153,
12unless a waiver under s. 49.153 (1m) is granted and in effect or federal legislation
13that permits the application of s. 49.153 is enacted.
SB362,13,1916
49.141
(7) (c) Except as provided in par. (d), in addition to the penalties
17applicable under par. (a) or (b), a person shall be suspended from participating in
18Wisconsin works
, except s. 49.153, for a period of 10 years, beginning on the date of
19conviction, if the person is convicted in a federal or state court for any of the following:
SB362,14,222
49.155
(1m) (a) 1m. Obtain a high school diploma or participate in a course of
23study meeting the standards established by the state superintendent of public
24instruction for the granting of a declaration of equivalency of high school graduation,
1if the individual is not subject to the school attendance requirement under s. 49.26
2(1) (ge) and at least one of the following conditions is met:
SB362,14,33
a. The individual is 18 or 19 years of age.
SB362,14,74
b. The individual has not yet attained the age of 18 years and the individual
5resides with his or her custodial parent or with a kinship care relative under s. 48.57
6(3m) or is in a foster home or treatment foster home licensed under s. 48.62, a group
7home or an independent living arrangement supervised by an adult.
