ASSEMBLY PASSES BUDGET

SOURCE: Wisconsin League of Municipalities

After spending four days in closed session caucus meetings, the Assembly Democrats passed their version of the state budget on a 50-48 vote early Saturday morning. The Assembly Democrats made dozens of changes to the state budget passed by the Joint Committee on Finance, including the following:

* Expenditure Restraint Program -- Police and Fire Expenditures. Excludes police and fire expenditures from the expenditure restraint program's budget test if those expenditures are funded from a municipality's general fund balance.
Southeastern Regional Transit Authority. Renames the KRM Transit Authority created by the JFC version of the budget the Southeastern Regional Transit Authority, and makes a number of changes to the taxing powers of the Authority.

* Milwaukee Transit Authority. Deletes JFC provision allowing the creation of a Milwaukee County Transit Authority and instead allows the creation of a Milwuakee Transit Authority. Specifies that if the Milwaukee County Board contracts with the Milwaukee Transit Authority for the provision of transit services in the County, the board would be allowed to impose 0.65% sales and use taxes. If the taxes are imposed, the Milwuakee County board would be required to provide revenues equivalent to 0.5% sales and use taxes to the Milwaukee Transit Authority and provide revenues equivalent to 0.15% sales and use taxes to its underlying municipalities.

* Chippewa Valley RTA. Allows Eau Claire County to create a regional transit authority with the power to levy a sales tax.

* Fox Valley RTA. Allows Calumet, Outagamie, and Winnebago counties to create a regional transit authority with the power to levy a sales tax.
* Dane County RTA - Highway Projects. Allows some of sales tax revenue raised by the Dane County RTA to be used for highway purposes within the RTA's jurisdictional area.

* Property Tax Exemption for Student Housing Facilities. Creates a property tax exemption for all real and personal property of a student housing facility if: (a) the facility is owned by a nonprofit organization; (b) at least 90% of the facility's residents are students enrolled at a public or private institution of higher education and the facility houses no more than 300 such students; and (c) the facility offers support services and outreach programs to its residents, the public or private institution of higher education at which the student residents are enrolled, and the public.

* Columbus Park. Deletes provision inserted into the budget by the Joint Finance Committee allowing tax exempt low income housing facilities owned by benevolent organizations to use their rental income for any purpose and creating a new exemption for nonprofit retirement homes for the aged.

* Hunting on Stewardship Lands. Restores the requirement that hunting and trapping be allowed on municipal lands acquired with Stewardship Program grants. The League had supported the Joint Finance Committee's deletion of this requirement.

* Beer and Wine at Nonprofit Organization Fundraisers. Deletes provision added by the JFC allowing any non-profit organization to provide free beer or wine at fundraisers without the need for a license from the municipality.

* Fireworks. Deletes an amendment passed by JFC that would have made it easier to purchase fireworks by allowing a municipal chief executive to designate an individual, who does not work for the municipality, to issue a fireworks user permit.

The Legislative Fiscal Bureau has prepared a memo describing each of the changes made by the Assembly Democrats to the state budget bill as recommended by the Joint Finance Committee. The memo can be viewed on the LFB website.

Report Shows Estimated 2010 Shared Revenue Payments After 3.5% Cut
On June 9, the Legislative Fiscal Bureau released a report showing each municipality's estimated 2010 shared revenue payment under the Joint Finance Committee's version of the state budget, which cuts funding for the shared revenue program by 3.5 percent. The Assembly Democrats retained the same shared revenue cut as part of the budget they passed on Saturday.

NOTE: Under the proposed budget, the city of Ripon will receive $35,743 less (2.3 percent) in state aid in 2010. The town of Ripon will see their state aid cut $7,273 (14.7 percent).

Senate to Take Up Budget This Week
The Senate Democrats are meeting today to vote on amendments to the Assembly's version of the budget. The full Senate will take up the budget later this week.

A conference committee made up of leadership from both houses will be created to reconcile any differences between the Assembly and Senate versions of the bill.

Recently Introduced Legislation
SB 230, Exempt Expenditures Made in Response to a Disaster From Levy Limits and ERP. This bill was prepared by the Joint Legislative Council’s Special Committee on Emergency Management and Continuity of Government. It creates an exception to local levy limits and the expenditure restraint program for municipal spending relating to the unreimbursed expenses related to an emergency declared by the governor. The League supports this bill.

AB 312, Allowing Municipalities to Combine Police and Fire Departments into Public Safety Departments. This bill authorizes municipalities to provide police and fire protection services by creating a combined protective services department which is neither a police department nor a fire department and in which the same person may be required to perform police protection and fire protection duties, or by requiring persons in a police department or fire department, alone or in combination with persons designated as police officers or fire fighters, to perform police protection and fire protection duties. By Rep. Ziegelbauer (D-Manitowoc). The League supports this legislation.