Deep Dive - Milestone PFAS Legislation Passed

PFAS contamination has become one of the most significant environmental challenges facing Wisconsin communities, affecting drinking water, public infrastructure, redevelopment, and municipal budgets. After years of legislative debate, Wisconsin enacted its most comprehensive PFAS legislation to date in the 2025-2026 Legislative Session, creating new funding opportunities, changing liability laws, and reshaping how communities respond to contamination.

What was included in this milestone legislation and what do these changes mean for your municipality? This month's Deep Dive explores the evolution of PFAS policy in Wisconsin, highlights the recent new laws, and touches on how these new laws could affect local governments. Read the full Deep Dive by clicking the link below to learn what every municipal leader should know. 

Federal Grant Process Changes Proposed

As mentioned in the July 6th edition of the Legislative Bulletin, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is proposing changes to federal regulations governing every federal grant, cooperative agreement, and pass-through award. These changes represent the most substantial revisions to federal grants administration since 2013. While nearly half a million comments were submitted to OMB, it is still possible these changes could go into effect in October.

The National League of Cities (NLC), the League’s partner for federal advocacy, cautions that some of the proposed changes could limit local governments’ ability to access or effectively utilize federal funding. While there is still an opportunity for OMB to change course and adjust or abandon the proposed changes, NLC is asking municipal leaders to contact their Members of Congress to ask for legislative intervention to prevent this rule from taking effect.

NLC has created a webpage for municipal leaders to fill out a form that will contact your Members of Congress. The webpage with the form and submission instructions may be found here. 

Act 10 Remains in Effect After Court Ruling

Last week, District II of the Wisconsin Court of Appeals released a decision reversing the Dane County Circuit Court’s judgement that declared portions of 2011 Wisconsin Act 10 and 2015 Wisconsin Act 55 unconstitutional. These laws significantly changed the scope of public-sector collective bargaining for state and local employees. On Friday, the League’s Legal Team sent an update to members on the ruling and its effect on municipalities. That Legal Alert may be found here. 

Agency Actions

Agency Actions are organized in chronological order by deadline, with the earliest deadlines appearing first. 

Preliminary Equalized Values Posted

The Wisconsin Department of Revenue (DOR) has posted the preliminary 2026 Equalized Values, Tax Incremental District Values, Net New Construction Reports, and County Apportionment Reports on its website. Municipalities are encouraged to review these values and reports prior to certification on Friday, August 14th. Questions or concerns must be reported to DOR’s Equalization Bureau District Offices by Friday, August 7th. 

Help Shape Tourism’s Strategic Plan

The Department of Tourism is creating a new strategic plan to guide the next three years of stimulating, promoting, advertising, and publicizing Wisconsin tourism across the country and around the world. As part of this process, they are asking those engaged in creating and promoting destinations to complete a short survey to inform their planning process. Responses to the Tourism Strategic Plan Survey are due by Tuesday, August 11th. 

Property Assessment Manual Updates

DOR has released their draft 2027 Wisconsin Property Assessment Manual. This annual publication serves as the official guide to establish the standards, methods, and procedures that local assessors use to value taxable property consistently and equitably across the state. For 2027, DOR is proposing a series of updates across 16 different chapters.

Municipal officials have until Friday, August 21st to submit written comments on the draft 2027 Wisconsin Property Assessment Manual. DOR will also be holding a public hearing on the manual updates on Wednesday, August 12th at 9am. Details on the updates to the manual and how to submit comments or join the public hearing are available on DOR’s website. 

E-Cycle Grants for Underserved Areas

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has opened the latest round of the E-Cycle Wisconsin Electronics Collection Grant Program. This program, created from League-supported legislation in the 2021-2022 Legislative Session, provides grants to eligible applicants, including municipalities, to establish an electronics collection site or host a collection event, with this cycle focusing on sites or events between October 2026 and December 2027.

$150,000 is available in this round, with grants awarded of up to $5,000 for collection events and $15,000 for collection sites in underserved areas. Applicants in 11 counties without permanent collection sites will be given priority in awards. A 20% match from the applicant is required. Applications are due on Monday, August 31st. More information including the application is available on the DNR’s website. 

Surface Water Grant Program Opens

The DNR’s Surface Water Grant Program is open for applications and municipalities are eligible to apply for projects addressing education and planning, aquatic invasive specific prevention and management, and surface water restoration and management. For 2026 applications, the DNR has posted a new Surface Water Grant Application Guide and Program Guidance and has hosted an introductory webinar on the program.

Pre-applications are due by Tuesday, September 15th with a final application deadline of Monday, November 16th. Application materials must be submitted to DNRSurfaceWaterGrants@wisconsin.gov. More information may be found on the DNR’s website. 

Outdoor Recreation Legacy Program

The DNR has announced that they are now accepting applications for the federal Outdoor Recreation Legacy Program. Municipalities in urban areas with a population of 25,000 or more are eligible to apply for projects to acquire land or develop facilities for outdoor recreation. A 50% match is required with a minimum grant of $300,000 and a maximum award of $15 million.

Applications are due by 4pm on Wednesday, September 30th. To learn more and submit your municipality’s application, visit the DNR’s website. 

New Edition of the DOR Tax Bulletin

Quarterly, DOR posts new editions of the Wisconsin Tax Bulletin, a newsletter updating Wisconsinites of updates on the taxes and tax credits administered by the Department. The latest edition includes great information on some new tax credits and the most used tax credits in Wisconsin. The Bulletin may be read on DOR’s website. 

Federal Forecast

Landline Service Discontinuance Proposed 

Large portions of Wisconsin served by Frontier, now Verizon, may be impacted by a proposal before the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) that would discontinue landline phone service. According to the filing, subscribers to the legacy Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS) have fallen to 4% of their peak levels. Verizon is proposing to transition remaining landline users to other options, most notably cell phone service.

Page 43 of this filing includes a map showing the impacted communities which are primarily in north central, south central, and eastern Wisconsin. If your municipality has concerns regarding the potential impacts from the discontinuance of landline service by Frontier/Verizon, comments must be filed by Wednesday, August 5th. Comments may be submitted on the FCC’s website by clicking ‘Submit a Filing’ on Docket Number 26-170. 

Webinar on New Federal Housing Action 

As mentioned in the July 6th and July 20th editions of the Legislative Bulletin, Congress recently took historic action on housing. As part of an ongoing effort to inform local leaders about this legislation and how to prepare your municipality to take advantage of some of the programs created by this new law, the National League of Cities (NLC) will soon be hosting a webinar.

Unlocking Housing Goals for Local Governments with the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act webinar will take place on Tuesday, August 11th from 1:30 to 2:15pm Central Time. Municipal officials may register to join this webinar on NLC’s website. A one-page summary of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act may be found on Congress’s website. 

Housing Supply Accelerator Fact Sheets 

NLC, in partnership with the American Planning Association (APA), has created the Housing Supply Accelerator to assist municipal leaders in tacking their local housing challenges. As part of this effort, NLC and APA have created a series of fact sheets offering context, solutions, and case studies for municipal officials to address barriers and create more housing projects in their communities. The fact sheets – which focus on Construction and Development, Land Use and Regulations, and Finance – may be found on NLC’s website.

The Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation’s (WEDC) Office of Rural Prosperity also has a comprehensive set of modules created to provide insights, tools, and proven strategies to address rural housing challenges. Modules include financing, working with developments, innovative ideas, and more. These resources may be found on WEDC’s website.