2025-2026 Legislative Bulletin | | |
In this edition of the League's Legislative Bulletin, you'll find:
1. Housing Package Continues on the Fast Track
2. Roads in Oshkosh Highlighted in ReVITALize Event
3. Floor Sessions in the Assembly and Senate on Tuesday
4. League Legislative Agenda in Action on PFAS Legislation
5. Recently Introduced Legislation of Municipal Importance
6. Agency Actions, including:
a. DOR State and Local Finance Newsletter
b. League Comments on DNR Proposed Rules
c. Reminder to Apply for a Local Projects Grant
7. League Presents at Municipal Assessors Institute
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Housing Package Continues on the Fast Track
Less than three weeks ago, a group of Assembly Republican legislators unveiled a package of seven bills with the aim of addressing the availability and affordability of housing in Wisconsin. Last Tuesday, the full Assembly was in session where it passed five of the seven bills. The League Government Affairs Team has seen bills move quickly before, but this is some of the quickest action we’ve seen from a legislative chamber. Despite the fast pace of this action, as expected, all five bills that passed the Assembly received bipartisan votes.
With a few exemptions, the bills that passed the Assembly floor had the same amendments from when those bills passed out of the Assembly committee the week prior. An updated summary of the housing package prepared by the League showing new amendments and the most up to date actions on these bills is available here. Differences in committee and floor actions on amendments are noted in this attachment.
The two bills from this package that are still awaiting action in the Assembly include Assembly Bill (AB) 449 preempting certain local regulations of accessory dwelling units that are converted from existing structures and AB 454 creating a workforce home loan program for downpayment assistance. AB 449 may be taken up this Tuesday, October 14th by the Assembly, though it’s unknown when AB 454 will be voted on in the Assembly.
Along with five bills from the housing package, the Assembly also voted on AB 194, a bill the League supports to make modifications to last session’s workforce housing loan programs funded by $525 million in the 2023-2025 State Budget. Among other changes, these modifications:
- allow lookbacks to 2020 for municipal ordinances that reduce the cost of housing (which is a condition of loan eligibility in these programs),
- allow these loans to be stacked with Tax Incremental Financing and Historic Tax Credits,
- improve accessibility to the Vacancy-to-Vitality Program on commercial conversions for smaller municipalities by requiring fewer units in a development, and
- increase the loan funding available per development.
Six of the seven bills (all except AB 450/SB 475, the Commercial Building Code implementation delay bill which was referred to a different committee) will now be heard in the Senate Committee on Insurance, Regulatory Reform, State and Federal Affairs this Wednesday, October 15th.
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Roads in Oshkosh Highlighted in ReVITALize Event
On Monday, September 29th, local leaders in Oshkosh held a press conference to discuss their concerns with the state trunk highways running through their city. As part of the Re-VITAL-ize Wisconsin Community Highways campaign, Mayor Matt Mugerauer noted the impact these highways, which take the characteristics of local roads within the city, have on commerce, public safety, and the daily life of its residents.
“Crumbling pavement and unsafe intersections are not only frustrating, they’re costly, dangerous, and unsustainable,” Mayor Mugerauer commented. “This is not about politics, it’s about safety, and fairness, and common sense. Together, we can build a safer, stronger infrastructure system that reflects the pride and potential of our community.”
The Mayor was joined by representatives from the Department of Public Works, Oshkosh GO Transit, Fire Department, Oshkosh Convention and Visitors Bureau, University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, and local legislators Senator Dassler-Alfheim and Representative Palmeri. Each speaker shared their unique perspective on the state highways running through their vibrant city.
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Additional photos from the event may be found on the ReVITALize Wisconsin Community Highways Facebook page and a press release recapping the event may be found here. A short video highlighting the comments from the speakers will be shared in an upcoming edition of the Legislative Bulletin.
Oshkosh is the third stop in the ReVITALize Wisconsin Community Highways campaign. This effort, launched by the League and our partner, the Transportation Development Association, aims to call attention to long-overdue road improvements on state highways running through the heart of Wisconsin communities and the need for a long-term, sustainable plan to support transportation infrastructure.
The campaign will continue this fall and into next year. If your municipality is interested in sharing your story about the impact of deteriorating state trunk highways in your community, please contact Toni and Evan at the email addresses listed at the end of this Bulletin.
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Floor Sessions in the Assembly and Senate on Tuesday
On Tuesday, October 14th, the Assembly will be in session. Kicking off the floorperiod beginning at 11am will be a special ceremony honoring the First Responders of the Year from districts throughout the state. These first responders were chosen by their legislator due to a specific heroic action or a career of dedicated community service.
Following the ceremony, the Assembly will consider passage of more than a dozen bills, including three supported by the League. Two of these bills look to provide support and assistance for emergency medical services and the dedicated individuals working in this field while another updates state law to allow more flexibility with the lighting on police vehicles.
The Assembly’s calendar for Tuesday may be viewed here and the floor action may be watched live on WisconsinEye.
The Senate is also expected to be on the floor on Tuesday, October 14th, though no action has been noticed at this time and a floor calendar is not yet available.
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League Legislative Agenda in Action
On Tuesday, October 7th, the League testified in support of two bills, Senate Bills (SBs) 127 and 128, during a public hearing in the Senate Committee on Natural Resources, Veteran and Military Affairs. Among other programs and policies proposed by these bills, they would provide certain liability protections for local governments from PFAS contamination and establish a municipal PFAS grant program to assist local governments with PFAS-related costs.
PFAS, an emerging contaminant, is a growing concern for municipalities across the state. Nearly 100 municipal water utilities have or will undergo water treatment projects to comply with PFAS standards. Wastewater utilities of all sizes are grappling with PFAS in biosolids. Finally, at least a dozen local governments have been assessed liability for PFAS contamination in their communities while others are awaiting redevelopment projects due to contaminated sites.
Last session, the League advocated for $125 million to be set aside in the budget to establish the PFAS Trust Fund. Once the funding was secured, the League was disappointed that the legislation to establish the programs for the expenditure of these funds and to provide municipal liability protections was vetoed. The funding remains but hasn’t been distributed where it’s needed most. The League supports the bills this session to ensure cities and villages are partners with the state as we continue to tackle the ever-growing problem of PFAS in Wisconsin.
The League’s testimony on SBs 127 and 128 may be read here. The League was also featured in a story from the Madison ABC station on the hearing which may be read or watched here. We look forward to further action on these bills this fall.
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Recently Introduced Legislation of Municipal Importance
The following bills have been recently introduced in the Wisconsin State Legislature and have been added to the list of those being monitored by the League. Unless otherwise indicated, no formal position has been taken on these proposals to date.
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Senate Bill (SB) 497: Nonconforming Outdoor Advertising Signs - Sen. Feyen (R-Fond du Lac) and Reps. Goeben (R-Hobart) and O’Connor (R-Fond du Lac) - Under current law, if a highway project will impact a nonconforming outdoor advertising sign, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) must notify the local government with the regulating ordinance. If the local government petitions WisDOT to condemn the sign, the municipality must pay for the condemnation costs. Under this legislation, an outdoor advertising sign impacted by a state or local transportation project with federal or state funds may be repositioned within a local government’s borders in a manner approved by the local government. The entity requiring repositioning of the sign must pay the sign owner for the costs to reposition the sign. Current law on the condemnation process still applies if repositioning is not allowed.
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SB 467: Creation of a Wheel Tax - Sen. Hutton (R-Brookfield) and Reps. Maxey (R-New Berlin) and Behnke (R-Town of Chase) - This legislation requires local vehicle registration fees, commonly known as wheel taxes, to be approved by voters in a referendum. Also under the legislation, to remain in effect, all existing wheel taxes must be approved by voters in a referendum within 18 months of enactment. The League has registered against this legislation.
| | ⭐If you would like to contact your legislators on any bills mentioned in the Legislative Bulletin, you can find contact information for all legislators here. To find out which legislators represent your community, use the "Find Your Legislator" function on the right side of the page. | | |
Agency Actions
DOR State and Local Finance Newsletter
The Wisconsin Department of Revenue (DOR) Division of State and Local Finance (SLF) released its Fall and Winter 2025 Newsletter last week with a number of important updates.
This includes a great overview of the Innovation Grant Program (page 10), the $300 million investment for the consolidation of local services. In September, DOR opened the program with first round applications due by March 31, 2026. To ensure your municipality is eligible for up to five years of grants from this exciting opportunity, you’re encouraged to apply now!
DOR’s SLF Newsletter also includes information on filing your municipality’s levy limit worksheet (due December 15th), a look at the state’s equalized values following the 2025 final values being posted on October 1st, and an overview of draft updates to the 2026 Wisconsin Property Assessment Manual. The newsletter may be found on DOR’s website.
League Comments on DNR Proposed Rules
Last week, the League submitted comments to the DNR on two proposed permanent administrative rules. The League’s comments may be viewed here.
DG-01-24 would establish drinking water standards for PFAS. While the state is obligated to adopt federal drinking water standards, the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has indicated its intent to remove the standards for shorter chain PFAS compounds. If the state moves ahead and adopts these new statewide standards, Wisconsin will be more stringent than the EPA and the federal changes will not beneficially impact Wisconsin water utilities as they’ll be obligated to comply with the more stringent state standards. Even if Wisconsin would want to modify the standards in the future, the State would not be allowed as the standards are locked in by federal anti-backsliding provisions. The League encouraged the DNR to slow the rulemaking process and change proposed state standards based on federal changes.
DG-02-24 proposes numerous changes to the regulation of drinking water utilities in Wisconsin, many of which are technical or are revisions to comply with federal changes since the last update to this chapter of administrative rules. However, in this rule, the DNR proposes removing flexibility for water utilities to receive a waiver delaying compliance with certain requirements for up to three years. The League encouraged the DNR to retain this flexibility by restoring this provision to the proposed permanent administrative rule.
With the comment period on these proposed permanent administrative rules now closed, the DNR will consider the comments it received and make revisions at its discretion before bringing the draft rules to the Natural Resources Board, the DNR’s citizen policy body, for passage.
Reminder to Apply for a Local Projects Grant
Just three weeks remain to complete and submit your application to DOA’s Grants for Local Projects Program. This program, funded with $50 million in the 2025-2027 State Budget, provides funding for non-state construction projects, public and private, that have a profound public purpose and support economic and community development.
Municipalities are eligible to apply. In the first round of the program in the last biennium, two of the 50 projects that received funding were directly to municipalities with many other projects receiving support from their municipalities. However, while 50 projects received funding, more than 250 entities applied for funding, so this program is expected to be highly competitive.
All applicants must provide a match of at least 50% from non-state sources and all project awards are capped at $2 million. To learn more, visit the Wisconsin Department of Administration’s (DOA) webpage. Applications are due by 5pm on Friday, October 31st.
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League Presents at Municipal Assessors Institute
Last week, Toni Herkert, League Government Affairs Director, and Evan Miller, League Government Affairs Specialist, presented at the 2025 Municipal Assessors Institute (MAI) in Wisconsin Dells. The Government Affairs Team provided updates on a few developing policy proposals impacting this important profession along with a more general update on the legislative session.
To the MAI organizers, thank you for having us back to talk with this engaging group! Attendees of the MAI should keep an eye on their inbox this week for follow up information from Toni and Evan outlining the items we shared and providing information on items we didn’t have time to discuss. Your feedback on these initiatives is crucial to ensure the best policy positions are advanced by the League.
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