Session this Week

The Senate is expected to be in session on Tuesday, March 17th with a lengthy calendar. That calendar had not been made available at the publishing of this report; it is expected later today.

Republican Leadership in both houses have been meeting for the past two weeks in an effort to come to an agreement on a final tax package and use for the budget surplus, but as of Friday, nothing had been made public.

State of Emergency for Snowstorm

On Saturday, Governor Evers signed Executive Order #286, declaring a state of emergency in preparation for the winter storm expected to impact the state starting Saturday night.

Recent Executive Actions by the Governor

Signed into Law

• AB-237 Safe Haven Law Rep. Gundrum (R-Slinger) The age at which an infant is covered under the safe haven law. Signed (Act 94)

• AB-592 Teacher Development Rep. Franklin (R-De Pere) Professional development for science teachers. Signed (Act 95)

• SB-259 Investigation Notice Sen. Jacque (R-New Franken) The notice of an investigation of child abuse or neglect or unborn child abuse provided to the family advocacy program of the U.S. Department of Defense. Signed (Act 96)

• SB-537 Airbags Sen. Wanggaard (R-Racine) Nonfunctional and counterfeit airbags and providing a penalty. Signed (Act 97)

• SB-620 Sex Offenders Sen. Tomczyk (R-Mosinee) Tracking a person who is registered as a sex offender but unable to provide an address. Signed (Act 98)

• SB-678 OWI Screening Sen. James (R-Thorp) The use of oral fluids for preliminary screening of a person suspected of operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated. Signed (Act 99)

• SB-692 Carfentanil Sen. Jacque (R-New Franken) Listing of carfentanil under the Uniform Controlled Substances Act and providing a penalty. Signed (Act 100)

• SB-920 School Attendance Law Sen. Cabral-Guevara (R-Fox Crossing) Health care providers providing excused absences under the compulsory school attendance law. Signed (Act 101)

Vetoed

• SB-291 Tax Credit Eligibility (Howard Marklein, R-Spring Green) Making certain child care expenditures eligible for the business development tax credit. Vetoed (Link)

Court Order for BRIC

The District Court of Massachusetts gave a court order requiring the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to immediately take steps to reverse the termination of the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program. The action is the result of a coalition of states which filed a lawsuit to prevent FEMA from terminating the BRIC program. The original decision in favor of the coalition came in December. The new order requires FEMA to make pre-disaster mitigation funds available, communicate the status of current BRIC projects, and file status reports.

School Funding Proposal

Reps. Snodgrass (D-Appleton) and Phelps (D-Eau Claire) released a proposal over the weekend. Rep. Snodgrass said:

Our solution is simple: pick up the tab for constitutionally-mandated public school services, and meaningfully keep down local property taxes without further shortchanging our communities. When the state pays its fair share, property taxes stay down. It’s really that simple. Our proposal increases general school aid paid by the state, using just some of the surplus funds at our disposal. By doing so, we project the state can deliver serious relief to property taxpayers who have been footing the bill left to them by years of Republican controlled budgets. 

Additionally, this proposal addresses a familiar and persistent strain on public school districts’ tight budgets: the low reimbursement rate for special education services. While Legislative Republicans passed a budget claiming they would reimburse 42% of special education costs in public schools this year and 45% next year, they budgeted insufficiently and are expected to fall some 7% short of their promise. This bill uses existing surplus funds to increase reimbursement rates to 60%, allocates enough money to meet that commitment, and would significantly reduce the need for operating referendums across Wisconsin.

According to the Legislative Reference Bureau Analysis, the bill would increase the amount of funding distributed to school districts as state aid through the equalization formula by $445,949,400 in the 2026-27 school year. The bill would change special education from a sum certain appropriation to a sum sufficient appropriation, and funds special education at 42% in fiscal year 2025-26 and 45% in fiscal year 2026-27.

The total cost of the bill is estimated to be $1.3 billion from the state’s General Fund.

LRB-6488 Memo School Funding General equalization aids, the reimbursement rate for special education costs, excluding special education reimbursement from certain per pupil payments, and making an appropriation. Deadline: Wednesday, March 18, 2026