2025-2026 Legislative Bulletin | | Joint Finance Committee Public Hearings This Week | | |
The Joint Finance Committee (JFC), the Legislature’s powerful budget writing committee, is holding four public hearings across the state to hear from residents and stakeholders on budgetary issues of importance. Municipal officials are encouraged to attend and speak at these hearings.
JFC budget hearings offer an opportunity for municipal engagement with legislators reinforcing our shared state and local governance structure. Attending these hearings helps to ensure the issues important to you, Wisconsin’s municipal leaders, are at the forefront of legislators’ agendas. After all, their constituents are also your constituents!
Two of the four public hearings are taking place later this week, including:
Wednesday, April 2, 2025 (10:00am to 5:00pm)
- Kaukauna High School, Auxiliary Gymnasium (Door AA4)
- 1701 County Road CE, Kaukauna, WI 54130
Friday, April 4, 2025 (10:00am to 5:00pm)
- Wisconsin State Fair Park, Exposition Center (Park at Gate 4)
- 640 South 84th Street, West Allis, WI 53214
The remaining two hearings will take place in Hayward on Monday, April 28 and in Wausau on Tuesday, April 29, both beginning at 10am and ending at 5pm.
Attendees are encouraged to arrive early and fill out a slip at the front door. People will be called to speak in the order their slips are submitted, so the earlier the slip is received by the legislative staff at the hearing room's entrance, the sooner you will be called up to speak. Attendees are typically limited to three minutes when they're called to speak. Be certain your main points and requests are conveyed in those three minutes.
The League has prepared four documents highlighting our budget requests. While these documents may help to guide your comments, local anecdotes best illustrate these requests to JFC members. Our budget documents are available on the League’s website and are linked below.
Municipal officials unable to testify in person may consider submitting written comments which will be circulated to the 16 committee members. Written comments may be submitted online or sent to this email address: budget.comments@legis.wisconsin.gov. Contact the League’s Government Affairs team at the email addresses listed at the end of the Bulletin with any questions.
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Speaker Announced for Capitol Connections
Capitol Connections: Wisconsin Municipalities Day is just five weeks away. As part of the afternoon programming for this exciting event, we’re pleased to announce one of the speakers that will be joining us.
| | Bob Lang, the director of the nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau (LFB), will sit down with our Executive Director Jerry Deschane for a fireside chat. Lang is well respected across the political aisle for his independent analysis. Having joined LFB in 1971 and having served as the director since 1977, Lang will tap into his unsurpassed institutional knowledge of state government to provide us with keen insights into the fiscal shape of Wisconsin State Government and the ongoing 2025-2027 budget process. | | | |
Capitol Connections is a no-cost, one day event that is a great opportunity to engage with your fellow municipal leaders, state legislators, and League staff. With a start time of 10am, most municipal officials can make the drive to the Monona Terrace that morning. However, if you have a further drive, a block of rooms is now available at the Hilton Madison Monona Terrace.
We hope you will join us on May 7 for Capitol Connections! Your unique voice and individual connection with your legislators is critical to our advocacy effort! All municipal officials, including elected leaders and staff, are encouraged to attend. Event information including a registration link, hotel block information, and details on scheduling legislative meetings is available on the League’s website.
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Recently Introduced Bills of Municipal Importance
The following bills were 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) 156: First Responder Training and Administration of Epinephrine Delivery Systems - Sen. Testin (R-Stevens Point) and Rep. Krug (R-Rome) - This legislation requires that all first responders (which includes emergency medical responders, emergency medical services practitioners, firefighters, and law enforcement officers) are trained on how to recognize the signs and symptoms of severe allergic reactions and the procedures for administration of an epinephrine delivery system. The legislation also requires that each first responder always has an epinephrine delivery system available for use while on duty. Finally, the legislation allows the Wisconsin Department of Health Services to distribute epinephrine delivery systems to first responders that have completed the training requirements.
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SB 155: Requiring Periodic Inspections of Parking Structures - Sen. Tomczyk (R-Mosinee) and Rep. Maxey (R-New Berlin) - This legislation requires the owner of a parking structure to have a professional engineer inspect the structural integrity of the structure at least once every five years. A report containing the results of the inspection must be submitted to the Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services (DSPS) or to the local government if the local government is authorized to perform commercial building plan examinations. If an owner fails to complete an inspection within six months of the report being due they may be fined $200 per month. Within twelve months of the due date, DSPS must close the parking structure until an inspection is completed.
| | ⭐If you would like to contact your legislators on any bills mentioned in the 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. | | |
Upcoming Joint Finance Committee Hearing
In addition to the Joint Finance Committee’s (JFC) public hearings mentioned above, JFC will meet on Tuesday, April 1 for agency briefings. Every budget cycle, the JFC Co-Chairs will have the leadership of selected agencies present to the committee on their budget request followed by questions from JFC members. This year, the Department of Corrections and University of Wisconsin-System will testify and answer questions. The briefings will begin at noon on Tuesday with only the invited agencies able to speak. The briefings will be streamed on WisconsinEye.
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Agency Anecdotes
Tax-Exempt Status of Municipal Bonds
Municipal bonds are an attractive investment not only for a stable place to park money, but because of the 100+ year history of their tax-exempt status. This status allows municipalities to offer lower interest rates, saving taxpayers money. Since 2015, state and local governments in Wisconsin have financed $87.9 billion in projects with tax-exempt municipal bonds, saving taxpayers an estimated $1.8 billion.
| | | | The National League of Cities has expressed concern that members of the new Presidential Administration have shown interest in removing the tax-exempt status of municipal bonds. The League is asking for your help! This short 5-minute survey is looking for examples of projects your municipality has issued municipal bonds to complete. Examples provided will be used to show your members of Congress how these bonds have helped to promote growth and improve infrastructure throughout the state. | | |
Deadline for ARPA Reporting Approaching
Municipalities are required to submit an Annual Project and Expenditure Report to the U.S. Department of Treasury every year through 2027 as a condition of receiving their American Rescue Plan Act – State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (ARPA-SLFRF). Make certain your municipality submits a report for calendar year 2024 to Treasury by April 30, 2025. The Wisconsin Department of Revenue’s website has links to resources to assist in the filing process. The National League of Cities also has a webpage to assist with ARPA reporting and a webpage to help navigate the December 2026 expenditure deadline.
Innovation Fund Planning Grants
Last week, the Wisconsin Department of Revenue (DOR) completed their third round of rolling awards for the Innovation Planning Grants. To date, 41 projects have been approved for a total of $1.72 million. 19 different cities and villages have received a total of 23 awards, with many of the other awards made to towns exploring consolidated services in partnership with cities and villages.
There is only one month remaining to submit your Innovation Planning Grant application! Municipalities with a population under 5,000 may fill out the simple application to receive a grant of up to $100,000 to explore the transfer of one or more allowable services to another entity. A total of $3 million in grant funding is available. Be certain to apply by April 30!
To learn more about the Innovation Planning Grants, including the application process, eligible expenses, and allowable services, please visit DOR’s website and watch this webinar hosted by the League.
UW-Extension Local Government Education Webinars
The University of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Extension’s Local Government Education Program is hosting upcoming webinars that may be of interest to municipal officials.
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On Wednesday, April 16 at 12:00pm, this webinar on PFAS will cover the sources and impacts of contamination, potential state funding to investigate and address pollution, and approaches taken in La Crosse County to mitigate contamination. Register for this free webinar here.
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On Thursday, May 8 and Friday, May 9, this two-part webinar will cover recent changes to alcohol and beverage licensing under 2023 Act 73. Presenting in Part 1 are two of the League’s attorneys, Maria Davis and Nick Zavos. Each three-hour webinar costs $20 and begins at 9:00am. Register here.
Urban Nonpoint Source Planning Grant Applications Due Soon
The deadline for the Urban Nonpoint Source and Storm Water Planning Grants closes soon. Municipalities have until April 15 to submit their applications to receive a grant of up to $85,000 to plan for a project beginning in 2026 to control pollution that is carried by storm water runoff from diffuse urban sources. For more information on eligible projects and the application process, visit the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources’ website.
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Earlier this month, Wisconsin Policy Forum published a report on the challenges being faced by Middleton EMS and Waunakee Area EMS. Like other areas of the state, call volumes, staffing, and capital expenditures continue to be pressing challenges for these EMS providers.
Strength in Numbers: Exploring Service Sharing Opportunities for Middleton EMS and Waunakee Area EMS lays out collaborative approaches that could be considered to address their common EMS needs and abutting service territories. These approaches are meant to avoid or reduce future costs and meet common service challenges in a more effective and cost-efficient manner.
| | | This report builds on past reports completed by Wisconsin Policy Forum looking at the challenges of continuing to provide fire and EMS coverage in municipalities throughout the state, including two reports released earlier this year covering municipalities in Lafayette County and Milwaukee County. | | |
League Legislative Agenda in Action
The League’s 2025-2026 Legislative Agenda touches on a myriad of issues important to Wisconsin’s municipal leaders. One of the key elements of the first pillar on infrastructure is addressing PFAS contamination. This bulletin section will highlight recent legislation that puts the League’s Legislative Agenda into action.
Last session, the League was pivotal in the effort to secure $125 million for the PFAS Trust Fund, a non-lapsable account that was set to be utilized following passage of legislation to create programs for dispersing the funds. The League engaged with the authors of that legislation, 2023 Senate Bill (SB) 312, and helped to craft an amendment addressing municipal concerns. As amended, the League supported the legislation. However, due to concerns about liability exemptions for municipalities and certain other entities, the Governor vetoed SB 312, leaving the Trust Fund untouched almost two years later.
This session, a bill nearly identical to SB 312 (as amended) has been introduced. 2025 SB 128 is a comprehensive approach to PFAS which includes the following provisions:
- Establish a Municipal PFAS Grant Program to provide funds to local governments for PFAS testing, biosolids and leachate disposal, infrastructure upgrades to address PFAS, remediation of contaminated lands, and more
- Exempts certain sources of PFAS contamination from liability under the Spills Law, including persons that spread PFAS-containing biosolids, fire departments and airports that used PFAS-containing firefighting foam, landfills that accepted PFAS-laden waste, and persons who own property where the PFAS contamination didn’t originate
- Establishes an Innocent Landowner Grant Program where local governments and other parties deemed innocent under the bullet above may receive funding to begin the remediation work on those contaminated parcels
- Prohibits the DNR from preventing a construction project or public works project on the basis of PFAS contamination unless the party caused the contamination or the project could cause substantial risks to public health or the environment
- Requires the DNR to survey local fire departments about their use and possession of PFAS-containing firefighting foam and contract with a third party to voluntarily collect unwanted firefighting foam
The League is in support of SB 128. Municipalities didn’t cause the PFAS contamination problems in Wisconsin and shouldn’t be held to strict enforcement requirements for its remediation. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under former President Biden recognized this reality and exempted municipalities from federal remediation liability.
While SB 128 is similar to last session’s bill that was vetoed, the Governor has showed some movement on this issue. In his 2025-2027 Executive Budget, the Governor proposed to exempt farmers from liability under certain conditions. It’s our hope that with further education the Governor recognizes the need for municipalities to be exempt as well.
For more details on the problems with PFAS in Wisconsin, see the April issue of The Municipality magazine which will be released tomorrow and can be found on our website here.
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