Legislative Bulletin Programming Note for 2026

With the 2025-2026 Regular Legislative Session coming to an end, happenings in the State Capitol will decrease as legislators begin working on their reelection campaigns and start preparing legislative ideas for the next legislative session. As the news from the Capitol slows, we will be reducing the frequency of our Legislative Bulletins.

Today will be the last weekly distribution of the Bulletin for 2026. Starting next month, the Legislative Bulletin will be sent on the first Monday of each month and the Wheeler Report Bulletin will be sent on the third Monday of each month. If pressing news emerges, we will break in with a special edition of the Legislative Bulletin.

The League will return to a weekly distribution schedule as the 2027-2028 Legislative Session convenes in January. In the meantime, we look forward to bringing you the news you need to know from state government twice a month throughout the rest of 2026. Thank you for joining us to stay up to date throughout this municipally significant session! 

Final Actions of the 2025-2026 Regular Session

April 9th was the last day for the Governor to take action on bills passed during the 2025-2026 Legislative Session, effectively marking the end of the Regular Session. While a veto review floor period is slated for May, with narrow majorities in both chambers and a two-thirds vote required to overturn the Governor’s veto, bipartisan buy-in would be required to successfully turn a vetoed bill into law. Additionally, a Special Session called by the Governor on redistricting is still open and the potential remains for a Special or Extraordinary Session to spend down the state surplus. However, the regular business of the State Legislature has concluded.

As prior Legislative Bulletins including the Thursday, April 7th edition have recapped previous actions by the Governor, this Bulletin will highlight actions taken by the Governor in the last four days of action. Two major and historic initiatives and League priorities, Workforce Housing TIDs and modifications to the WHEDA housing loan programs, were signed in the final few days. In the next edition of the Legislative Bulletin on Monday, May 4th, we will provide our full session recap including our ‘by the numbers’ review. Today, the attachment below will focus on these two key initiatives and highlight two other actions taken by the Governor before the deadline for action expired. 

🏘️ Residential Development in Wisconsin Outpaces U.S.

The Wisconsin Department of Revenue (DOR) publishes Monthly Economic Updates highlighting our state’s commerce and development. In their April 2026 update, we saw some great news on residential development. Housing permits increased in Wisconsin in 2025! Total permits were up 7.4% to 25,202 and single-family permits were up 3.4% to 13,206.

Nationally, housing permits declined in 2025, with total permits decreasing by 4.1% and single-family permits down 7.1%. According to one study, Wisconsin needs to generate at least 140,000 housing units by the end of the decade to sustain our population. That number increases to 230,000 housing units if we hope to grow and house our working age population.

Seeing these 2025 housing permit figures sparks optimism that we are rising to the challenge. We must celebrate the municipal officials working tirelessly to make that happen and chief executives supporting this vision for their communities. Thank you to the governing body members promoting housing and to the planners, building inspectors, plan reviewers, and other municipal officials working to make that vision a reality!

Municipalities did not create the housing crisis, but we have continually heard from members of all sizes throughout the state that they would like to be part of the solution. While our state still has work left to resolve the housing crisis, we are glad to see these encouraging signs! 

Agency Actions

ARPA Reporting Deadline Approaching

In previous Legislative Bulletins, we have provided reminders of the Thursday, April 30th deadline for the American Rescue Plan Act’s State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (ARPA-SLFRF) reporting. With the deadline just 10 days away, please do not wait until the last minute to make sure your municipality’s report is submitted! Failure to submit a timely report could result in recoupment of the entire ARPA allocation.

The National League of Cities (NLC) has published a helpful resource to assist municipalities with their report submissions. This resource is based on many common questions they have received from municipalities throughout the country since ARPA reporting began. If you need additional assistance, NLC has four remaining virtual Office Hours open to Wisconsin cities and villages. Dates and times and a link to register may be found here. 

Work Zone Awareness Week Kicks Off

This week (April 20th to 24th) is National Work Zone Awareness Week. With the kickoff to road construction season, it is important to remind Wisconsinites to stay alert, slow down, and remain distraction free in work zones. Municipal workers and contractors arrive at jobsites daily to repair, rehabilitate, or replace our local infrastructure. It is on all of us to make sure they get home safe at night!

The Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) has prepared and shared a series of talking points and graphics that municipalities are free to use as part of your work zone safety campaign messaging. If your municipality uses any of the social media graphics, please use the images in full without editing. Links to these resources are provided below: 

• Talking Points and Draft Social Media Posts
• Work Zone Safety Fact Sheet Graphic
• Social Media Graphics 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 

Responsible Unit Reports Due April 30th

Responsible Units (RUs), or designated local governments in charge of recycling collections, are required to submit an annual report to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR). RU reports are due by Friday, April 30th, and as of Wednesday, April 15th, over 700 RUs have not submitted their report.

Starting this year, all RUs will need a MyWisconsin ID to complete their report. RUs should have received an email notifying them of the new requirements with these step-by-step instructions. Given this new report submittal process, please do not wait until the last minute to finalize your RU annual report.

The DNR is holding a guided session to assist local governments that need assistance with the MyWisconsin ID process. The session will be held on Tuesday, April 21st from 1pm to 2pm on Microsoft Teams. Registration for the session may be found here. Additional information on annual reports may be found on the DNR’s website. 

DOR Publishes New On Tap Newsletter

DOR’s Division of Alcohol Beverages publishes a quarterly newsletter titled “On Tap,” and the latest issue is packed with useful information for municipal officials. Page three details the circumstances in which a temporary license is required, page seven covers the basic process of license issuance, and page eight outlines the new event venue permit or license requirements. This edition of On Tap may be found on DOR’s website.

If you are looking to learn more about the alcohol license process, the University of Wisconsin’s Local Government Extension Program, in partnership with the League, is hosting two half-day virtual training sessions to help municipal officials navigate our state’s alcohol beverage licensing laws. The sessions are on Thursday, April 30th and Friday, May 1st from 9am to 12pm with each session costing $20. Registration links may be found here. 

Reminder: Register for TDA Roundtables in May

A new analysis by ConsumerAffairs ranks Wisconsin’s roads as the 14th worst in the nation with about 57% of urban roads and 15% of rural roads considered in “poor” condition by the Bureau of Transportation Statistics. While increases in our recent past state budgets have helped, chronic underfunding of our state’s transportation infrastructure, mixed with tight levy limits, constrains our state’s growth. Municipalities do not have funding necessary to keep up with local road needs and maintain portions of state highways within their jurisdictions. The way we fund our transportation system is in disrepair. The state needs a long-term, sustainable solution to transportation.

As mentioned in previous Legislative Bulletins, the Transportation Development Association (TDA) is hitting the road in May to highlight the need for a sustainable solution to transportation funding in Wisconsin. The six “Regional Turnout for Transportation Roundtables” will begin this conversation, and all municipal officials are invited and highly encouraged to join. Each event will be begin at 7:30am and wrap up by 9:00am. RSVP now on TDA’s website.