2025-2026 Legislative Bulletin | | |
In this edition of the League's Legislative Bulletin, you'll find:
1. Join Us at the League's Fall Conference in Milwaukee
2. Nominations Open for First Responder of the Year Awards
3. Recently Introduced Legislation of Municipal Importance
4. Agency Anecdotes on:
a. Lead and Copper Rule Revisions
b. Innovation Grant Program
c. Supplemental MA Payments for EMS
d. Personal Property Aid Estimates
5. Partner Platform Highlighting PACE Wisconsin
6. Federal Forecast on Opportunity Zones and Grant Contracts
| | |
Find Out What Makes Wisconsin Amazing
at the League's Fall Conference
A recent WalletHub ranking of the best states to live in found that Wisconsin ranked fourth in the nation and first in the Midwest! This ranking is a reflection on municipal leaders throughout the state who dedicate themselves to making communities where people want to live, work, and visit.
If youâre wondering how other municipal leaders are creating safe and affordable communities with thriving economies, look no further than the Leagueâs Fall Conference. With sessions covering housing, economic development, capital stacking, innovation, public safety, referenda, leadership, communications, utilities, and so much more, youâre bound to walk away with newly discovered tactics to put your passion for problem solving into action.
We hope to see you at the Baird Center in Milwaukee from September 17th to 19th! Youâre not going to want to miss out on this exciting opportunity for education, networking, inspiration, and fun. Find additional details including a link to register on the Leagueâs website.
| | |
đđđFirst Responder of the Year Nominations
In October, the Wisconsin State Assembly will invite police officers, firefighters, and emergency medical technicians and responders from throughout Wisconsin to a special ceremony in the State Capitol to recognize the âFirst Responder of the Yearâ award recipients from each Assembly District. These recipients are chosen based on a heroic action, significant personal achievement, special level of service, or career of dedicated work.
Each legislator has their own process, but many have announced that they are now accepting nominations for first responders that live or work in their districts. If your municipality has a first responder thatâs gone above and beyond, we encourage you to consider nominating that individual.
To determine if your legislator is accepting nominations, find your Representative using this map, click âMore Informationâ followed by âHome Page,â and explore their website, recent updates, and social media pages for any information on nominations. You may also contact their office and ask about nominations for the First Responder of the Year awards. Legislators have set a deadline of Friday, September 19th for nominations.
| | |
Recently Introduced Legislation of Municipal Importance
The following bill was recently introduced in the Wisconsin State Legislature and has been added to the list of those being monitored by the League. Unless otherwise indicated, no formal position has been taken on this proposal to date.
-
Senate Bill (SB) 398: Installation of Universal Changing Stations - Sens. Drake (D-Milwaukee) and Smith (D-Brunswick) and Reps. Vining (D-Wauwatosa), Johnson (D-Shelby), and Stubbs (D-Madison) - This legislation requires that certain buildings, including local government buildings and buildings at parks, must have at least one single-occupant restroom with a universal changing station. These stations are wall or floor mounted, powered, and height-adjustable adult changing tables used for personal hygiene by an individual with a disability and their care provider. Exceptions or delays in the effect of the requirement for a universal changing station are included in the legislation for lower-traffic buildings without an existing single-occupancy restroom.
| | âIf 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 Anecdotes
Lead and Copper Rule Open for Comment
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has announced that the public comment period on the revisions to the Lead and Copper Rule (LCR) is now open. A public hearing will be held on Wednesday, September 17th beginning at 10am on Zoom and the deadline for submitting written comments is Wednesday, September 24th.
Wisconsinâs LCR revisions are being proposed to come into compliance with current requirements promulgated in 2021 and 2024 to the federal LCR. These changes are expected to pose a financial and logistical toll on municipalities with a high proportion of their water infrastructure including lead. The changes proposed in this rule revision include:
-
setting a ten-year replacement requirement for lead service lines from water systems,
-
requiring regular updates to lead service line inventories and replacement plans,
-
lowering the lead action level from 0.015 mg/L to 0.010 mg/L, and
-
mandating improved public education requirements about lead in drinking water.
The League will be submitting comments on the proposed rule revisions and will share those comments in an upcoming edition of the Legislative Bulletin. Information on the LCR revisions may be found on the DNRâs website. Links to the draft rule language and notice of the comment period may also be found on the DNRâs website.
Innovation Grant Materials Updated
In last weekâs edition of The Wheeler Report Bulletin, the League noted that the Wisconsin Department of Revenue (DOR) is preparing to launch the Innovation Grant Program in September. While the exact date the application will be available is not yet known, DOR recently posted updated supporting materials including a fact sheet, project examples, common questions, and an overview of the updates to the program from the recent state budget.
All this information and more may be found on DORâs Innovation Grants webpage. The Leagueâs Fall Conference will include a session on the Innovation Grants and the League will be hosting additional educational opportunities about this exciting $300 million program in the near future. Stay tuned to the Legislative Bulletin to learn more.
Supplemental MA Payments for EMS
In the March 17th edition of the Legislative Bulletin and March 24th edition of The Wheeler Report Bulletin, the League provided information on upcoming training opportunities for the Wisconsin Medicaid Supplemental Payment Program for Public EMS Providers. Additional information on this program was provided in the April 14th edition of the Legislative Bulletin.
This new program, which was created by legislative initiatives supported by the League, will begin closing the gap between current Medicaid reimbursement rates and the true cost of providing emergency care and transportation to Medicaid recipients.
Payments for this new program are retroactive to January 1, 2023, but EMS providers must have taken the initiative to opt in to this new program as participation is not automatic or mandatory. According to a timeline provided by the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS), EMS providers may begin to see reimbursement payments this month.
Has your municipality received payments yet? If you have received your payments, let the League know by emailing Toni and Evan at therkert@lwm-info.org and emiller@lwm-info.org. Additional information will be provided as it becomes available.
Personal Property Tax Estimates Released
DOR has posted the 2026 personal property aid estimates on their website showing the amounts that each municipality is expected to receive on May 4th. While $173.8 million is allocated to these aid payments, that amount was exceeded, resulting in a slight payment factor adjustment of less than one one-thousandth of one percent. Information on 2025 aid payments may also be found here.
| | |
Partner Platform
Toni Herkert, the Leagueâs Government Affairs Director, serves on the Board of Directors of PACE Wisconsin. PACE Wisconsin presents an exciting financing opportunity that is stackable with other public and private financing to promote economic development in municipalities throughout the state. While many municipal officials may be aware of PACE Wisconsin, we would like to highlight this opportunity for all communities.
Below, PACE Wisconsin discusses who they are and how they may promote development in your community.
The Current State of PACE
Since its formation in 2016, the Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) Wisconsin program has partnered with the League of Wisconsin Municipalities and the Wisconsin Counties Association to promote and support program outreach across the state. Thanks to these efforts, 53 participating Wisconsin counties collectively represent over 88% of the stateâs population. There are 109 C-PACE projects closed, providing $256,516,759 in private capital for commercial projects. Those projects were completed in 34 different counties.
To date, half of all Commercial-PACE (C-PACE) projects have been in the hospitality sector; this is mainly due to the energy and water intensity of companies in this industryâmaking them a good target for improvementsâand the capital structure of this asset class. Multifamily housing, senior housing, mixed use buildings, office buildings, industrial facilities, retail, and farms are other market sectors that have also used the PACE Wisconsin Program. C-PACE continues to be adopted by more market sectors.
What is C-PACE
C-PACE is an innovative public/private partnership that leverages private capital to offer property owners access to low-cost, long-term financing for energy efficiency, renewable energy, stormwater, and water conservation improvements to commercial properties. Projects financed using C-PACE are non-recourse to the borrower and can generate positive cash flow upon completion.
Because there are no up-front, out-of-pocket costs to property owners, C-PACE eliminates financial barriers that impede investments in clean energy improvements to new construction and existing buildings. Projects funded with C-PACE financing improve business profitability, boost property values, and drive community-wide clean energy benefits.
| | |
Federal Forecast
Opportunity Zone Designations
Recent congressional actions have made Opportunity Zones a permanent fixture of nationwide economic development policy. First created in 2017, Opportunity Zones allow economically distressed communities to promote their area for future commercial development through preferential tax treatment. This federal preferential tax treatment was extended to Wisconsin income and franchise taxes in 2020. Wisconsin is currently home to 120 designated Opportunity Zones across 44 counties and 60 municipalities.
If your municipality is looking to promote economic development and may qualify for an Opportunity Zone designation, begin your planning process now! These zones are only designated once every ten years, with the next designation cycle beginning on July 1, 2026 when Governors will begin nominating a new map of census tracts. The U.S. Treasury Secretary will then certify those tracts to go into effect on January 1, 2027 for the next ten years. The current Opportunity Zones will expire at the end of 2028.
Additional information on Opportunity Zones may be found in this article from the Economic Innovation Group, this webpage from the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, this webpage from the Wisconsin Department of Revenue, and this guide from the National League of Cities.
Closely Review Federal Grant Contracts
State agencies have recently cautioned that federal funding agreements or contracts may have new stipulations as a condition of funding when compared to previous awards. If your municipality has received notice of the award of federal funding, youâre encouraged to have staff or consultants carefully review and understand any conditions of the award of that funding. This will ensure your municipality is aware of the compliance requirements and may act appropriately.
Some of these new requirements may be issued as a result of Executive Order 14332 titled âImproving Oversight of Federal Grantmaking.â The primary changes directed in this Executive Order, which impacts only discretionary grants (not including block grants and disaster recovery grants, as two examples of non-discretionary grant programs), are the:
- requirement that agencies account for mandatory considerations that advance the administrationâs priorities when issuing discretionary awards,
- development of detailed agency approval processes for issuance of funding opportunity notices and awards of discretionary grants, and
- instructions to the Office of Management and Budget to revise the underlying regulations pertaining to grant applications and awards.
| | | | |
