Floor Sessions Advance League Priorities

The legislature is about to wrap up a productive month where we saw progress in different stages of the legislative process on several bills supported by the League. This includes two bills recently signed into law to support emergency medical services (EMS) departments of all sizes.

Senate Bill 182 looks to ease the EMS workforce shortage and test new strategies to ensure the correct emergency response levels are provided at the scene of an emergency. This legislation was passed by the Senate on June 18th, passed by the Assembly on October 14th, and signed into law by the Governor last Tuesday, October 21st, as 2025 Wisconsin Act 35. Three new programs were established by Act 35, including:

1. Creating a grant program for technical colleges to receive funding to expand access and enrollment in courses to train and prepare individuals seeking their certification or licensure as an EMT or EMR,

2. Creating a reimbursement program for individuals or employers to recover the costs they paid for tuition and materials in a program to obtain initial certification or licensure as an EMT or EMR, and

3. Creating a pilot program for public safety answering points (PSAPs) to establish real-time video and multimedia communications between PSAPs and people who call for emergency services.

Act 35 simply establishes the structure for the programs created by this legislation. For the agencies responsible for these programs to begin offering these services, the agencies will have to request that the Joint Finance Committee release funding set aside in the 2025-2027 State Budget. A total of $10.6 million was allocated, including $7.0 million for the first program, $3.5 million for the second program, and $100,000 for the third program.

Senate Bill 183 looks to address three separate concerns raised by EMS officials and all three prongs address issues the League has heard from its members in recent years. This legislation was passed by the Senate and Assembly on October 14th and was signed into law by the Governor last Tuesday, October 21st, as 2025 Wisconsin Act 36. The changes made by Act 36 include:

1. Exempting municipal expenditures for a fire and EMS district established under the current law levy limit exemption from the calculation for the Expenditure Restraint Incentive Program,

2. Increasing the Medicaid reimbursement for EMS response and treatment with no transportation from its current rate of $69 per call to the new rate of $175 beginning in 2027, and

3. Requiring an annual report to the legislature on state and national changes to the scope of practice of EMTs and EMRs and how those changes may affect training for EMTs and EMRs.

The League would like to express our appreciation to the lead authors of these bills, Senator Howard Marklein (R-Spring Green) and Representative Tony Kurtz (R-Wonewoc), the co-sponsors and supporters of these bills, and to Governor Tony Evers for his quick action to sign these bills into law. While no single action will resolve the EMS crisis in Wisconsin, these laws will make incremental progress tackling the growing challenges in this critical industry.

You can read press releases from the authors and Governor on the bill signing. Please consider sending a note of thanks to the authors of these important measures.

League members are also encouraged to stay tuned to future editions of the Legislative Bulletin for updates on the release of funding for Act 35 and for the implementation of the programs and changes made by these two new laws.

While the EMS legislation was a highlight of the legislative floor sessions on October 14th, other bills lobbied on by the League were also advanced. In the Senate, SB 337 to provide financial assistance for smaller municipalities to obtain grant writing and compliance services and SB 443 to ease eligibility requirements for the Agricultural Roads Improvement Program were passed.

In both chambers, SB 159 to modernize statutes regarding police vehicle lighting was also passed. This legislation now heads to the Governor for his action. If signed into law, the requirements for lighting on police vehicles would not change, but law enforcement agencies would be allowed to add additional lighting, which is currently prohibited, to vehicles to increase visibility to motorists and others within eyesight of a law enforcement response. 

Agency Actions

Welcome to New DOR LGS Bureau Director

Last week, the Department of Revenue (DOR) Local Government Services (LGS) Bureau announced that Brenda Ayers will serve as the new Bureau Director. The League would like to extend a warm welcome to Brenda! She most recently served as the administrator and clerk for the City of Lodi and has decades of experience in local government finance.

DOR’s LGS Bureau handles a series of responsibilities and programs important to cities and villages, including shared revenue and the newly released $300 million Innovation Grant Program currently open for applications. Contact information for LGS may be found on DOR’s website. 

Comments to the PSC on Cost Overruns

This morning, the League submitted comments to the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin (PSC) on Docket 5-UI-124, an investigation on the Commission’s own motion to review cost overruns. According to the PSC, the intent of this investigation is to develop “a viable framework for utilities, merchant developers, parties, and Commission staff to employ when cost overruns occur.”

The League’s comments cautioned that a one-size-fits-all process for cost overruns will not work as each cost overrun in water utility projects is due to unique circumstances. Following our rationale for this request, we asked the PSC to either abandon its investigation or to remove municipal utilities from this broader investigation that also examines investor-owned electric and gas utilities.

Comments from the League on this investigation may be read here. This comment period is on the opening of the investigation. Stay tuned to future Legislative Bulletins for further information on this investigation and the PSC’s treatment of cost overruns in water utility projects. 

WHEDA Housing Loan Program Applications

In the 2023-2024 Legislative Session, the League’s advocacy helped lead to the creation of three new workforce housing loan programs at the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority (WHEDA). Funded through a historic $525 million investment, this initiative has already assisted in the creation of more than 1,000 units. These low-interest rate loan programs, that assist in closing financing gaps for workforce housing projects in Wisconsin, are now open for the Fall 2025 round of applications.

The first program, the Infrastructure Access Loan Program, assists local governments and developers with a portion of the cost of public improvements to serve new housing developments. The second, the Restore Main Street Loan Program, assists developers with rehabbing second- and third-floor rental housing over commercial spaces. And the third, the Vacancy-to-Vitality Loan Program, assists developers in converting vacant or underutilized commercial properties into housing.

In all three programs, for an applicant to be eligible for loan funding, the relevant local government must have made administrative, fee, process, or regulatory changes to lower the cost of that eligible housing project since January 1, 2023. More information on municipalities’ role in these loan applications may be found on WHEDA’s website.

While changes proposed in legislation this session will not be in place for this loan cycle, future loan cycles may be positively impacted by proposed revisions to these programs. League supported legislative modifications include moving the date municipalities had to make modifications to lower the cost of housing back to 2020 (instead of 1/1/23) and removing the prohibitions on stacking TIF and Historic Tax Credits for these projects.

Applications for the Fall 2025 round are due on Friday, November 21st. To learn more about these programs and prepare an application, visit WHEDA’s website. 

Final Brownfield Learning Session Tomorrow

The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is hosting its final free Learning Sessions for Local Governments on Brownfield Redevelopment tomorrow, October 28th, in Fond du Lac. The League Government Affairs team joined the session earlier this month in Eau Claire and found it to be a great overview on the process of and funding for brownfield revitalization. The session also provided an opportunity to hear from local leaders that have successfully navigated this process.

More information on tomorrow’s Learning Session may be found on the DNR’s website. If you’re interested in learning more but cannot attend, the DNR has a series of resources on its website, including information for local governments, financial assistance resources, success stories, and a training library.

Webinar on Lead Service Line Removals

The PSC is hosting a webinar on Thursday, October 30th from 1:00pm to 1:45pm on utility programs for providing financial assistance to property owners for the removal of privately-owned lead service lines. As utilities face a deadline of 2037 for lead service line removals, this financial assistance program may be a viable path towards achieving those regulatory mandates. Registration for this webinar may be found here. 

Last Call for the Local Project Grant Program

Applications for the Grants for Local Projects Program are due by 5pm this Friday, October 31st. As shared in previous Legislative Bulletins, this highly-competitive program will award $50 million to non-state capital projects around the state that have a profound public purpose and support economic and community development. Municipalities are eligible entities, and applicants may receive up to $2 million or up to 50% of the project cost, whichever is less.

Continuing this program was on the League’s list of budget priorities for the 2025-2027 State Budget. Learn more and apply now on the Department of Administration’s (DOA) website.

Cyber Attack Resources for Municipalities

In response to increasing cybersecurity threats against municipal utilities, the DNR recently shared resources for municipalities that believe their cyber infrastructure may have been attacked. This attachment provides the state-level contacts that may be able to assist your municipality when these cyber threats occur. We would like to thank the DNR for highlighting these important resources! 

Urban Wildlife Abatement Grant Program

The DNR has announced the 2026 Urban Wildlife Damage Abatement and Control Grant Program is now accepting applications. Municipalities with a population density of at least 125 people per square mile (which encompasses nearly all cities and villages) are eligible to receive a grant of up to $5,000 to cover up to 50% of the cost of eligible projects such as developing an urban wildlife control plan, trapping deer and geese, modifying habitat, and more.

Applications for this competitive grant program are due on December 1st with awards expected to be announced by January 31, 2026. Learn more about this program and apply now on the DNR’s website.