Gov. Evers Takes Action on 78 Bills

MADISON — Gov. Tony Evers today took action on 78 bills. Among the bills signed by the governor today was Senate Bill 520, now 2021 Wisconsin Act 252, which facilitates the closure of Lincoln Hills and Copper Lake, the state’s Type 1 secure juvenile correctional facility, by authorizing up to $41.7 million in bonding for the purpose of constructing a new Type 1 facility in Milwaukee County.

“For years, legislators have been talking about closing Lincoln Hills and Copper Lake as a juvenile facility while simultaneously delaying and obstructing plans to do so,” said Gov. Evers. “I am glad to be finally signing this bill today that will ensure we can move our kids out of Lincoln Hills and Copper Lake safely and responsibly by providing the funding needed to move forward on a Type 1 facility in Milwaukee County. By doing so, these kids will be closer to home, their families, and their support networks, so we can set them up for better success both while they are in our care and when they re-enter our communities.”

In total, the governor signed 35 bills, including:

Assembly Bill 337, now 2021 Wisconsin Act 218:

• Expands current law authority related to epinephrine autoinjectors to prefilled syringes of epinephrine.

Assembly Bill 420, now 2021 Wisconsin Act 219:

• Eliminates the difference between the per pupil amount paid to independent charter schools authorized by a tribal college and the per pupil amount paid to other independent charter schools, making per pupil payment for all independent charter school students the same regardless of authorizer beginning in the 2021-22 school year.

Assembly Bill 578, now 2021 Wisconsin Act 220:

• Allows an applicant for a hunting, fishing, or trapping license to elect to be an organ donor when applying for a license through the Department of Natural Resources (DNR); and
• Lowers the age at which a person can be an organ donor from 15 and a half years of age to 15 years of age.

Assembly Bill 607, now 2021 Wisconsin Act 221:

• Authorizes the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority to issue low- or no-interest housing rehabilitation loans to qualified applicants.

Assembly Bill 686, now 2021 Wisconsin Act 222:

• Allows an advanced practice social worker or independent social worker to treat substance use disorder as a specialty and hold themselves out as a substance abuse counselor should they satisfy certain educational and supervised training requirements.

Assembly Bill 727, now 2021 Wisconsin Act 223:

• Authorizes the Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection (DATCP) to provide a crop insurance premium rebate of $5 for each acre that is planted with a cover crop;
• Establishes a pilot program at DATCP to award grants to agricultural producers for implementing projects that optimize the application of commercial nitrogen; and
• Requires the Board of Regents to create a full-time hydrogeologist project position focused on developing groundwater resource information and assisting state and local governments, industries, and the public in interpreting and using this information.

Assembly Bill 759, now 2021 Wisconsin Act 224:

• Creates an exception to the requirement that a business certified as a qualified new business venture (QNBV) must have at least 51 percent of its workforce employed in Wisconsin, under which a QNBV remains eligible for certification if the requirement is violated due to a merger or acquisition and the QNBV meets certain criteria.

Assembly Bill 765, now 2021 Wisconsin Act 225:

• Expands Medicaid benefits to include group physical therapy.

Assembly Bill 820, now 2021 Wisconsin Act 226:

• Expands the use of the Mike Johnson Life Care and Early Intervention Services Grant to include providing access to clinical services and laboratory testing for individuals who are at risk for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) exposure to obtain access to pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP).

Assembly Bill 842, now 2021 Wisconsin Act 227:

• Provides additional restrictions on those convicted of violent offenses being eligible to be discharged early from probation, released from prison onto parole, or released from prison onto extended supervision.

Assembly Bill 874, now 2021 Wisconsin Act 228:

• Creates an ambulance service provider assessment on private ambulance service providers for supplemental reimbursements under the Medicaid program and a supplemental reimbursement under the Medicaid program to public ambulance service providers though certified public expenditures.

Assembly Bill 887, now 2021 Wisconsin Act 229:

• Adds the construction of additional columbarium units at the Southern Wisconsin Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Union Grove to the 2021-23 Authorized State Building Program. 

Assembly Bill 909, now 2021 Wisconsin Act 230:

• Makes a number of changes to the Managed Forest Land (MFL) program, including modifying the 20-acre eligibility threshold by allowing two noncontiguous 10-acre parcels to qualify for enrollment into the program, creating an exception to the prohibition on buildings and improvements on MFL parcels, and requiring the DNR to promulgate separate rules specifically for property owners with more than 1,000 acres enrolled in the MFL program.

Assembly Bill 910, now 2021 Wisconsin Act 231:

• Makes several changes to unemployment insurance laws, including changes to reporting requirements, effect of criminal convictions, reimbursable employer debt assessments, waiver of overpayments, work-share programs, and debt collection, as recommended by the Unemployment Insurance Advisory Council.

Assembly Bill 911, now 2021 Wisconsin Act 232:

• Makes several changes in the worker’s compensation program including modifications to payments for claimants, wage expansion, payments of proceeds to third parties, and long-term care providers, as recommended by the Worker’s Compensation Advisory Council.

Assembly Bill 914, now 2021 Wisconsin Act 233:

• Expands the tax incremental finance (TIF) authority available to the town of Gibraltar in Door County to create a tax incremental district (TID) in the same manner as a city or village subject to two conditions, including that the TID allowed under the bill must terminate no later than Sept. 30, 2032, and that any developer’s agreement associated with the TID must include a letter of credit guaranteeing repayment of the TID’s debt service.

Assembly Bill 943, now 2021 Wisconsin Act 234:

• Provides $2,500,000 SEG for the DNR to contract with a third party for cleanup of electronic waste generated from activities undertaken by 5R Processors located in Rusk, Price, and Washington counties. 

Assembly Bill 953, now 2021 Wisconsin Act 235:

• Repeals the floodplain and shoreline mapping assistance program, which was created in 1979, but from which the DNR has been prohibited from awarding grants since 1986.

Assembly Bill 975, now 2021 Wisconsin Act 236:

• Requires the State Superintendent of Public Instruction to grant a substitute teacher permit to a student in a teacher preparatory program if the student passes a background check, is at least 20 years old, has achieved junior-level status if the preparatory program awards a bachelor’s degree, and has completed at least 15 hours of classroom observation.

Assembly Bill 994, now 2021 Wisconsin Act 237:

• Updates the contractor certification requirements in Wisconsin for builders and remodelers who apply for a building permit for the construction or remodeling of a single-family home.

Assembly Bill 1020, now 2021 Wisconsin Act 238:

• Makes several technical corrections to clarify current law relating to various subjects, including correcting cross references in current law, renumbering issues, and terminology used in statutes.

Assembly Bill 1021, now 2021 Wisconsin Act 239:

• Makes technical corrections to clarify current law relating to various subjects, including correcting paragraph titles in statutes, removing outdated, unnecessary, or extraneous language, and other typographical errors or style inconsistencies.

Assembly Bill 1022, now 2021 Wisconsin Act 240:

• Makes technical corrections to clarify current law relating to various subjects, including removing outdated, unnecessary, or extraneous language, other typographical errors or style inconsistencies, and correcting cross references.

Assembly Bill 1023, now 2021 Wisconsin Act 241:

• Removes obsolete or incorrect language from state law that pertains to financial institutions and the Department of Financial Institutions. 

Assembly Bill 1024, now 2021 Wisconsin Act 242:

• Modifies the return of fingerprints to people who are later released without charge or cleared of an offense; and  
• Adds that the Division of Hearings and Appeals may provide decisions via electronic mail if the parties consent.

Assembly Bill 1025, now 2021 Wisconsin Act 243:

• Removes a reference to outdated statutes; and
• Makes changes to bring statutes into conformity with federal law and provide consistency across statutes, at the suggestion of the Department of Military Affairs. 

Assembly Bill 1026, now 2021 Wisconsin Act 244:

• Removes obsolete or incorrect language from state law that pertains to certain duties of the Department of Transportation, including removing vehicle permit fees that were limited to past time periods, repealing a grant program that has terminated, and updating references to the laws enabling specific information signs.

Assembly Bill 1027, now 2021 Wisconsin Act 245:

• Makes several changes to certain programs administered by the Department of Employee Trust Funds; and
• Updates a reference to the administrator of the Division of Personnel Management in the Department of Administration (DOA).

Assembly Bill 1028, now 2021 Wisconsin Act 246:

• Corrects references to the Nurse Licensure Compact; and 
• Removes a requirement for agencies to retain copies of certain documents that are otherwise on file at the Legislative Reference Bureau. 

Assembly Bill 1029, now 2021 Wisconsin Act 247:

• Expands the oath of office requirement to wardens or superintendents at juvenile facilities; and
• Removes the requirement to execute a bond.

Assembly Bill 1030, now 2021 Wisconsin Act 248:

• Makes technical corrections to certain Medicaid statutes as recommended by the Department of Health Services and Law Revision Committee. 

Assembly Bill 1031, now 2021 Wisconsin Act 249:

• Makes several clarifications and changes related to the duties and powers of the State Historical Society, the ability to charge fees to the Wisconsin Historical Museum, and reporting requirements by local historical societies. 

Assembly Bill 1032, now 2021 Wisconsin Act 250:

• Makes several remedial changes to certain programs administered by the DOA.

Senate Bill 259, now 2021 Wisconsin Act 251:

• Creates a seven-member Genetic Counselors Affiliated Credentialing Board attached to the Medical Examining Board;  
• Requires “genetic counselors” to be licensed, renew the license biennially by November 1 of each odd-numbered year, and complete 30 continuing education credits biennially; and 
• Requires that the board promulgate rules to adopt the National Society of Genetic Counselors code of ethics to govern the professional conduct of genetic counselors, establish licensure renewal requirements, and establish criteria for the approval of continuing education programs and courses.

Senate Bill 520, now 2021 Wisconsin Act 252:

• Authorizes up to $41,791,000 in bonding for the purpose of constructing a new Type 1 juvenile correctional facility in Milwaukee County.

In addition to signing the above bills, Gov. Evers vetoed 43 bills. The governor’s veto messages are available below.

Veto message for Assembly Bill 122

Veto message for Assembly Bill 152

Veto message for Assembly Bill 414

Veto message for Assembly Bill 446

Veto message for Assembly Bill 495

Veto message for Assembly Bill 518

Veto message for Assembly Bill 569

Veto message for Assembly Bill 597

Veto message for Assembly Bill 643

Veto message for Assembly Bill 675

Veto message for Assembly Bill 776

Veto message for Assembly Bill 777

Veto message for Assembly Bill 824

Veto message for Assembly Bill 827

Veto message for Assembly Bill 828

Veto message for Assembly Bill 829

Veto message for Assembly Bill 831

Veto message for Assembly Bill 832

Veto message for Assembly Bill 834

Veto message for Assembly Bill 836

Veto message for Assembly Bill 884

Veto message for Assembly Bill 885

Veto message for Assembly Bill 888

Veto message for Assembly Bill 903

Veto message for Assembly Bill 912

Veto message for Assembly Bill 932

Veto message for Assembly Bill 940

Veto message for Assembly Bill 941

Veto message for Assembly Bill 962

Veto message for Assembly Bill 965

Veto message for Assembly Bill 967

Veto message for Assembly Bill 968

Veto message for Assembly Bill 984

Veto message for Assembly Bill 995

Veto message for Senate Bill 935

Veto message for Senate Bill 937

Veto message for Senate Bill 938

Veto message for Senate Bill 939

Veto message for Senate Bill 940

Veto message for Senate Bill 941

Veto message for Senate Bill 942

Veto message for Senate Bill 943

Veto message for Senate Bill 945

An online version of this release is available here.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.