Wisconsin 2025-2026 Regular Session

Wisconsin Senate Bill SB181 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

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1	1	2025 - 2026 LEGISLATURE
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4	4	2025 SENATE BILL 181
5	5	April 14, 2025 - Introduced by Senators MARKLEIN, JAMES, CABRAL-GUEVARA,
6	6	NASS, PFAFF, SPREITZER and TESTIN, cosponsored by Representatives KURTZ,
7	7	GUSTAFSON, BEHNKE, DITTRICH, DONOVAN, DUCHOW, FRANKLIN, GREEN,
8	8	KAUFERT, KITCHENS, MAXEY, MELOTIK, MOSES, MURSAU, NEUBAUER,
9	9	PALMERI, PIWOWARCZYK, STEFFEN, SUBECK, UDELL, VANDERMEER and
10	10	NEDWESKI. Referred to Committee on Health.
11	11	AN ACT to amend 79.05 (2) (c); to create 66.0602 (3) (o) of the statutes;
12	12	relating to: a levy limit exemption for regional emergency medical systems
13	13	and eligibility for the expenditure restraint incentive program.
14	14	Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau
15	15	Generally, under current law, local levy limits are applied to the property tax
16	16	levies that are imposed by political subdivisions. A political subdivision may not
17	17	increase its levy by a percentage that exceeds its Xvaluation factor,Y which is the
18	18	greater of 0 percent or the percentage change in the political subdivision[s
19	19	equalized value due to new construction, less improvements removed. Current law
20	20	also contains a number of exceptions to the levy limit, such as amounts a county
21	21	levies for a countywide emergency medical system, for a county children with
22	22	disabilities education board, and for certain bridge and culvert construction and
23	23	repair. This bill creates an additional exception to local levy limits. Under the bill,
24	24	the amounts a city, village, town, or county levies for costs associated with regional
25	25	emergency medical services, either through participation in a joint emergency
26	26	services district or through one or more intergovernmental agreements to provide
27	27	emergency medical services, or both, are exempt. Under the bill, XregionalY means
28	28	consisting of a service area that is at least 232 square miles or includes at least
29	29	eight municipalities.
30	30	The bill also excludes expenditures of amounts levied for a regional emergency
31	31	medical system that are exempt from local levy limits under the bill from being
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34	34	3 2025 - 2026 Legislature
35	35	SENATE BILL 181
36	36	- 2 - LRB-2497/1
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38	38	SECTION 1
39	39	considered in determining eligibility for an expenditure restraint incentive program
40	40	payment. Under current law, a municipality is eligible to receive an expenditure
41	41	restraint incentive program payment if its property tax levy is greater than 5 mills
42	42	and if the annual increase in its municipal budget, subject to certain exceptions, is
43	43	less than the sum of factors based on inflation and the increased value of property
44	44	in the municipality as a result of new construction.
45	45	For further information see the state and local fiscal estimate, which will be
46	46	printed as an appendix to this bill.
47	47	The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do
48	48	enact as follows:
49	49	SECTION 1. 66.0602 (3) (o) of the statutes is created to read:
50	50	66.0602 (3) (o) 1. In this paragraph, XregionalY means consisting of a service
51	51	area that is at least 232 square miles or includes at least 8 municipalities.
52	52	2. Subject to subds. 3., 4., 5., and 6., the limit otherwise applicable under this
53	53	section does not apply to the amount, or a portion of that amount, that a political
54	54	subdivision levies in that year for costs associated with regional emergency medical
55	55	services, either through participation in a joint emergency medical services district
56	56	or through one or more intergovernmental agreements to provide emergency
57	57	medical services, or through both. The costs that are eligible for the exception to the
58	58	limit that is described in this subdivision include costs associated with regional
59	59	emergency medical services that are provided by a fire department.
60	60	3. The exception to the limit that is described in subd. 2. applies only if the
61	61	amount levied under subd. 2. for the current year increases, relative to the amount
62	62	levied under subd. 2. for the previous year, by a percentage that is less than or equal
63	63	to the percentage change in the U.S. consumer price index for all urban consumers,
64	64	U.S. city average, as determined by the U.S. department of labor, for the 12 months
65	65	ending on August 31 of the year of the levy, plus 5 percent. This subdivision does
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83	83	SENATE BILL 181
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86	86	SECTION 1
87	87	not apply if the political subdivision did not levy an amount under subd. 2. for the
88	88	previous year.
89	89	4. The exception to the limit that is described in subd. 2. applies only if the
90	90	joint emergency medical services district or political subdivision, as applicable,
91	91	confirms to the department of revenue that the joint emergency medical services
92	92	district or political subdivision, as applicable, has a regional service area.
93	93	5. The exception to the limit that is described in subd. 2. applies only if a
94	94	contract or other agreement identifies one entity as responsible for coordination of
95	95	emergency medical services across the service area.
96	96	6. If a political subdivision levies an amount under subd. 2. for a year, no other
97	97	paragraph in this subsection applies to that amount.
98	98	SECTION 2. 79.05 (2) (c) of the statutes is amended to read:
99	99	79.05 (2) (c) Its municipal budget; exclusive of principal and interest on long-
100	100	term debt and exclusive of revenue sharing payments under s. 66.0305, payments of
101	101	premiums under s. 66.0137 (5) (c) 1. and 1m., expenditures of amounts levied under
102	102	s. 66.0602 (3) (o), revenues generated from a tax imposed under s. 77.701, payments
103	103	received under s. 79.038, expenditures of payments due to the termination of a tax
104	104	incremental district under s. 79.096 (3), recycling fee payments under s. 289.645,
105	105	expenditures of grant payments under s. 16.297 (1m), unreimbursed expenses
106	106	related to an emergency declared under s. 323.10, expenditures from moneys
107	107	received pursuant to P.L. 111-5, grants received from the state or federal
108	108	government for the purpose of providing law enforcement, fire protection, or
109	109	emergency medical services, and expenditures made pursuant to a purchasing
110	110	agreement with a school district whereby the municipality makes purchases on
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135	135	SENATE BILL 181
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138	138	SECTION 2
139	139	behalf of the school district; for the year of the statement under s. 79.015 increased
140	140	over its municipal budget as adjusted under sub. (6); exclusive of principal and
141	141	interest on long-term debt and exclusive of revenue sharing payments under s.
142	142	66.0305, payments of premiums under s. 66.0137 (5) (c) 1. and 1m., expenditures of
143	143	amounts levied under s. 66.0602 (3) (o), revenues generated from a tax imposed
144	144	under s. 77.701, payments received under s. 79.038, expenditures of payments due
145	145	to the termination of a tax incremental district under s. 79.096 (3), recycling fee
146	146	payments under s. 289.645, expenditures of grant payments under s. 16.297 (1m),
147	147	unreimbursed expenses related to an emergency declared under s. 323.10,
148	148	expenditures from moneys received pursuant to P.L. 111-5, grants received from the
149	149	state or federal government for the purpose of providing law enforcement, fire
150	150	protection, or emergency medical services, and expenditures made pursuant to a
151	151	purchasing agreement with a school district whereby the municipality makes
152	152	purchases on behalf of the school district; for the year before that year by less than
153	153	the sum of the inflation factor and the valuation factor, rounded to the nearest 0.10
154	154	percent.
155	155	SECTION 3. Initial applicability.
156	156	(1) The treatment of s. 66.0602 (3) (o) first applies to a levy that is imposed in
157	157	December of the year of the first January 1 after the effective date of this
158	158	subsection.
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