Wisconsin 2025-2026 Regular Session

Wisconsin Senate Bill SB61 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	2025 - 2026 LEGISLATURE
2	2	LRB-1974/1
3	3	KMS:skw
4	4	2025 SENATE BILL 61
5	5	February 21, 2025 - Introduced by Senators BRADLEY and NASS, cosponsored by
6	6	Representatives ALLEN, MAXEY, BEHNKE, BRILL, DITTRICH, GUNDRUM,
7	7	KNODL, KREIBICH, O'CONNOR, PIWOWARCZYK, SORTWELL and WICHGERS.
8	8	Referred to Committee on Education.
9	9	AN ACT to amend 121.07 (6) (a) (intro.) and 121.07 (6) (am); to create 121.07
10	10	(6) (ap) of the statutes; relating to: excluding expenditures funded by
11	11	referenda from shared costs for the purpose of determining equalization aid for
12	12	school districts.
13	13	Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau
14	14	Under current law, a school district[s shared cost is one of the factors used to
15	15	calculate a school district[s equalization aid. Generally, under current law, a school
16	16	district[s shared cost is the sum of the school district[s expenditures from its general
17	17	fund and its debt service fund.
18	18	Under this bill, expenditures from either a school district[s general fund or
19	19	debt service fund that are authorized by 1) an operating referendum held after the
20	20	date on which this bill becomes law to exceed the school district[s revenue limit by
21	21	more than $50,000,000 or 2) a capital referendum held after the date on which this
22	22	bill becomes law to borrow more than $50,000,000 are excluded from the school
23	23	district[s shared cost, unless the school district was a negative tertiary school
24	24	district in the previous school year. A school district is a negative tertiary school
25	25	district if its equalized valuation exceeds the tertiary guaranteed valuation per
26	26	member.
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30	30	4 2025 - 2026 Legislature
31	31	SENATE BILL 61
32	32	- 2 - LRB-1974/1
33	33	KMS:skw
34	34	For further information see the local fiscal estimate, which will be printed as
35	35	an appendix to this bill.
36	36	The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do
37	37	enact as follows:
38	38	SECTION 1. 121.07 (6) (a) (intro.) of the statutes is amended to read:
39	39	121.07 (6) (a) (intro.) XShared Subject to pars. (am) and (ap), Xshared costY is
40	40	the sum of the net cost of the general fund and the net cost of the debt service fund,
41	41	except that Xshared costY excludes any costs, including attorney fees, incurred by a
42	42	school district as a result of its participation in a lawsuit commenced against the
43	43	state, beginning with such costs incurred in the fiscal year in which the lawsuit is
44	44	commenced, excludes any expenditures from a capital improvement trust fund
45	45	created under s. 120.137, excludes any debt service costs associated with an
46	46	environmental remediation project under s. 67.05 (7) (er), and excludes the costs of
47	47	transporting those transfer pupils for whom the school district operating under ch.
48	48	119 does not receive intradistrict transfer aid under s. 121.85 (6) as a result of s.
49	49	121.85 (6) (am). In this paragraph:
50	50	SECTION 2. 121.07 (6) (am) of the statutes is amended to read:
51	51	121.07 (6) (am) In par. (a), for the purpose of calculating state aid paid to a
52	52	school district in the 2006-07 and 2007-08 school years, Xshared costY excludes any
53	53	the amount expended in the previous school year from the school district[s fund
54	54	balance to pay the school district[s unfunded pension liability under the Wisconsin
55	55	Retirement System or to pay debt service for debt issued to refinance the balance of
56	56	the unfunded pension liability if the result of excluding such expenditures is an
57	57	increase in state aid paid to the school district under s. 121.08 levied by a school
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77	77	20 2025 - 2026 Legislature
78	78	SENATE BILL 61
79	79	- 3 - LRB-1974/1
80	80	KMS:skw
81	81	SECTION 2
82	82	district or levied for school purposes in the previous school year that was approved
83	83	by a referendum held under s. 121.91 (3) after the effective date of this paragraph
84	84	.... [LRB inserts date], to exceed the limit under s. 121.91 (2m) by at least
85	85	$50,000,000, unless, in the previous school year, the school district[s equalized
86	86	valuation exceeded the tertiary guaranteed valuation per member.
87	87	SECTION 3. 121.07 (6) (ap) of the statutes is created to read:
88	88	121.07 (6) (ap) In par. (a), Xdebt serviceY excludes debt service on debt
89	89	authorized by a referendum held after the effective date of this paragraph .... [LRB
90	90	inserts date], to borrow at least $50,000,000, unless, in the previous school year, the
91	91	school district[s equalized valuation exceeded the tertiary guaranteed valuation per
92	92	member.
93	93	(END)
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