CapitalSky
2015-16, No. 22
June 1

In this Issue:


Lack of Transportation Deal Stalls JFC's Work on Budget

Act 274 Guidance now Available

Recently Introduced Legislation

Hearings on Municipal Bills

League of Wisconsin Municipalities
 
Ph:  (608) 267-2380
       (800) 991-5502


 www.lwm-info.org  
 
Legislative Bulletin Archive 
 
Lack of Transportation Deal Stalls Joint Finance Committee's Work on State Budget 

 

The co-chairs for the Joint Finance Committee announced Friday that the committee would not reconvene to finish the final pieces of the state budget until a deal has been worked out on transportation funding. The co-chairs and legislative leaders hope to finalize a transportation deal sometime this week. 

In addition to transportation, the other major outstanding items are general fund taxes, including the proposed cap on the historic preservation tax credit, and the Milwaukee Bucks arena. 

Legislative leaders have been struggling to come up with a plan on transportation funding for months. The Governor has voiced opposition to any gas tax or registration fee increases absent tax cuts in other areas. The Legislature is uncomfortable with the amount of borrowing the Governor has proposed as part of his transportation budget. 

The League is working with the Transportation Investment Coalition to push the Legislature towards making revenue increases. Stay tuned for action alerts on transportation funding and other topics that might surface as part of the budget writing process later this week.

What's Next?  Once the Joint Finance Committee wraps up its work, the committee's version of the state budget will be presented as a substitute amendment to both houses of the Legislature. After passage by both houses, the budget bill will be sent to the Governor for his signature and/or line item vetoes. The state's fiscal year ends June 30th.  The Legislature and the Governor want the budget enacted by that date at the latest.  
Joint Finance Committee's Omnibus DNR Motion Includes Bow Hunting Preemption and Changes to Shoreland Zoning


Last Friday, the Joint Finance Committee passed along party lines an omnibus DNR motion amending the Governor's budget bill.  The 12 page motion contained a couple of provisions affecting municipalities.  One item clarifies that if a municipality currently has in effect a restriction prohibiting a person from hunting with a bow and arrow or cross bow within the municipality, the restriction may not be enforced.  Legislation passed last session prohibited, with certain exceptions, a municipality from enacting an ordinance banning hunting with a bow and arrow or crossbow within the community.   The budget motion invalidates any municipal ordinances adopted prior to 2014 that prohibit bow hunting and crossbow hunting.    

 

Another provision in the omnibus DNR motion makes a series of changes to the shoreland zoning laws to generally clarify that local ordinances can be no more restrictive than what's in state statute.
The motion also provides county and municipal shoreland zoning ordinances, or wetland zoning ordinances do not apply to lands adjacent to artificially constructed drainage ditches, ponds or stormwater retention basins that are not hydrologically connected to a natural navigable body of water.  


Read the full DNR omnibus motion here.

Recently Introduced Legislation

No bills affecting municipalities were introduced last week.    
Hearings on Municipal Bills 

No public hearings on municipal bills are scheduled for this week.