This Week in the Legislature: Week of May 18, 2015  

2015-17 State Biennial Budget
The Joint Committee on Finance (JCF) met on Tuesday and Thursday last week. Action was taken on the following items:
*    Emergency detention procedures: Modified current law to require the completion of a crisis assessment prior to an emergency detention. Specified that the crisis assessment be completed by a physician with a residency completed in psychiatry, a licensed psychologist, or a mental health professional as determined by the Department of Health Services (DHS). The JCF also clarified that the crisis assessment may be performed in person or through the phone or telemedicine technology and approved $1,500,000 in one-time funding in FY 16 for DHS to distribute as grants to counties for mental health crisis services.
*    Mental health funding consolidation: Required the Department of Health Services to consult with counties and mental health stakeholders before developing a method for distributing community mental health services funding in 2016 and beyond.
*    Office of Children's Mental Health: Removed the Governor's language to place the Office of Children's Mental Health and its director under the Secretary of DHS as opposed to current law vesting appointment authority with the Governor.
*    Child support: Authorized the Department of Children and Families (DCF) to terminate child support and spousal maintenance services to an individual if there is no longer a current child support or maintenance order and the arrearage is either less than $500 or unenforceable.
*    County land conservation staffing and cost sharing grants: Added $675,000 annually in addition to the Governor's proposed funding level.
*    Property tax bill disclosure: Deleted the Governor's recommendation and instead require property tax bills to include a line showing the amount of non-recurring referenda that were passed during the prior calendar year.
*    Special charges: Specified that delinquent utility, sidewalk, and sewerage bills could no longer be placed on the property tax bill as a "special tax".
*    Levy limit carryforward: Adopted a budget amendment allowing counties to carryover up to 5% of unused levy authority. A county could only use the 5% carryover if they do so in a year when their total outstanding debt did not increase from the prior year. The current law 1.5% adjustment also remains.
*    Public bidding requirements: Adopted a budget amendment that would increase the threshold triggering a competitive bid from $25,000 to $100,000.
*    Service level adjustments: Adopted a budget amendment that would allow half the savings from a service transfer to be divided between the collaborating local governments to be retained as additional levy limit authority. Under current law, when one local government transfers responsibility for a service to another local government, a levy limit adjustment must be made.  This adjustment is 1 for 1, meaning the levy limit adjustment for the local government providing a new service must be completely offset by a reduction in the other local government's levy limit.

JFC This Week
The committee is scheduled to meet twice this week - Tuesday and Thursday - when it will take up the following topics of interest to counties:
*    Drug testing and screening of public assistance and unemployment insurance applicants.
*    Daily rates charged to counties for placements in juvenile correctional institutions (JCIs), as well as the corrective sanctions program.
*    Elimination of the daily add-on rate for JCIs.
*    Transfer of community-based juvenile delinquency-related services to DCF.
*    Community corrections - probation and parole.
*    General transportation aids.
*    Mass transit operating assistance.
*    Elderly and disabled capital assistance program.
*    Transportation facilities economic assistance and development program.
*    Harbor assistance program.
*    Transportation financing options.
View WCA's memos to the JCF on these issues here.

Budget Webinars
The WCA Government Affairs Team is hosting weekly budget webinars on Mondays during state budget deliberations. An email with additional detail and registration information is sent early each week. The deadline for registering for each webinar is 8:00 a.m. on the day of the webinar and note that each week the link to join is different.

To register for the May 26 webinar, click here. (Note due to the Memorial Day holiday it will be held Tuesday, May 26 at 9:00 a.m.)

Webinars are recorded each week and placed on the WCA website under Legislative>State Budget>2015-2017 State Budget>WCA Webinars shortly after the conclusion of each webinar.  View the Monday, May 18 webinar here.

Committee Hearings for the Week of May 18, 2015
Note: The Committee hearings and bills listed below reflect action on legislation impacting county government.  See a complete listing of weekly hearings here.

Tuesday, May 19, 2015
Assembly Committee on Campaigns and Elections, 10:00 a.m.
Assembly Bill 189 - authorizing Wisconsin to enter into agreements to share information related to the registration and voting of electors. WCA is monitoring this bill.

Wednesday, May 20, 2015
Senate Committee on Economic Development and Commerce, 10:00 a.m.
Assembly Bill 45 - authorizing towns to participate in multijurisdictional tax incremental financing districts. WCA is monitoring this bill.

Senate Committee on Health and Human Services, 10:30 a.m.
Senate Bill 143 - ambulance staffing by emergency medical technicians and first responders. WCA is monitoring this bill.

For a listing of all bills impacting county government and WCA's positions on those bills, please visit the WCA website here

WCA Upcoming Meetings
For a complete listing of upcoming WCA meetings, please click here.

Questions? Contact Our Government Affairs Team  
If you have any questions about anything happening at the state level, please feel free to contact any member of the WCA Government Affairs Team at 866.404.2700 or via email:

Kyle Christianson - Director of Government Affairs 
Sarah Diedrick-Kasdorf - Deputy Director of Government Affairs 
David Callender - Government Affairs Associate 
Daniel Bahr - Government Affairs Associate 
 
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