Rep. Lori Palmeri

Maddy summaryAB 1049 strengthens residents' rights in mobile or manufactured home communities by requiring owners to provide 12 months' notice before closing and 14 days' notice for sales or foreclosure, while granting residents a 90-day window to form a group (with 51% approval) to purchase the community. The bill also creates tax incentives for owners by excluding income from sales to resident groups from taxable income for years after 2025. Additionally, it establishes new operational standards, including annual inspections, defined maintenance responsibilities (like roads and utilities), and mandatory evacuation plans for emergencies. These changes directly affect mobile home community owners and residents in the state.

Maddy summaryAB 1050 repeals restrictions that previously limited local governments' ability to regulate short-term residential rentals (like Airbnb). It removes specific provisions that capped the number of days a property could be rented annually and eliminated other barriers to local rulemaking. This bill directly affects cities, towns, and counties (political subdivisions), allowing them to establish their own rules for short-term rentals without these state-imposed limits. The key change is enabling local governments to create comprehensive regulations for short-term rental operations without state-mandated restrictions.

Maddy summaryAJR 128 is a symbolic joint resolution congratulating the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh women’s volleyball team for winning the 2025 NCAA Division III National Championship. It directly recognizes the team, coaches, and university community for their undefeated tournament performance (6-0, no sets dropped), 34-3 overall record, and academic achievements. The resolution formally expresses the Wisconsin Legislature’s praise for their athletic excellence, sportsmanship, and academic dedication, extending gratitude to the university for bringing pride to Oshkosh, the Fox Valley region, and Wisconsin. As a non-binding resolution, it has no policy impact beyond ceremonial recognition.

Maddy summaryAB 816 creates the Office of the Public Affairs Network within Wisconsin's Department of Administration to provide live, unedited video and audio coverage of state government proceedings - including legislative sessions, committee meetings, court proceedings, and related public events - through a permanent online network. The bill establishes a Public Affairs Network Board (with members including the governor, legislative leaders, and public appointees) to oversee the office, which must operate strictly nonpartisanly and maintain a free, unrestricted digital archive of all covered proceedings. The legislation appropriates $2 million annually for the office's operations and includes provisions to acquire WisconsinEye's existing digital archives and equipment to transition the network to state management. This directly affects state government operations and provides the public with free, real-time access to unedited coverage of official proceedings without registration requirements.

Maddy summaryAB 875 creates a new funding line for county conservation staff focused on climate change resiliency. It directly affects counties that have approved land and water conservation plans and choose to allocate matching funds. The bill adds "climate change personnel" as a specific budget item under soil and water management, requiring counties to specifically request funding for these roles in their annual grant applications to the Department of Agriculture. This changes how counties can use state grants by mandating explicit requests for climate-focused staff positions within their conservation planning process. The bill appropriates $1.8 million for the 2026-27 fiscal year for this purpose.

Maddy summaryAB 862 creates a state grant program to help local governments (counties, cities, towns, and regional planning commissions) cover the full cost of including climate change considerations in specific planning documents. The bill requires these local governments to consider climate change effects in comprehensive plans, community health improvement plans, and hazard mitigation plans to the extent practicable. Funding for the grants comes from a new state appropriation, with the department determining the grant amount based on the cost of climate considerations for each plan.

Maddy summaryAB 859 adjusts the state reimbursement rate for special education and school-age parent program costs. It sets the reimbursement rate at 42% of eligible costs for the 2025-26 school year, increasing to 45% for the 2026-27 school year and all subsequent years. The bill applies to costs covered under sections 115.88(1m)-(3), (6), (8), 115.93, and 118.255(4), which include services for students in hospitals, convalescent homes, and school programs. This change directly affects school districts and programs providing these services by altering the state's financial contribution toward their expenses. The bill amends statutes to ensure state funds are distributed according to these revised percentages.

Maddy summaryAB 857 creates a climate change scholarship program funding $5 million annually for Wisconsin students enrolled in climate-related academic programs at eligible colleges and universities (including UW System, technical colleges, tribal colleges, or private nonprofits). It requires scholarships to be split equally between merit-based and need-based awards, with a $5,000 annual limit per student. The program is funded through a dedicated appropriation in the state budget, administered by the Higher Educational Aids Board. Students with unresolved child support liens may be excluded unless they provide approved payment plans.

Maddy summaryAB 858 requires Wisconsin's Public Service Commission to consider a minimum "social cost of carbon" of $185 per metric ton of CO2 emissions when reviewing energy certificates. It mandates that costs for expanding fossil fuel infrastructure can only be recovered from customers who directly benefit from that infrastructure, and prohibits passing transition costs to renewable energy onto ratepayers. The bill directly affects utilities seeking infrastructure investments and residential/commercial electricity customers paying rates. Key provisions ensure fossil fuel expansion costs are tied to specific beneficiaries while shielding customers from transition expenses during the shift to renewables.

Maddy summaryAB 853 allocates $200,000 annually for the 2025-26 and 2026-27 fiscal years to fund two full-time research positions at the University of Wisconsin-Madison focused on agriculture and climate change. The positions must be filled using existing vacant research roles (not creating new ones), assigned to the university's extension division, and contribute to increasing the total number of research positions at UW-Madison. The bill modifies the state budget to add this funding under existing appropriations for the University of Wisconsin System. It does not create new positions but directs existing resources toward climate science research in agriculture through UW-Madison's extension program.