Sen. Cory Tomczyk

Maddy summarySJR 4 proposes a constitutional amendment to protect religious gatherings during emergencies. It would amend the state constitution to prohibit state or local governments from closing places of worship or banning gatherings there during a declared state of emergency, including public health crises. This directly affects religious organizations and government entities with emergency authority. The amendment requires voter approval in the November 2026 election, with the ballot question asking if the constitution should be changed to prevent closures of places of worship during emergencies. It is a proposed constitutional change, not a law.

Maddy summarySJR 11 proposes a constitutional amendment to limit a governor's partial veto power over appropriation bills. It would restrict the governor to only rejecting entire bill sections that can stand alone as complete, workable laws, rather than allowing them to modify individual words or combine parts of sentences within a section. This change specifically affects how governors can amend or reject budget-related legislation during the approval process. The amendment aims to prevent governors from creating "new words" or "new sentences" by picking and choosing parts of existing bill language.

Maddy summarySB 621 creates designated "structured camping facilities" on public lands (excluding parks and fairgrounds) for temporary homeless housing, directly affecting homeless individuals and local governments managing public property. It requires state or local approval to designate sites, mandates mental health/substance use evaluations for residency, and establishes waiting lists when facilities are full. Unauthorized camping on public lands not designated as such becomes a Class C misdemeanor (with a warning for first offenses), while those on waiting lists or using approved facilities cannot be penalized. The bill also requires tracking occupancy and service referrals at each facility.

Maddy summarySB 213 creates two new tax credits for rail infrastructure in Wisconsin: a 50% credit for modernization (e.g., new track, switches, rehabilitation) and a 50% credit for maintenance (e.g., repairs, labor, safety improvements). It directly affects rail infrastructure owners or operators certified by the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation under Section 238.309. The modernization credit caps at $2 million annually per claimant, while the maintenance credit limits to $5,000 per mile of track. Credits can be transferred to other taxpayers or carried forward for up to five years if not fully used in the claim year.

Maddy summarySB 284 defines key terms for a future sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) tax credit program. It specifies that "renewable biomass" includes wood waste, crop residues, dairy byproducts, and other organic agricultural waste, and defines "sustainable aviation fuel" as aviation fuel derived from this biomass and meeting U.S. Department of Energy standards. The bill replaces outdated terms like "energy crops" with "renewable biomass" throughout the tax credit framework. This definitional bill enables future tax credits for SAF producers but does not establish the credit amount or implementation details. (Note: The bill is still pending scheduling as of the latest action on 2025-11-06.)

Maddy summarySB 216 increases local government competitive bidding thresholds for public works contracts. It raises the bidding threshold from $25,000 to $50,000 and the notice threshold from $5,000 to $10,000 for general public contracts. For highway contracts, it sets a bidding threshold of $25,000 and a notice threshold of $5,000. The bill also establishes automatic annual inflation adjustments to these thresholds using the U.S. consumer price index, rounded to the nearest $1,000, every five years. This affects towns and counties when contracting for public construction, repairs, or improvements.

Maddy summarySB 528 modifies how airports funded partly with federal money can contract for construction. It allows the state transportation secretary to use "construction manager at risk" contracts (where the contractor guarantees a maximum price) for eligible airport projects, without selecting solely based on lowest price. This applies specifically to "qualified projects" like airport structures or improvements, when federal rules permit it. The bill creates an exception to standard state procurement laws for these federally funded airport contracts.

Maddy summarySB 451 requires school districts to obtain certification from the Department of Public Instruction that they have submitted all required financial reports before adopting resolutions to exceed revenue limits through bonds or budget adjustments. This applies to school boards seeking to raise funds beyond established limits for capital projects (bonds) or budget overages. The bill mandates that districts must be certified compliant with financial reporting requirements (under statutes 119.44(1), 120.08, 120.14, and 121.05) at least 14 days prior to adopting such resolutions. If districts adopt resolutions without this certification, both the resolution and any subsequent referendum would be void. The bill directly affects school districts planning to exceed revenue limits for capital projects or budget adjustments.

Maddy summarySB 599 allows municipal solid waste facilities that received loans under Wisconsin's clean water fund program (s. 281.58) to retain a portion of environmental repair fees collected from waste generators. Specifically, these facilities may keep fees equal to the total principal and interest owed on their loan while the loan remains in repayment. This provision modifies existing fee collection rules (statute 289.67) by creating an exception for facilities using clean water fund loans. The change directly affects municipal waste facilities that have borrowed for wastewater infrastructure, enabling them to offset loan repayment costs through retained fees. The bill does not alter general fee collection requirements for other facilities.

Maddy summarySB 205 requires clear, standardized information to be provided to voters about statewide constitutional amendments and referendums. It mandates a "complete state referendum disclosure notice" including the referendum date, full ballot text, plain-language summaries of current law, and explanations of "yes/no" vote effects - all fitting on one page (8.5x11", 12pt font). This notice must be posted with sample ballots, published online by elections commissions for 30 days before voting, and included with absentee ballots. The bill directly affects voters in statewide referendums by ensuring they receive consistent, accessible information before casting ballots.