Madison, WI – Senator Howard Marklein (R-Spring Green) announced today that six bills he authored passed the State Senate.  Two of these bills are now ready for Governor Tony Evers’ signature.

“My bills that we passed today make strong, common sense changes to state law to support taxpayers, help agriculture and incentivize investment in rural broadband,” Marklein said. “All six bills were passed with unanimous, bi-partisan support. I know these improvements will make a difference in the lives of the people I serve.”

The following bills were passed by the State Senate:

Senate Bill (SB) 583 – ATV/UTV Statutory Updates – ATVs and UTVs are becoming increasingly popular.  This bill updates state statues to address the continuing growth of registration numbers and provides solutions necessary to better manage the registration program into the future. It includes safety provisions related to lighting, and after-market accessories that may be added to ATVs and UTVs. The proposal also increases the per mile funding available for summer and winter trail maintenance, and allows funds from the ATV segregated account to be used for trail mapping.

SB 637 – Non-conforming structures in a flood plain – This bill adopts the Federal guidelines when a homeowner seeks to flood proof their home in a flood plain. The bill restores local control over important property decisions about whether to allow homeowners to utilize additional flood proofing options and about whether to allow remodeling of existing, federally-compliant structures.

SB 669 – Agricultural Truck Driver Hours of Service Exception – Commercial truck drivers are subject to hours-of-service regulations that limit the number of hours they may consecutively drive. However, there is a limited exception for drivers who are hauling agricultural commodities such as milk, grain, livestock, or farm supplies within a 150-mile radius. Wisconsin currently allows unlimited driving from March 15 to December 15 each year for planting and harvesting. However, as we experienced in 2019-20, the harvest season extended well past December 15.  This bill would make the exception for short-haul trips within a 150-mile radius year round.

SB 720 – Department of Revenue (DOR) Omnibus – This bill is an omnibus bill that makes a variety of technical updates to state statute to streamline processes for both taxpayers and state government.  The DOR and legislators consulted with tax practitioners and stakeholders to craft a bill that federalizes state statutes to eliminate complexity for taxpayers. This bill also allows self-employed people to deduct their medical care insurance.

Assembly Bill (AB) 310 – Using the best estimate of net new construction numbers when holding a referendum – this bill is an expansion of 2013 Wisconsin Act 310 which allowed Green County to use estimated net new construction numbers when holding a referendum. It allows all local units of government in Wisconsin to use its best estimate of its net new construction numbers, based on the most current data available to it, to write its ballot question.

AB 344 – Rural Broadband Infrastructure Property Tax Exemption – provides an exemption from the telephone company property tax (a state levy on real and tangible property used in providing telecommunication services) for the infrastructure used to provide broadband service to a rural area. Our goal is to encourage expansion of broadband service where it currently is unavailable.

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