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Filed Under: Government Law
Changes to Municipal Authority to Restrict Bow Hunting
CHANGES TO MUNICIPAL AUTHORITY TO RESTRICT BOW HUNTING 2013 Wisconsin Act 71 alters municipal authority to regulate bow hunting as outlined in section 29.038, Wis. Stats. The Act does not modify the portion of the current statute that allows municipalities to prohibit hunting, fishing or trapping on property owned by the municipality. However, the Act […]
Filed Under: Environmental Law Government Law
Got Brownfields? The State has grants to help.
Let’s say you have property in an area that is the new up and coming development area in your municipality. The property has been used for a number of years for industrial purposes. It would make a lot of sense and increase the value of the property to develop the property to a higher better […]
Filed Under: Government Law
Federal Court of Appeals Upholds Act 10
On Friday, January 18, the federal 7th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the constitutionality of Act 10 in its entirety. The decision overturns a decision issued in March of 2012 by the United States District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin. The lower court had struck down Act 10’s annual union recertification election requirement […]
Filed Under: Government Law
Act 10 Update
On Friday, September 14, the long running saga surrounding Acts 10 and 32 took another turn as a Dane County Circuit Court judge ruled that many provisions of the acts are unconstitutional and, therefore, “null and void.” Acts 10 and 32 treat represented and non-represented employees differently in many respects. For example, wage increases for […]
Filed Under: Government Law
Parts of Collective Bargaining Legislation Struck Down
On Friday, March 30, 2012, the United States District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin struck down two key provisions of Wisconsin’s new public sector collective bargaining law. Importantly, however, the Court left in place all of the bargaining restrictions, thus severely limiting what a Union can ask to bargain over. [FN1] First, the […]
Filed Under: Government Law
Changes May Be Necessary to Local Zoning Rules Regarding Wireless Facilities
As part of the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2011, recently passed by Congress and signed into law by President Obama, municipalities are required to approve certain applications for modification of “an existing wireless tower or base station.” In part, the law supersedes Section 332(c)(7) of the Telecommunications Act, which previously […]
Filed Under: Employment and Labor Law Government Law
WERC Guidance on Budget Bill’s Health Insurance “Plan Design” Collective Bargaining Restrictions
In a closely watched case, a divided Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission (WERC) held that a police association’s attempt to bargain over a health insurance plan’s deductibles was prohibited under language included in the new Budget Bill. The newly-created Wis. Stat. § 111.70(4)(mc)6 prohibits bargaining over “the design and selection of health care coverage plans” and […]
Filed Under: Environmental Law Government Law
New DNR Permits for Application of Pesticides To or Near Waterways
On October 31, 2011 the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) issued general permits covering the application of pesticides to or near waters of the State under the Clean Water Act. REASON FOR NEW REQUIREMENTS In the past, this application of pesticides near or in water had been exempt from the Clean Water Act regulation. These […]
Filed Under: Employment and Labor Law Government Law
Understanding the Impact of the WRS Changes
While it’s been only a couple of months since the Budget Repair Bill and the State Budget became law, there is already an important arbitration decision on police contributions to the Wisconsin Retirement System (WRS) and some changes to the WRS employee categories. This short report addresses these issues and ends with a short word […]
Filed Under: Business Law
Exempt from Overtime? Think Twice.
Salaried employees don’t get paid overtime, right? Not necessarily. Paying employees on a salary basis is not sufficient to provide a legal exemption from having to pay overtime. This Short Report provides a general overview of the main categories of overtime exemptions under state and federal law and an explanation of the consequences of misclassifying […]
Filed Under: Employment and Labor Law
The Budget and Budget Repair Bills
Act 10, commonly referred to as the Budget Repair Bill, finally became effective on June 29, 2011. Combined with certain provisions of Act 32, the state Budget Bill, it is truly a new day for public sector labor relations in Wisconsin. While it is impossible to address all of the issues raised by the legislation […]
Filed Under: Government Law
The Budget Repair Bill
Following yesterday’s dramatic developments in the State Senate, the Legislature appears poised to pass Special Session SB 11/AB 11, commonly referred to as the Budget Repair Bill. As you are all undoubtedly aware, the legislation dramatically impacts public sector labor relations in Wisconsin. While it is impossible to respond to all of the issues raised […]
Filed Under: Trusts and Estates
Tax Law Update
The Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010 (2010 Act), signed into law on December 17, 2010, has changed the law relating to estate and gift taxes. Over the past ten years, due to an earlier change in the tax law, the estate tax exemption was substantially increased and the tax […]
Filed Under: Government Law
Subdivision Platting Requirements Changed
The Wisconsin Legislature recently made a number of changes to the subdivision platting requirements contained in Chapter 236 of the Wisconsin Statutes, including limiting a municipality’s authority to deviate from time limits and other requirements contained in the statutes. See 2009 Wisconsin Act 376. Specifically, Act 376 amended section 236.45(2)(ac) to provide that a local […]
Filed Under: Business Law
Health Care Reform Act Notices Update—Insurers and Timing
Our last Short Report addressing notices that group health plans are required to provide under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) prompted the following questions from a couple of our readers: What should they do if they learn that their insurer intends to provide some or all of the required notices—do they have […]
Filed Under: Business Law
Notices Required by the Health Care Reform Act
Under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), group health plans or issuers of insurance coverage (typically, insurers) must provide certain notices to health plan participants, and in some cases, to all employees. For most plans—those that are calendar year plans—these obligations must be met on or before January 1, 2011. Employer Obligations What […]
Filed Under: Business Law
Wisconsin Fair Employment Act Expanded To Provide Additional Protection To Employees
Recently enacted legislation provides additional protection to employees under the Wisconsin Fair Employment Act. The new law prohibits discrimination against an employee who declines to attend an employer-sponsored meeting or participate in any communication with an employer if the primary purpose of the meeting or communication is to convey opinions about religious or political matters. […]
Filed Under: Business Law Employment and Labor Law
Updating Handbooks to Include Break Time for Nursing Mothers
Most employers are aware that federal law now requires them to provide a reasonable amount of unpaid break time to a nursing mother to express milk. Many, however, have yet to amend their handbooks to include a policy reflecting the federal law. This simple step should be done to ensure that employees are on notice […]
Filed Under: Government Law
Low Speed Vehicles on Highways
A bill signed into law on March 12, 2010 amends the law governing operation of Low-Speed Vehicles (previously “Neighborhood Electric Vehicles”) on certain highways, and gives municipalities some authority over this issue. The new law redefines Neighborhood Electric Vehicles as Low-Speed Vehicles (LSVs), conforming to the federal motor vehicle safety standards’ terminology and definition. It […]
Filed Under: Government Law
Changes to TID Administrative Procedures
A new law signed March 12, 2010 changes several administrative procedures that apply to tax incremental districts (TIDs), including how the 12 percent test is calculated. Under the new law, to determine whether a TID’s taxable property plus the value increment of all existing TIDs in a city or village does not exceed 12 percent […]
