2021-2022 Legislative Session Recap

Bills Authored by Senator Cowles that Became Law

  • Act 66 (Senate Bill 70, authored with Rep. Kerkman): Wisconsin has a strong tradition of accountability and transparency in state government, and recent changes have brought that into the modern era. This legislation establishes a Tax Accountability Dashboard as the next step in this ongoing effort. Posted online, the Dashboard is geared towards ensuring residents can easily understand where tax dollars are collected and how these funds are spent through accessible and clear charts and graphics. 
  • Act 223 (Assembly Bill 727, authored with Rep. Kitchens and others): This legislation provides more opportunities for farmers to lead the solutions of tomorrow by helping them implement new land and water conservation strategies that store more nutrients in soil and prevent leaching and runoff. No single approach can solve our water quality problems, but concerted efforts such as Act 223 will have a noticeable impact for the state’s producers, rural residents, and those who enjoy recreating on Wisconsin waters. 
  • Act 116 (Senate Bill 71, authored with Rep. Steffen): Act 116 establishes timelines and protocols for nurses and members of law enforcement that will prevent a future testing backlog of sexual assault kits, ensure a proper chain of evidence, and preserve these kits throughout the statute of limitations. Sexual assault has historically been a notoriously underreported crime. Providing clarity and certainty to survivors with the evidence collected may lead to more survivors seeking justice and more successful prosecutions. 
  • Act 77 (Senate Bill 91, authored with Reps. Oldenburg and Steineke and Sen. Bewley): Better preparation for flooding events today can help to prevent millions of dollars in damages and hardship for thousands of residents and businesses tomorrow. This legislation simply ensures that, as a state, we’re promoting flooding preparedness through conservation by streamlining the permitting process for good actors to complete hydrologic restoration projects that are in our community’s best interest. 
  • Act 173 (Senate Bill 664, authored with Reps. Kitchens and Tusler): Act 173 provides the funding for dozens of water-related infrastructure projects in the State Parks System, many of which are decades-old. Combined with Cowles’ efforts in 2017 and 2019, more than $15 million has been dedicated to water and wastewater infrastructure projects meant to improve visitor experiences, promote parks-based tourism, and protect the health and safety of millions of State Park visitors for decades to come. 
  • Act 32 (Senate Bill 51, authored with Rep. Kitchens): Recognizing changes in local print media, this legislation helps to bring government transparency into the modern era by adapting the qualifications for printing legal notices to match products on the market along with requiring that notices will be posted online. With these changes, we can help to ensure that local government remains accountable and that residents have an easier time learning what their local government representatives are doing. 
  • Act 149 (Senate Bill 518, authored with Reps. Armstrong and Tittl): Environmental Remediation Tax Incremental Districts are a unique tool that allow cities and villages to partner with developers to lower the cost of soil and water cleanups on blighted parcels. By amending ERTID statutes to remove a barrier that prevented its use to address in-building contaminants such as asbestos or lead, we created more opportunities to convert rundown eyesores into assets to the community and local economy. 
  • Act 166 (Senate Bill 561, authored with Rep. Kitchens): Building off the success of 2019 Act 168, this legislation establishes the right of condo owners to access records about the financial standing of their condo association – an organization which they fund. By providing this ability, we can help to resolve disputes before they arise by providing more accountability and transparency in association decisions and ensuring that Wisconsin condo owners have their basic property rights protected. 
  • Act 175 (Senate Bill 692, authored with Rep. Thiesfeldt): Looking to improve on the already-successful PACE Wisconsin, the changes in Act 175 allow us to attach private financing for more beneficial projects to the property, not the person, helping to close more financing gaps and promote more cost-saving energy efficiency and alternative energy improvements, better preparation for severe weather events, and more EV charging station infrastructure which drives consumers to local establishments. 
  • Act 202 (Senate Bill 969, authored with Rep. Steineke): The Oneida Nation has a long history of bravery and valor in service to the United States that dates back centuries and continues through today, and unfortunately some Oneida Nation veterans have suffered injury in service to their two flags and one home. Act 202 simply ensures that the Oneida Nation may honor their status as a Purple Heart Reservation by removing a statutory hurdle that prevented sign placement along state highways.
  • Act 86 (Assembly Bill 302, authored with Rep. VanderMeer and Sen. Taylor): With unclear regulations in prior law resulting in costly and lengthy approval processes for water utilities to undergo common water meter replacement projects, Act 86 makes a simple change to exempt water meter projects from needing PSC approval. This common-sense change will save water utilities thousands of dollars and months’ worth of time for each meter project by removing this unnecessary rubber stamp. 
  • Act 126 (Senate Bill 488, authored with Rep. Spiros): In 2008, Wisconsin required many water utilities to implement water supply service area plans by 2025. With the deadline looming, utility managers were getting concerned that the impact of these requirements could create conflicting orders and burdensome requirements. Act 126 relaxes the red tape on local water utilities by limiting plan approvals, retaining consistency with existing regulatory oversight, and providing additional flexibilities in these plans.
  • Act 85 (Assembly Bill 300, authored with Rep. Thiesfeldt and Sen. Taylor): In recent years, some water utilities that have sought to begin a construction project or a Lead Service Line Replacement Program have experienced lengthy delays in having their applications addressed. Act 85 looks to put a stop to unnecessary delays and provide water utilities with certainty that their applications receive the attention they deserve by requiring that the PSC act on applications in a specified, timely manner.
  • Act 112 (Senate Bill 489, authored with Rep. Kitchens): The amount of planning needed for major water and wastewater utility projects is already demanding. Adding extra hoops to jump through to receive state financing creates more unnecessary burdens and lengthens the timeline for projects that are crucial for the continued delivery of clean water. Act 112 helps to remove some of the bureaucratic hurdles from the Environmental Improvement Fund to create a less burdensome process for local utilities.  
  • Act 79 (Senate Bill 248, authored with Rep. Mursau and Sen. Smith): Over 325 million pounds of electronic waste were collected through E-Cycle Wisconsin in its first ten-years. In that time we’ve also seen the need for some statutory improvements. This legislation makes a series of changes that will help our electronics recycling program function better, provide stakeholders with more clarity, create a grant program to improve rural collections, and collect valuable information without more regulatory burdens. 
  • Act 150 (Senate Bill 524, authored with Rep. Steffen): Previously, only an adoptee could request to learn more about their biological parents through the state’s Adoption Records Search Program. But with the growing interest in genealogy research, descendants of the adoptee often have an interest in tracing back their lineage. Act 150 allows the adult child of an adoptee to access the original birth certificate and information about their parent’s birth parents, but only if all three elder parties are deceased. 
  • Act 58 (Senate Bill 156, authored with Rep. Ramthun, and included in the Budget): Responding to requests from fire departments and building on 2019 Act 101, this legislation commits $1 million towards the collection and safe disposal of unused and unwanted PFAS-containing firefighting foam from Wisconsin firehouses. This helps to save local governments the time and expense of this complex disposal and helps to prevent inadvertent discharges to the environment or exposure to firefighters. 
  • Act 27 (Senate Bill 64, authored with Reps. Kitchens and Mursau): This legislation expands opportunities and offers the DNR discretion to determine how to best utilize revenues generated from property sales. By providing the DNR with the ability to use these funds for property development, easement purchase or fee title property acquisition, we can ensure those limited funds are put to their highest and best use. This change will benefit both state government and those who enjoy public lands. 
  • Act 170 (Senate Bill 606, authored with Rep. Dallman): The State of Wisconsin should not be operating loan programs without abundant transparency and clear accountability. Act 170 is the next step in an ongoing mission to ensure accountability and transparency across state government by creating reporting and disclosure requirements on a little-known and barely reported state loan program run by the Department of Transportation and referred to as the Transportation Infrastructure Bank.