State Senate Passes Four Bills Authored by Senator Steve Nass   

      Senator Steve Nass (R-Whitewater) announced today that the Wisconsin State Senate passed four bills that he authored addressing various issues impacting people in the 11^th Senate District.  All four bills will be heading to the Governor for his signature into law. 

“All four bills address issues raised by constituents that will improve state law for the benefit of joint emergency medical services, lake districts, environmental labs seeking state certifications and local boating enthusiasts.  It was great to work on these bills with Representatives Tyler August, Amy Loudenbeck and Cody Horlacher,” Nass said. 

The bills passed by the State Senate are:

 

AB 472 – Fee Exception for Joint Emergency Medical Services Districts (EMS)

-Increases options for local communities to provide Emergency Medical Services (EMS) by expanding the joint fire department fee exception to apply to joint emergency medical services districts as well. 

-The exception caps the allowable increases that can be authorized by participating municipalities.  It is limited to the percentage change in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) plus 2 percent relative to the total charges assessed by a joint EMS district the previous year.  The governing body of each municipality served by the joint district must approve utilizing the fee exception.

 

SB 559 – Lake District Bid Threshold Increase

-Raises the bid threshold requirement from $2,500 to $10,000 for public lake districts.   It has not been adjusted since 1978, more than 40 years ago.  The amount matches other disclosure requirements for accounting expense itemization.

 

AB 704 – Operation of Motorboat by a Minor

-Modifies existing state law to address inconsistencies related to the operation of motorboats by minors.  These issues were raised by the Lake Geneva Water Safety Patrol. 

-The bill requires a parent, guardian, or adult supervising a minor operating a motorboat to hold a valid boating safety certificate honored by the DNR, or be grandfathered (born before January 1, 1989).

-Allows anyone 16 years or older to operate a boat without having a boating safety certificate if accompanied by a person who holds a boating safety certificate, which is consistent with how current law treats 10-15 year olds.

 

SB 700 – Laboratory Accreditation Fee Schedule

-Requested by the DNR and operators of environmental laboratories.  The issue was discovered as part of the state administrative rules review process. 

-Modifies state law to allow the DNR to utilize a detailed formula to establish a certification fee schedule based on actual costs of certifying laboratories.  The DNR is allowed to only recover the costs of administering the laboratory certification program required for laboratories that complete environmental testing in Wisconsin.