AB 343

This bill directs the Wisconsin Technical College System (WTCS) Board to

award grants to technical college districts for programs that assist in reducing

unemployment. To be eligible for a grant, a technical college district must meet

certain eligibility criteria relating to the unemployment rate of areas within the

district or recent increases in the unemployment rate of areas within the district.

Grants are available for three specified purposes:

1. To recruit, enroll, instruct, provide support services to, and pay the tuition

and fees of dislocated workers who enroll in the district. A dislocated worker is a

person who has been laid off or terminated from employment and meets certain

additional criteria; a person who was self-employed but is currently unemployed as

a result of economic conditions or natural disasters; or a displaced homemaker.

2. To recruit, enroll, instruct, and provide support services to adults who enroll

in the district in a program leading to a certificate of general educational

development (commonly referred to as a GED) or a high school equivalency diploma.

3. To expand existing capacity or create capacity in district programs for which

there are student waiting lists or that address projected workforce needs in the

district.

The bill authorizes the WTCS Board to modify the grant eligibility criteria and

the purposes for which grants may be awarded in order to ensure the eligibility of

district boards for grants awarded by the federal government for programs that

improve completion rates and train workers for skilled occupations.

The bill directs the WTCS Board to give preference in awarding grants to

programs that serve persons who reside in areas with the highest unemployment

rates. The board must also submit annual reports to the governor and to the

legislature regarding the programs that have been awarded grants.

Under current law, there are five income tax brackets for single individuals,

certain fiduciaries, heads of households, and married persons. The brackets are

indexed for inflation. The rate of taxation under current law for the lowest bracket

for single individuals, certain fiduciaries, heads of households, and married persons

is 4.6 percent of taxable income; the rate for the second bracket is 6.15 percent; the

rate for the third bracket is 6.5 percent; the rate for the fourth bracket is 6.75 percent;

and the rate for the highest bracket, which was created in the 2009-11 biennial

budget act,

2009 Wisconsin Act 28

, is 7.75 percent.

For taxable year 2011, the highest bracket applies to taxable income exceeding

$224,210 for single individuals, certain fiduciaries, and heads of households. For

married persons, the highest current bracket applies to taxable income exceeding

$298,940 for joint filers and $149,470 for separate filers.

For taxable year 2012 and thereafter, this bill creates a sixth bracket with a