AB 71

Under current law, the Board of Commissioners of Public Lands (BCPL) may

invest moneys in the common school fund, the normal school fund, the university

fund, and the agricultural college fund in certain specified investments. These

include bonds or notes of the United States; bonds issued by this state or the

University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics Authority; and bonds issued by a

town, village, city, county, or school district or certain other special districts in the

state.

Current law also authorizes BCPL to invest moneys in the purchase of land in

this state, but establishes certain conditions on the purchase of this land for

investment purposes. Current law provides that, if the land at the time of purchase

was subject to assessment or levy of a real property tax, BCPL must make annual

payments in lieu of property taxes to the appropriate local governmental unit in an

amount equal to property taxes levied on the land in the year prior to the year in

which BCPL purchased the land. This bill eliminates BCPL's authority to purchase

land.

Current law authorizes the state to incur public debt for certain conservation

activities under the Warren Knowles-Gaylord Nelson Stewardship 2000 Program

(stewardship program), which is administered by the Department of Natural

Resources (DNR). The state may incur this debt to acquire land for the state for

conservation purposes and for property development activities and may award

grants or state aid to certain local governmental units and nonprofit conservation

organizations to acquire lands for these purposes. Current law provides that each

city, village, or town (municipality) and each county may adopt a nonbinding

resolution supporting or opposing the proposed acquisition of land funded under the

stewardship program. This bill prohibits DNR from acquiring any land under the

stewardship program without the prior approval of the governing body of each city,

village, town, and county in which any of the land is located.

Currently, DNR annually pays a municipality where land purchased by DNR

is located an amount based on the lesser of the purchase price or the assessed value

of the land in the year before the year in which DNR purchased the land. The bill

provides that DNR will not make these payments for land it purchases after June 30,

2015.