The Southeastern Wisconsin Fox River Commission for the Illinois Fox River basin

Under current law, the commission has under its jurisdiction Waukesha and Racine counties, the two counties covered by the planning area, and eight cities, villages, and towns adjacent to the Fox River system within those counties (river municipalities).

The commission is governed by a board of commissioners consisting of the county executives of Waukesha and Racine counties or their designees, the mayors, village presidents, or town board chairpersons of each river municipality or their designees, two residents of the town of Vernon, two residents of the town of Waterford, one resident of the village of Big Bend, a nonvoting representative of the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission (SWRPC), and a nonvoting representative of the Department of Natural Resources (DNR).

This bill extends the planning area through Kenosha County to the Wisconsin-Illinois border and designates six cities, villages, and towns in Kenosha County as river municipalities. The bill designates the Kenosha county executive and the mayors, village presidents, and town board chairpersons of the new river municipalities, or their designees, to the board of commissioners and removes two residents of the town of Vernon, two residents of the town of Waterford, and one resident of the village of Big Bend from the board of commissioners. The bill also authorizes the commission to extend the planning area and to designate new counties, towns, villages, and cities within the planning area as being under the commission's jurisdiction by an affirmative vote of the majority of voting commissioners.

This bill also allows an elected official who is a member of the commission to authorize a resident of the river county to attend a meeting of the commission and exercises his or her duties if the elected official or his or her designee is unable to attend.

Under current law, nine commissioners constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. This bill changes a quorum to a number equal to a majority of voting commissioners, not including a voting commissioner who does not participate in the commission and does not appoint a designee or alternate.

Under current law, if a commissioner is appointed to the commission by an elected official as the designee of the elected official, his or her term on the commission begins on the third Tuesday in April of the year in which the commissioner is appointed and ends on the third Tuesday in April three years later.

Similarly, under current law, the term of a commissioner appointed by SWRPC or DNR begins on the third Tuesday in April of the year in which the commissioner is appointed and ends on the third Tuesday in April three years later. Under this bill, these commissioners' terms begin and end on dates determined by the appointing authority. The bill requires a county, municipality, SWRPC, or DNR to inform the commission in writing within 90 days after a new designee or appointee is appointed.

Under current law, the commission's fiscal year is the calendar year. This bill changes it to a year beginning on July 1 and ending on June 30 of the following year.