AB 438

This bill directs state grants to and requires local funding of a local professional

baseball park district (district), directs the district's use of those funds, and modifies

the powers and administration of the district.

Current law

Under current law, a district is created in each county with a population of at

least 600,000 (presently, only Milwaukee County) and all counties that are

contiguous to that county (in relation to Milwaukee County, these counties are

Ozaukee County, Racine County, Washington County, and Waukesha County). A

district has a variety of powers. Among these, a district may acquire, construct,

equip, maintain, improve, operate, and manage baseball park facilities and may set

standards governing the use of, and the conduct within, baseball park facilities.

The district is governed by a district board, which currently consists of the

following members:

1. A number of persons equal to the number of counties within the jurisdiction

of the district plus one, which totals six members, appointed by the governor subject

to senate confirmation; three of whom serve two-year terms and three of whom serve

four-year terms, and all of whom may be removed only for cause.

2. Two persons appointed by the chief executive officer of the most populous

county within the jurisdiction of the district, which is Milwaukee County, who serve

at the pleasure of the chief executive officer.

3. One person for each county in the jurisdiction of the district other than

Milwaukee County, appointed by the chief executive officer of such county, who

serves at the pleasure of the appointing chief executive officer.

4. One person appointed by the mayor of the city of Milwaukee, who serves at

the pleasure of the mayor.

Current law authorizes a district to issue bonds for the purpose of constructing,

improving, and managing baseball park facilities, in addition to other related

functions. Bonds issued by the district are secured by the district's interest in any

baseball park facilities, by income from these facilities, and by a sales and use tax

current law authorizes the district to impose. Specifically, current law authorizes the

district to impose a sales and use tax at a rate of no more than 0.1 percent. However,

that sales and use tax ended on March 31, 2020, after the district certified to the

Department of Revenue that the district had effectively retired all of its bonds.

District creation and dissolution; district board membership

The bill limits the establishment of a district solely to a county with a

population over 750,000, rather than a county of 600,000 and its contiguous counties,

and specifies that upon the district's dissolution, the property of the district is

transferred to the state, rather than to the five counties making up the district under

current law.

The membership of the current members of the district's governing board,