Wisconsin 2025 Regular Session Status: Introduced 2 R cosponsors

SB 61 — Relating to: excluding expenditures funded by referenda from shared costs for the purpose of determining equalization aid for school districts. (FE)

Last action — Failed to pass pursuant to Senate Joint Resolution 1

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  1. 1
    Introduced
  2. 2
    In Committee
  3. 3
    Passed Senate
  4. 4
    Passed Assembly
  5. 5
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill has been introduced in the Senate. Introduced February 21, 2025. It must pass committee before a floor vote.

Next likely step: a committee referral and hearing.

Prognosis

Not enough signal yet

Where this bill stands today.

Odds of enactment

Low

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Not enough signal yet to read this bill's trajectory — we surface a likelihood only once there's real movement (stage, sponsorship, committee, or votes) to point to.

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Summary

An Act to amend 121.07 (6) (a) (intro.) and 121.07 (6) (am); to create 121.07 (6) (ap) of the statutes;

Bill Text

How this bill changes current law

3 changes Share ↗

Compared against current U.S. Code AI-generated reading aid — verify against the official bill.

The bill excludes certain expenditures funded by referenda from the shared cost calculation used to determine equalization aid for school districts.

  • 121.07(6)(a)(intro.)

    “Shared cost” is the sum of the net cost of the general fund and the net cost of the debt service fund, → Subject to pars. (am) and (ap), “shared cost” is the sum of the net cost of the general fund and the net cost of the debt service fund,

    This change clarifies that certain new provisions apply to the definition of shared cost.

  • 121.07(6)(am)

    any amount expended in the previous school year from the school district’s fund balance to pay the school district’s unfunded pension liability under the Wisconsin Retirement System or to pay debt service for debt issued to refinance the balance of the unfunded pension liability if the result of excluding such expenditures is an increase in state aid paid to the school district under s. 121.08 → any amount expended in the previous school year from the school district’s fund balance to pay the school district’s unfunded pension liability under the Wisconsin Retirement System or to pay debt service for debt issued to refinance the balance of the unfunded pension liability if the result of excluding such expenditures is an increase in state aid paid to the school district under s. 121.08 levied by a school district or levied for school purposes in the previous school year that was approved by a referendum held under s. 121.91 (3) after the effective date of this paragraph .... [LRB inserts date], to exceed the limit under s. 121.91 (2m) by at least $50,000,000, unless, in the previous school year, the school district’s equalized valuation exceeded the tertiary guaranteed valuation per member.

    This change specifies that only certain expenditures from fund balance related to referenda will be excluded from shared costs.

  • 121.07(6)(ap)

    In par. (a), “debt service” excludes debt service on debt authorized by a referendum held after the effective date of this paragraph .... [LRB inserts date], to borrow at least $50,000,000, unless, in the previous school year, the school district’s equalized valuation exceeded the tertiary guaranteed valuation per member.

    This new paragraph excludes debt service from certain referenda over $50,000,000 from the shared cost calculation.

Action History

  1. Failed to pass pursuant to Senate Joint Resolution 1

  2. Fiscal estimate received

  3. Read first time and referred to Committee on Education

  4. Introduced by Senators Bradley and Nass; cosponsored by Representatives Allen, Maxey, Behnke, Brill, Dittrich, Gundrum, Knodl, Kreibich, O'Connor, Piwowarczyk, Sortwell and Wichgers

Sponsors

  • Allen · Cosponsor
  • Maxey · Cosponsor
  • Behnke · Cosponsor
  • Brill · Cosponsor
  • Dittrich · Cosponsor
  • Gundrum · Cosponsor
  • Knodl · Cosponsor
  • Kreibich · Cosponsor
  • O'Connor · Cosponsor
  • Piwowarczyk · Cosponsor
  • Sortwell · Cosponsor
  • Wichgers · Cosponsor
  • Julian Bradley · Primary
  • Steve Nass · Cosponsor

Sponsorship breakdown

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1 sponsors · 13 co-sponsors · 118 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (13)

  • Allen
  • Maxey
  • Behnke
  • Brill
  • Dittrich
  • Gundrum
  • Knodl
  • Kreibich
  • O'Connor
  • Piwowarczyk
  • Sortwell
  • Wichgers
  • Nass, Steve Republican

Not signed on (118)

118 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 118 →

"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Subjects

taxation education
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

What does SB 61 do?
An Act to amend 121.07 (6) (a) (intro.) and 121.07 (6) (am); to create 121.07 (6) (ap) of the statutes;
Who sponsors SB 61?
SB 61 is sponsored by Allen, Maxey, Behnke, Brill, Dittrich, Gundrum, Knodl, Kreibich, O'Connor, Piwowarczyk, Sortwell, Wichgers, Bradley, Julian (Republican), and Nass, Steve (Republican).
What is the current status of SB 61?
This bill has been introduced in the Senate. Introduced February 21, 2025. It must pass committee before a floor vote.
Where can I track SB 61?
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Last checked for changes 3 months ago · updated continuously

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