Dear WH&LA Lodging Member:
Tomorrow (Tuesday, Feb. 20) both the state Senate and state Assembly will be meeting to address the many bills moving through both chambers following committee approval. The Assembly also plans to meet again Thursday, and possibly Wednesday if need be, and that would be it for this session for the Assembly under their recent plan. However there is a good chance that they could come back once more before the Senate adjourns for the year in their last scheduled day of March 15. It all depends on how much is left unresolved and how many items will be changed by the Senate and need to be conferenced with the Assembly one last time.
Of the many bills we are watching/working on, tomorrow the Assembly plans to address and vote on the following:
- AB 793 - Increasing the limits on Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credits from $500,000 to $3.5 million per project
- AB 811 - Adding $6.8 million in new funding to attract and retain workers in Wisconsin
- AB 904 - Part of which changes the regulations on Carbon Monoxide Detectors (with a new amendment pursued by WH&LA planned for introduction on the floor)
- AB 594 - Rights in mandatory relocation/adjustment of advertising signs affected by transportation projects
- AB 595 - Rights in removing non-conforming advertising signs along highways
And the state Senate has scheduled votes on the following bills we also are watching/working on that remain:
- SB 541 - DOJ Administrative Subpoenas for hotels related to Human Sex Trafficking
- SB 668 (companion to AB 793 above) - Increasing the limits on Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credits from $500,000 to $3.5 million per project
- SB 680 - Repeals the requirement that the Wisconsin Center District must take over the Performing Arts Center in Milwaukee from Milwaukee County
- AB 710 - Increases the penalties for Unemployment Insurance (UI) fraud to be the same as for Theft
Other bills racing through final stages of Committee consideration so they can get on the agendas this week
- AB 433 - Extending closing hours for retail sales by wineries
- AB 748 - Preventing local regulations that differ from state laws in regulating employee hours, overtime, employment benefits, etc. (an amendment removing the discrimination piece is planned in the Assembly Local Government Committee meeting early tomorrow morning, before it heads to the Assembly chamber for consideration). Please note that the Senate companion bill SB 634 is facing a more uncertain future if scheduled on the Senate floor, so members seeing the value in preventing local regulations in your community mandating certain procedures in scheduling your employees or certain policies beyond state requirements in paying overtime, should contact your state Senator and ask them to support SB 634 called the "Employment Law Standardization Act".
We will continue to provide updates as time allows in the coming days. As always, thank you for your interest and support!
Best,
Trisha
Trisha A. Pugal, CAE
President, CEO
Wisconsin Hotel & Lodging Association
262-782-2851
