WEEK OF OCTOBER 23, 2017
DARK STORE LEGISLATION-TAKE ACTION NOW!

Legislation (SB 291 and SB 292) aimed at closing the dark store assessment loophole has been voted out of committee and is now ready for consideration by the full Wisconsin State Senate.   
 
It is critical that county officials contact their state senators and ask that they not only support the dark store bills but also advocate for the bills to be scheduled for an upcoming floor period debate.  
 
Please contact your State Senator immediately and stress the need for them to support these bills aimed at protecting homeowners and main street Wisconsin businesses. 

Click here for a link to the Wisconsin State Senate's website.
 
SB 292 - Dark Stores -  Talking Points
  • The goal of SB 292 is to avoid a large tax shift from commercial properties to other classes of property, primarily residential.
  • Homeowners already currently pay 68 percent of the statewide property tax levy.
  • Courts in other states like Michigan have upheld the "Dark Store" strategy, which argues that sales of closed, vacant stores can serve as comparables for determining the value of open, new stores, cutting property tax assessments for big box retail stores in some cases by as much as 50 percent.
  • No appellate court in Wisconsin has endorsed the dark store strategy yet. However, if this strategy becomes successful in Wisconsin it could result in a shift of millions of dollars in tax burden from commercial property owners to homeowners and other taxpayers. 
  • The legislation is modeled after similar legislation the state of Indiana passed in 2016.
  • The legislation codifies language in Wisconsin case law and DOR's Wisconsin Property Assessment Manual.
  • The legislation clarifies that when assessors use sales of comparable properties for determining the value of a property they must use properties that are within the same market segment and similar to the property being assessed with regard to age, condition, use, type of construction, location, design, and economic characteristics.  
  • The legislation explicitly provides that assessors may not use a dark and vacant store as a comparable for property that is not dark or vacant.  
  • If the legislation is enacted, counties will not receive even one additional dollar in tax revenue due to levy limits. The legislation will, however, prevent more of the tax burden from being shifted to homeowners.
SB 291 - Reversing the 2008 Walgreens v. City of Madison decision - Talking Points
  • SB 291 makes it clear that when valuing property assessors are to consider any applicable lease provisions and actual rent pertaining to a property and affecting its value.
  • In 2008, the Wisconsin Supreme Court held in Walgreens v. City of Madison that an assessment by the income approach of retail property leased at "above market" rents must be based on market rents rather than the terms of Walgreen's actual leases and that the value added by an "above-market" rent constitutes a contract right, rather than a real property right.
  • The 2008 decision continues to control how assessors must value Walgreens, CVS, and other single-tenant retail stores, despite changes made to the Wisconsin Property Assessment Manual to counteract the effects of that decision. 
  • Walgreens, CVS and other single tenant retail properties are successfully using the decision to convince the courts that their assessed values should be less than half of the actual sale prices of the properties on the open market.  
  • Even though chain drugstores have become the most popular single-tenant properties in the national real estate investment market, regularly selling for $6 million or more in Wisconsin, attorneys for Walgreen, CVS and other single-tenant stores argue that their actual sale prices don't represent market value and the underlying leases are the wrong tool for determining the property's value for property tax purposes.
  • However, for all other purposes, such as federal income tax reporting, the value of the real estate is listed as the recent sale price.  Only for property tax purposes is the actual sale price not acknowledged as the value of the real estate.
FALL FLOOR SESSION

Wisconsin State Senators have been told to keep Tuesday, October 31 and Tuesday, November 7 available for floor sessions.
COMMITTEE HEARINGS FOR THE WEEK OF OCTOBER 23, 2017

Note: The Committee hearings and bills listed below reflect action on legislation impacting county government.  See a complete listing of weekly hearings here.

Tuesday, October 24, 2017

Assembly Committee on Mental Health, 10:45 a.m.
Assembly Bill 517 - reporting on an operator license or identification card application the existence of a disability that is not immediately apparent to another. WCA is monitoring this bill.

Assembly Bill 538 - transfer for emergency detention and warning of dangerousness. WCA is monitoring this bill.

Assembly Committee on Transportation, 12:00 p.m.
Assembly Bill 475 - lighting requirements for animal-drawn vehicles operated on highways. WCA supports this bill.

Senate Committee on Elections and Utilities, 1:00 p.m.
Senate Bill 475 - one-call system enforcement and other requirements, Public Service Commission authority regarding state energy policy, settlements between parties in Public Service Commission dockets, various public utility regulatory requirements, the regulation of utility facilities under a county construction site erosion control and storm water management zoning ordinance, granting rule-making authority, and providing a penalty. WCA is monitoring this bill.

Wednesday, October 25, 2017

Assembly Speaker's Task Force on Foster Care, 12:00 p.m.
The Speaker's Task Force on Foster Care will hold a public hearing at the Brown County Central Library, Lower Level Auditorium, 515 Pine St., Green Bay, WI.

Testimony will be accepted from invited speakers and the general public on matters relating to the foster care system. Depending on the number of registrants wishing to speak, the co-chairs may find it necessary to utilize a time limit for each speaker.

The hearing will end at 5:00 p.m.

Senate Committee on Public Benefits, Licensing and State-Federal Relations, 2:00 p.m.
Senate Bill 416 - FoodShare healthy eating incentive pilot program and making an appropriation. WCA is monitoring this bill.

Thursday, October 26, 2017

Senate Committee on Labor and Regulatory Reform, 10:00 a.m.
Senate Bill 371 - the provision by employers to employees of written disclosure statements of the terms of employment, various changes pertaining to wage claims, occupational or professional licensing of employers that owe wages under wage claim judgments, and making an appropriation. WCA is monitoring this bill.
CONFERENCE CONCURRENT SESSION MATERIALS  

Handouts from concurrent workshops held during the 2017 WCA Annual Conference are now online. View the presentation materials here.

Please note that presentation materials are posted as soon as they are submitted to the WCA office. If a document is missing, it has not yet been sent to us.
BROADBAND GRANTS

Recently, Governor Walker announced that the PSC will conduct a second grant proceeding in FY 2018 to award a portion of the additional funds approved in the recent 2017-19 budget. For this round, the state has $7.5 million to spend on broadband grants!   Application materials are now posted on the PSC website. Grant applications are due January 25, 2018.

If you have questions about this grant opportunity, please contact Dennis Klaila at the PSC at (608) 267-9780 or via email. The PSC expects to hold 4-6 seminars around the state to discuss the application process for this grant round. Details regarding the PSC's outreach program will be posted on the PSC website as available.
UPCOMING WCA MEETINGS/EVENTS
  • October 25 - WCA County Ambassador Program (CAP Team)
  • November 17 - Health and Human Services Steering Committee
See a complete listing of upcoming WCA meetings here.
HOW CAN YOU FOLLOW THE SESSION WITH US?  

wispolitics
As a member-benefit, the Wisconsin Counties Association offers access to The Wheeler Report, WisPolitics, and WisconsinEye.

If you would like to subscribe to any one of these news services, please contact Amy Dias, Office Manager at [email protected] or at 866.404.2700.
QUESTIONS?

If you have any questions about anything happening at the state level, please feel free to contact any member of the WCA Government Affairs Team:

Kyle Christianson, Director of Government Affairs
608.663.7188
[email protected]

Sarah Diedrick-Kasdorf, Deputy Director of Government Affairs
608.663.7188
[email protected]

Dan Bahr, Government Affairs Associate
608.663.7188
[email protected]

Marcie Rainbolt, Government Affairs Associate
608.663.7188
[email protected]

Chelsea Fibert, Government Affairs Assistant
608.663.7188