Each legislative session is different. But some constants remain: there is a beginning, there is an end, more than 2,500 bills are introduced, you work to pass your legislative priorities and you work to stop bad bills.
Before the session begins, the WRA shapes its legislative agenda to ensure success based on the makeup of the legislature. This past session was no different. Accordingly, the WRA started with 25 legislative priorities and seven initiatives to be included in the state budget.
The 2023-24 state legislative session ended in March 2024. In addition to the state budget, the WRA had a number of legislative priorities signed into law.
Wisconsin state budget
A standout moment for the WRA this legislative session was the landmark bipartisan allocation of $525 million toward Wisconsin workforce and senior housing — an unprecedented investment.
With statewide housing inventory levels at historic lows and median home prices continuing to rise, Wisconsin has a major workforce and senior housing shortage. Wisconsin employers have experienced difficulty recruiting workers to fill thousands of job openings due to a historic shortage of affordable housing options for workers.
In 2023, Wisconsin created a path to increase workforce and senior housing statewide:
- $275 million for residential infrastructure with 2023 Wis. Act 14.
- $100 million for main street rehabilitation and repair with 2023 Wis. Act 15.
- $50 million for rehabilitation and repair of older housing with 2023 Wis. Act 17.
- $100 million for conversion of vacant commercial buildings to housing with 2023 Wis. Act 18.
One missing piece to the housing solution was to create certainty and predictability in the development approval process. With the passage of 2023 Wis. Act 16, the law now requires local governments to approve housing developments if they comply with local regulations. Additionally, the law streamlines the rezoning process and limits the ability of existing residents to oppose the development of new housing after a project has been approved. Expediting the development approval process and eliminating unnecessary delays reduces costs for developers, thus increasing housing affordability.
Learn more about these initiatives in the August 2023 Wisconsin Real Estate Magazine article, “Housing Renaissance." Additionally, see the June 2024 Wisconsin Real Estate Magazine article, “WHEDA and REALTORS® Make a Winning Team,” for more information.
In addition to funding the loans, the state budget:
- Eliminated the personal property tax.
- Extended school funding for 400 years allocating for $325 per student. The Wisconsin state budget will fund the money until 2025; after that, either the Wisconsin Legislature must fund the $325 per student, or school districts can levy for it on the property tax bill.
- Funded the Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services (DSPS) $6.7 million over the next two years to increase customer service and licensing.
- Created a pilot program for REALTORS® continuing education. Watch for more information in the future about how this program streamlines your license renewal process.
- Modified income taxes by creating tax cuts for individual earners earning less than $13,810 or married earners earning less than $18,400, as well as individual earners earning less than $27,630 or married earners earning less than $36,840.
- Funded a shared revenue process available through 2023 Wis. Act 12.
- Provided supplemental aid of $206 million for municipalities and $68 million for counties for which 2023 Wis. Act 12 also established a distribution formula.
- Allocated $1.55 billion for transportation projects.
Secured the sales tax exemption for Multiple Listing Services
In pursuit of a certain tax environment, the WRA advocated for Wis. Act 141 to establish a statutory clarification regarding the sales tax exemption for the sale of certain Multiple Listing Service (MLS) services. MLSs facilitate cooperation and compensation among participating real estate brokers. The Wisconsin Department of Revenue is not currently charging sales tax for the sale of the MLS service and worked with the WRA on the new statutory clarification language.
Addressed discriminatory covenants and deed restrictions
Offensive, discriminatory covenants that prevent the purchase or occupancy of property based on race and other protected classes appear in deeds and subdivision restrictions and covenants throughout Wisconsin. Prohibited by the 1968 Fair Housing Act and Wisconsin Open Housing Law, discriminatory language plagues title records and commitment reports, shocking and upsetting both prospective buyers and current property owners.
2023 Wis. Act 210 allows property owners to voluntarily record a statutory form when faced with a discriminatory deed restriction or subdivision covenant on their land record. Act 210 preserves the property’s significant historical context and does not delete or erase the language from the land record.
Learn more about this initiative in the April 2024 Wisconsin Real Estate Magazine article, “Legislation Targets Discriminatory Land Records."
Mitigated REALTOR® risk, boosted consumer transparency and elevated practice standards
Professionalism is, and will continue to be, a priority for the WRA. Under legislation signed into law by Gov. Evers, Wis. Act 208 made several changes to the practice of real estate to help manage your risk, increase consumer transparency, and improve accountability when license laws are violated. The new law creates a safe harbor for licensees when using government information if attribution to the source is provided, requires specific disclosures to consumers in contracts when contractual rights are being assigned to another, and raises the fines and forfeitures the Real Estate Examining Board may charge from $1,000 to $5,000 for violations of license law. The WRA supported these changes to address licensee liability, increase transparency regarding contract rights when wholesalers are involved, and raise the bar for licensees.
The WRA Legal Team will furnish further details shortly. In the meantime, see the June 2024 Wisconsin Real Estate Magazine article, “The Best of the Legal Hotline: I’m (Not) Just a Bill,” for further guidance.
Created tools to boost growth in great lakes communities
Numerous Wisconsin municipalities located along the Great Lakes or Mississippi River — for example Ashland, Bayfield, La Crosse, Oshkosh, Sheboygan, Sturgeon Bay and Superior — are having difficulty redeveloping their shorelines because of legal title issues associated with the land adjacent to or near the waterway. To generate shoreline development opportunities in Great Lake and Mississippi River communities, Gov. Tony Evers signed into law Wis. Act 247. The new law had the full support of the WRA to ensure municipalities have the tools for waterfront developments. Passage of this legislation was a priority for the WRA and was a big win to advance community growth in Wisconsin.
Closed the foreclosure equity theft loophole
In the previous session, the WRA spearheaded the passage of 2021 Wis. Act 216, which stipulated that if a county or the City of Milwaukee foreclosed on a property due to unpaid property taxes and subsequently sold the property, any remaining net proceeds must be returned to the property owner. However, a legal loophole in Wisconsin law allowed counties and Milwaukee to retain ownership of properties indefinitely even if their value exceeded the owed property taxes. Wis. Act 207, championed by the WRA, closed this loophole, mandating the sale of such properties. Requiring a county to sell a property obtained after a tax foreclosure allows for any money remaining after the sale and the county is made whole to be returned to the homeowner. This legislative victory is particularly significant for seniors who are homeowners in Wisconsin.
The bad stuff
One constant in every legislative session is killing bad bills or proposals that could be detrimental to your business, real estate practice and property owners. Besides advancing our priorities, the WRA had to fight several proposals aimed at increasing transaction costs, reducing consumer protections, rolling back landlord-tenant laws, attempting to eliminate consumer protections in a real estate transaction and increasing transaction costs.
The advocacy team didn’t act alone. Thanks to everyone who helped shape policies, responded to calls for action, attended REALTOR® & Government Day, and supported the REALTORS® Political Action Committee (RPAC).
Find out more
Need information on the $525 million workforce and senior housing loan program being administered by WHEDA? Interested in finding out how municipalities can better prepare to grow housing inventory? Want to catch up on
the latest WRA advocacy wins?
If so, then look no further than the WRA’s recently revamped action website, which highlights all you need to know about the $525 million in funding toward increasing workforce and senior housing inventory.
Plus, learn about the More Housing Wisconsin Coalition and its efforts to inform municipalities and the public about efforts to increase housing inventory in the Badger State.
See more details at action.wra.org