Wisconsin Statutes & Annotations
Chapter 13 - Legislative branch.
13.101 - Joint committee on finance; appropriation and position changes.

13.101 Joint committee on finance; appropriation and position changes.
(1) Following the procedures under s. 13.10, the joint committee on finance may take action under this section.
(2) A department, board, commission or agency may request the committee to create or abolish a full-time equivalent position as defined in s. 230.03 (11) or portion thereof in the department, board, commission or agency. Upon receiving such a request, the committee may change the authorized level of full-time equivalent positions in the department, board, commission or agency. The committee may approve a different authorized level of full-time equivalent positions than is requested by the department, board, commission or agency.
(3)
(a) The committee may supplement, from the appropriations under s. 20.865 (4), the appropriation of any department, board, commission or agency, which is insufficient because of unforeseen emergencies or insufficient to accomplish the purpose for which made, if the committee finds that:
1. An emergency exists;
2. No funds are available for such purposes; and
3. The purposes for which a supplemental appropriation is requested have been authorized or directed by the legislature.
(b) The committee may supplement an appropriation only for the fiscal biennium during which the committee takes the action to supplement the appropriation.
(4) The committee may transfer between appropriations and programs if the committee finds that unnecessary duplication of functions can be eliminated, more efficient and effective methods for performing programs will result or legislative intent will be more effectively carried out because of such transfer, if legislative intent will not be changed as the result of such transfer and the purposes for which the transfer is requested have been authorized or directed by the legislature. The authority to transfer between appropriations includes the authority to transfer between 2 fiscal years of the same biennium, between 2 appropriations of the same agency and between an appropriation of one agency and an appropriation of a different agency. No transfer between appropriations or programs may be made to offset deficiencies arising from the lack of adequate expenditure controls by a department, board, institution, commission or agency. Except as provided in sub. (4d), the authority to transfer between appropriations shall not include the authority to transfer from sum sufficient appropriations as defined under s. 20.001 (3) (d) to other types of appropriations.
(4d) During the public health emergency declared on March 12, 2020, by executive order 72, and for a period of 90 days after termination of the emergency, the committee may transfer under sub. (4) an amount not to exceed $75,000,000 from sum sufficient appropriations, as defined under s. 20.001 (3) (d), to be used for expenditures related to the emergency.
(4m) The committee may make loans from the appropriation under s. 20.865 (4) (a) to any appropriation from the general fund or any state segregated fund. If a loan upon repayment is credited to the appropriation under s. 20.865 (4) (a), the committee may utilize the loan funds repaid as provided in this section and s. 20.865 (4) (a).
(5) The committee may allot moneys under s. 20.865 (4) (a), (g) and (u) to any state activity to which a federal project has been granted.
(6)
(a) As an emergency measure necessitated by decreased state revenues and to prevent the necessity for a state tax on general property, the committee may reduce any appropriation made to any board, commission, department, or the University of Wisconsin System, or to any other state agency or activity, by such amount as it deems feasible, not exceeding 25 percent of the appropriations, except appropriations made by ss. 20.255 (2) (ac), (bc), (bh), (cg), and (cr), 20.395 (1), (2) (cq), (eq) to (ex) and (gq) to (gx), (3), (4) (aq) to (ax), and (6) (af), (aq), (ar), and (au), 20.435 (4) (a) and (5) (da), and 20.437 (2) (a) and (dz) or for forestry purposes under s. 20.370 (2), or any other moneys distributed to any county, city, village, town, or school district. Appropriations of receipts and of a sum sufficient shall for the purposes of this section be regarded as equivalent to the amounts expended under such appropriations in the prior fiscal year which ended June 30. All functions of said state agencies shall be continued in an efficient manner, but because of the uncertainties of the existing situation no public funds should be expended or obligations incurred unless there shall be adequate revenues to meet the expenditures therefor. For such reason the committee may make reductions of such appropriations as in its judgment will secure sound financial operations of the administration for said state agencies and at the same time interfere least with their services and activities.
(b) No reduction in any such appropriation may be made under authority of this section until an opportunity to be heard is given, in writing or through publication in the official state paper, to the state agency to which such appropriation is made. Notice of any reduction in appropriations shall be communicated to the state agency affected, and to the department of administration. Thereafter, the secretary of administration shall not release and shall not draw a warrant in payment of any amount exceeding the reduced appropriations.
(7) Whenever in the statutes an appropriation or a portion of an appropriation is available only upon release by the committee, such moneys shall be made available by the committee at such times and in such amounts as the committee may determine to be necessary to adequately provide for the purposes for which they are appropriated, with due regard for the whole amount available for such purposes. If the provision relating to release by the committee is invalid, the appropriation or portion of the appropriation which is subject to such release shall not be invalidated but shall be considered to be made without any condition as to time or manner of release.
(8) No part of any appropriation which is made conditional upon approval by the committee shall be effective and available until approval in writing signed by the governor and at least one of the chairpersons of the committee has been filed with the department of administration.
(9) Releases made by the committee shall be effective only for the fiscal year for which made.
(10) The committee may approve expenditure of moneys received by this state as a part of a block grant under s. 16.54 (2) (a) 2., and may approve a transfer of moneys allocated by the federal government to this state as a part of a block grant for use as a part of another such grant made for different purposes. In this subsection, “block grant" has the meaning given under s. 16.54 (2) (a).
(11) The committee may approve a clean water fund program interest rate change as specified under s. 281.58 (12) (f) or a safe drinking water loan program interest rate change as specified under s. 281.61 (11) (b).
(14) With the concurrence of the joint committee on information policy and technology, direct the department of administration to report to the committee concerning any specific information technology system project in accordance with s. 13.58 (5) (b) 4.
(15) Notwithstanding sub. (3) (a), if the department of administration requests the joint committee on finance to supplement the appropriation under s. 20.505 (1) (ku) from the appropriation under s. 20.865 (4) (g), the committee may supplement the appropriation by not more than $500,000 in any fiscal year to provide a grant to one or more eligible counties if the committee finds that the proposed grantee or grantees are eligible to receive a grant under s. 16.18. Notwithstanding sub. (3) (a), no finding of emergency is required for the committee to act in accordance with this subsection.
(17) From the appropriation under s. 20.435 (2) (gk), the committee may approve expenditure of moneys received by the state under s. 51.06 (6) only to support any state activity, including by the department of veterans affairs, that is conducted or performed on the property that is occupied or managed by the department of health services or the department of corrections on December 30, 2003, at the Northern Center for the Developmentally Disabled.
History: 1975 c. 39, 199, 224; 1977 c. 29 ss. 1649, 1656 (15); 1979 c. 1; 1979 c. 34 ss. 1b to 1g, 631j to 631s, 2102 (43) (a), (52) (a); 1979 c. 221; 1981 c. 20 ss. 3d to 3v; 1983 a. 27 ss. 5p to 7, 2202 (20) and (42); 1983 a. 538; 1985 a. 29 ss. 22, 3202 (51); 1987 a. 4; 1989 a. 31, 336, 366; 1991 a. 39, 309; 1993 a. 16, 184, 414; 1995 a. 27, 132, 225, 227, 445; 1997 a. 27, 35, 113, 252; 1999 a. 9, 29; 2001 a. 16, 38, 109; 2003 a. 33, 64, 102; 2005 a. 25; 2007 a. 20 ss. 5, 9121 (6) (a); 2009 a. 28; 2015 a. 55; 2017 a. 59; 2019 a. 185.

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