WHLA Celebrates Major Achievements in Latest Legislative Session

By Bill Elliott, CAE, WHLA President & CEO & Kathi Kilgore, WHLA Contract Lobbyist
This article was originally published in WHLA's 2024 InnTouch with WHLA Magazine.

Wisconsin’s 2023–2024 legislative session is over, and we’re proud of WHLA’s work to serve as the trusted voice for advancing Wisconsin’s hotel and lodging industry. Each session, WHLA tracks a plethora of issues that could impact lodging owners, operators, and employees.

Through our Legislative/Tourism Committee, our Board of Directors, and our Executive Committee, we work to ensure that our priorities are aligned and that we are working on the issues that matter most to our industry.
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We’re not going to bog you down with some of the smaller issues that we watch; we wanted to give you a good sampling of the advocacy successes that we’ve had over the session. Through your membership with WHLA, we’ve been able to accomplish quite a bit in the last two years.

Repeal of Personal Property Tax

WHLA Position: Support
​Status: Signed

This legislation eliminated the personal property tax (PPT) and was a major success for Wisconsin’s lodging industry, as hotels were unfairly targeted under the archaic PPT system. While this tax varied significantly from municipality to municipality, many hotels throughout the state paid tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars in PPT. This change is effective for 2024 assessments.

State Employee Per Diems

WHLA Position: Support
Status: Passed

This action, taken by a joint committee of the legislature, increased lodging per diem rates by $8, effective Nov. 1, 2023. It also included an overall raise in the meal per diems of $5 per day.

Business Development Tax Credit (workforce housing)

WHLA Position: Support
​Status: Signed

Act 143 made several adjustments to the business development tax credit. It provides that a person may claim tax benefits up to 15 percent of an invest- ment in workforce housing for eligible employees and up to 15 percent of an investment in establishing a childcare program for eligible employees.
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The changes apply to taxable years beginning after December 31, 2023. Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) may certify a person who operates a business to receive credits against state income and franchise taxes (tax benefits). These credits are refundable, which means that if the credit exceeds the person’s tax liability, the person will receive the excess as a refund check.

Consumer Data Protection

WHLA Position: Oppose
Status: Failed

This legislation would have significantly affected companies involved in the collection of “Personal Data,” which encompasses any information directly or indirectly linked to an individual (such as email addresses, phone numbers, etc.). WHLA expressed opposition to this legislation due to its potential to impose heavy burdens on businesses, particularly those of small and medium sizes. As the bill progressed, amendments were introduced that would prevent businesses f rom rectifying any errors 2 years after the law’s implementation, alongside the establishment of fines reaching up to $10,000 per violation.

Eliminating Tipped Minimum Wage

WHLA Position: Oppose
​Status: Failed

This bill would have eliminated the tipped minimum wage for all employees.

Enactment of Local Minimum Wage Ordinances

WHLA Position: Oppose
​Status: Failed

​Under this bill, a municipality could have enacted an ordinance to establish a minimum wage.

Funding for Baseball Park Facilities

WHLA Position: Support
Status: Signed

This legislation provided approximately $500 million in public funds to keep the Milwaukee Brewers in the state through at least 2050. The state will contribute up to $387 million, and $135 million will come from the City of Milwaukee and Milwaukee County. The renovation project will winterize the stadium to host year-round concerts and significant sporting events.

Opportunity Grant Program

WHLA Position: Support
​Status: Signed

This bill granted the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) the ability to administer a grant program to attract major opportunities and events in Wisconsin. The funds must be used to attract a major opportunity or event open to the public, whether or not free of charge.

Specifically, the funds may be used to:

1. Bid against other states or jurisdictions outside Wisconsin to attract an opportunity or event that will draw national exposure and drive economic development and visitors to Wisconsin.
2. Host an opportunity or event to attract national exposure and drive economic development & visitors to Wisconsin that the eligible applicant has secured through a competitive bid against other states or jurisdictions outside WI.

Before WEDC awards each grant under the bill, an eligible applicant must provide a project cost-benefit analysis to WEDC and secure, from non-state sources, an amount equal to the pro- posed grant. We anticipate funding for this program will be cut to $5 million after the legislature took nearly a year to pass this bill.

Predictable Work Schedule & Right to Request/Receive Work Schedule Changes

WHLA Position: Oppose
​Status: Failed

This bill would have provided that an employee has the right to request and receive changes to the employee’s work schedule under certain circumstances.

Requirement to Accept Cash

WHLA Position: Oppose
​Status: Failed

This legislation would have required businesses to accept cash as payment in a transaction amounting to $2,000 or less during a face-to-face sale with a consumer. As many lodging facilities now require payments and deposits through credit cards, this could have been a significant obstacle for many operators.

RNC Bar Time

WHLA Position: Support
​Status: Signed

This legislation allows municipalities in 14 Wisconsin counties to delay closing time for bars and restaurants to 4 a.m. during the week of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee this summer.

State preemption of local employment regulations

WHLA Position: Oppose
​Status: Failed

Current law preempts local governments from creating laws for higher minimum wages and local hour and overtime provisions. Had it passed, this legislation would have repealed these preemptions and created a mishmash of wage ordinances throughout the state.

Third-Party Food Delivery Services

WHLA Position: Support
​Status: Signed

​This bill created requirements and restrictions for third-party food delivery apps. One provision requires these apps to allow a restaurant to request its removal from the app, which must take place within three business days. Also, app companies may not solicit requests from consumers to add a restaurant to their digital network.

Join the Legislative/Tourism Committee!

This committee monitors legislation in collaboration with WHLA staff and the contract lobbyist.

WisconsinLodging.org/committees

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This article was originally featured in the 2024 InnTouch with WHLA Magazine

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