Transportation

AB 219 creates a 50% tax credit for eligible rail infrastructure spending in Wisconsin. It directly affects Class II/III railroads operating in the state and owners/lessees of rail sidings or industrial spurs, covering both new track construction (like spurs and sidings) and track maintenance (such as rail, ties, and safety systems). The credit applies to expenditures made after December 2024, with annual limits of $5,000 per mile of track owned and $2 million per project. Unused credits can be carried forward for up to five years, and credits may be transferred to other businesses subject to Wisconsin taxes.

AB 619 creates a $150 million grant program to fund aviation biofuel manufacturing projects in Wisconsin, funded through state public debt issuance. The bill requires grantees to use facilities exclusively for aviation biofuel production (with limited exceptions for other biofuels if 80% of output is aviation fuel), source 80% of biomass locally, and invest at least $1.5 billion in aviation biofuel manufacturing within five years. It directly affects companies building such facilities and the Department of Natural Resources, which administers the grants. The program aims to support the state's forest products industry and create jobs, with strict repayment terms if grantees fail to meet requirements.

AB 737 allows municipalities to establish neighborhood improvement districts that can impose special property charges to fund infrastructure directly related to residential development within those neighborhoods. Property owners in designated districts would pay these charges, which can be collected in installments over time and included in regular tax bills, rather than requiring delinquency. The bill requires districts to specify exactly which infrastructure projects the funds will support and how charges are calculated per parcel, while allowing exemptions from notice requirements if a single owner holds all properties in the district. This legislation affects local property owners and municipalities by creating a new mechanism for financing neighborhood-specific infrastructure improvements through targeted assessments.

SB 66 prohibits the use of devices designed to conceal, obstruct, or alter vehicle license plates, such as mechanical switches, moving covers, or altered plates that obscure numbers. It bans possessing, selling, installing, or using these devices and requires impounding vehicles equipped with them (with costs paid by the owner for towing/impoundment). Violations carry penalties of up to $1,000 in fines, 90 days in jail, or both. This law directly affects vehicle owners who might attempt to obscure license plates, and it became effective under 2025 Wisconsin Act 37.