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SB 638

Tobacco, Tobacco Products - As introduced, urges the department of agriculture to study the effects of the use of vapor products by persons under 21 and make recommendations to the legislature with regard to reducing such use. - Amends TCA Title 1, Chapter 3; Title 39; Title 43, Chapter 27 and Title 68, Chapter 1, Part 1.

114th Regular Session (2025-2026) Introduced by Page Walley

Raises the compensation cap for volunteers who may hold elected municipal office: $35,000 (pop. ≤5,000) and $25,000 (pop. >5,000), preserving compatibility rules.

Withdrawn.
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Bill Summary · SB 638

SB 638 — Summary (2025)

Relating to: the maximum compensation for compatibility with elective offices in cities, villages, and towns.

Purpose / Intent

The bill updates the statutory “compatibility” exception that allows certain emergency volunteers to hold elective municipal office despite the general common‑law doctrine forbidding dual offices that may conflict. It raises the maximum annual compensation thresholds (including fringe benefits) that a volunteer fire fighter, emergency medical services practitioner, or emergency medical responder may receive and still be eligible to hold elective office in the same city, village, or town.

Key provisions

  • Amends Wis. Stat. § 66.0501(4)(a).
  • Increases the permissible annual compensation (including fringe benefits) for volunteer emergency personnel who may also hold elective municipal office:
    • From $25,000 to $35,000 in municipalities with population ≤ 5,000.
    • From $15,000 to $25,000 in municipalities with population > 5,000.
  • Retains language clarifying it is compatible for elected village or town officers to receive certain wages under other statutes (s. 60.37(4) or 61.327) for work they perform for their municipality.

Who is affected

  • Primary: volunteer fire fighters, EMS practitioners, and emergency medical responders who receive pay from municipal or related service positions and who seek or hold elective office in the same municipality.
  • Secondary: municipalities (cities, villages, towns) that employ, reimburse, or otherwise compensate volunteer emergency personnel; candidates and elected local officials; voters concerned with conflicts of interest or public trust.
  • Legal/community stakeholders: municipal attorneys, election officials, ethics/advisory bodies assessing compatibility questions.

Practical effect and impact

  • Expands the pool of compensated volunteers who may legally serve in elective municipal offices without triggering incompatibility concerns under the doctrine of compatibility.
  • Aimed at accommodating municipalities that compensate volunteers at higher levels, particularly smaller municipalities where volunteer service may be a more significant source of income.
  • The statutory change is procedural/threshold-based and does not alter the underlying compatibility doctrine or other conflict‑of‑interest rules; actual compatibility questions may still turn on duties and relationships between the two offices.
  • The author’s materials reference a local fiscal estimate; the amendment itself does not create direct state appropriations. Fiscal impact on municipalities is expected to be minimal (the change affects eligibility for office, not compensation or municipal budgets).

Legislative/procedural timeline (selected)

  • Introduced: February 20, 2025 (Senate).
  • Passed both houses and enrolled; approved by Governor October 7, 2025.
  • Chaptered as Chapter 457, Statutes of 2025.

For municipal counsel or candidates: review local policies and the duties of the offices in question before relying on the compensation thresholds alone; incompatibility can still be found based on the functional relationship between positions.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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