THE CAPITOL REPORT: Legislative Democrats and Republicans seek ways to extend the Stewardship program

The bipartisan Knowles-Nelson Stewardship program has been encountering some partisan hits in recent years. So much so that Democratic Gov. Tony Evers and the GOP-controlled Legislature in the new two-year state budget passed and signed in July failed to include an agreement to extend the program.

And now with the program due to expire in June 2026, Republican and Dem lawmakers are debating on how to proceed.

Dem lawmakers have begun circulating a new measure to renew the program, billing the legislation as a compromise between Evers’ and Republicans’ proposals.

Republicans have introduced a proposal to renew the program. But Sen. Jodi Habush Sinykin, D-Whitefish Bay, says a provision in that bill requiring large land purchases to be enumerated through legislation is “simply unworkable.”

Dems’ bill would reauthorize the program for six years and authorize $72 million annually. It would also create an oversight board tasked with reviewing all stewardship land acquisition projects and activities with costs exceeding $2.5 million.

Sinykin says the legislation requirement in Republicans’ bill would compromise the program, noting the legislative process is “slow at best.”

“This is why we have given so much thought in our bill to establishing a new Knowles-Nelsonstewardshipboardmodeled after other successful Wisconsin statewide councils to provide the oversight needed, but in a timely, transparent way, and without the time-consuming and oftentimes partisan gridlock of the Legislature,” she said.

The board would feature 17 members appointed by the governor to three-year terms, but not subject to Senate confirmation. That includes two Assembly reps and two senators nominated by the minority and majority leaders of the Senate and Assembly. Other examples include a tribal member and two members representing the Department of Natural Resources.

Habush Sinykin said the $72 million annually in the bill shows Dems are serious about negotiations on reauthorizing the program. Evers proposed renewing the program for 10 years at $100 million annually in the state budget. Republicans’ AB 315 would extend the program another four years, and GOP lawmakers are seeking $28.25 million annually to fund the program.

Previously, the GOP-controlled Joint Finance Committee had final review of some stewardship purchases. But the state Supreme Court overturned that process, ruling 6-1 it violated the separation of powers. Following the decision, some GOP legislative leaders vowed to oppose extending the program after its authorization expires unless lawmakers had a role in approving purchases.

AB 315 coauthor Sen. Patrick Testin struck an optimistic tone about future discussions in a statement to WisPolitics on the Dem proposal.

“I am glad to see that lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have an interest in reforming and reauthorizing the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program,” the Stevens Point Republican said. “I look forward to reviewing the legislative proposal brought forward by my Democrat colleagues to see where we can work together and find common ground.”

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for GOP Rep. Tony Kurtz said in a statement the intention has always been “to find a bipartisan path forward to ensuring the Stewardship Program’s future.” Kurtz, of Wonewoc, is a coauthor of AB 315.

“We haven’t reviewed their proposal yet but look forward to continued discussions on this important issue this fall,” the spokesperson said.

Testin and Kurtz’s bill would create a new major land acquisitions program that would authorize DNR to use stewardship funds to acquire land for conservation purposes or award money to others for that purpose under two conditions.

The project would have to exceed $1 million, and it would have to be enumerated through legislation. Under that process, the DNR would submit to the Joint Finance Committee and the appropriate standing committees a list of all major land acquisitions with information such as the estimated purchase price.

The Capitol Report is written by editorial staff at WisPolitics.com, a nonpartisan, Madison-based news service that specializes in coverage of government and politics and is distributed for publication by members of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association. For more, go to www.wispolitics.com, now part of the nonpartisan State Affairs network.