Assembly Bill 428 aims to enhance support for Wisconsin veterans through several key provisions. It mandates the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents to allocate funding for the Missing-in-Action Recovery and Identification Project (MIA Recovery Project) during the 2025-27 fiscal biennium, specifically for missions to recover and identify Wisconsin veterans who are missing in action. Additionally, the bill appropriates $900,000 for the 2025-26 fiscal year and $1,050,000 for the 2026-27 fiscal year to the Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) to cover increased costs in the veterans housing and recovery program and to facilitate leasing a new facility for the Chippewa Falls-based program.

Furthermore, the bill modifies eligibility criteria for the veterans and surviving spouses property tax credit by lowering the required service-connected disability rating from 100 percent to at least 80 percent. It introduces new provisions that allow claimants with a disability rating below 100 percent to receive a credit based on their rating, while also capping the credit to the amount of property taxes paid on the first $350,000 of the property's assessed value. The bill ensures that individuals claiming the credit based on individual unemployability ratings remain unaffected by these changes.

Statutes affected:
Bill Text: 71.07(6e)(a)2.b, 71.07, 71.07(6e)(a)3.d