Fall Conference Legislative Capitol Visit Recap
The Capitol Square in Madison served as a welcoming venue for WLIA during our 2025 Fall Conference. Both our WLIA Board meeting and the Wisconsin Land Information Council meeting were held in the State Capitol, in the Joint Finance Hearing Room. This demonstrates that our organization of professionals has a recognized voice in Wisconsin, made possible through the efforts of our dedicated membership.
One of the key themes of this year's fall conference was "Strong Networks," which appropriately reflects WLIA's representation of over 1,300 public and private sector professionals involved in land information and geospatial technologies. WLIA continuously seeks to strengthen our connections. This conference provided an opportunity to conduct our second WLIA Legislative Visit to the Capitol. During this visit, over 30 WLIA members participated in more than 30 meetings with legislators and their staff to educate them on our organization’s mission, expertise and shared experiences, as well as to advocate for legislation that benefits all members across the state. These meetings were led by members of our Legislative Committee.
Our members engaged with legislators from both the Wisconsin Assembly and Senate, representing both Republicans and Democrats, as well as senior leadership. The primary advocacy messages we delivered focused on two main points:
- The Wisconsin Land Information Association is the leading land information and geospatial organization in the state. We possess unmatched expertise and experience in these fields. Therefore, when legislation related to land information or geospatial technology is proposed, we request involvement in the drafting or review process to ensure that legislators are well informed about the benefits and implications of such legislation.
- We seek support and encourage legislators to vote in favor of the Real Estate Transfer Fee Legislation (AB-216 / SB-218). This bill increases funding for the Wisconsin Land Information Program and aligns land information funding levels with current demand for our services. The Assembly version of the bill passed through committee several weeks ago, and after the meetings we conducted at the Capitol, the Senate committee just recently voted in favor to recommend passage of the bill. WLIA now urges legislators to collaborate with legislative leadership to prioritize this bill during the current session and bring it forth to the Governor. This legislation currently enjoys bipartisan support and backing from numerous stakeholder organizations.
The meetings proved to be both successful and insightful, providing valuable feedback from legislators regarding our organization’s desire to be involved in future land information and geospatial legislation. There was also overwhelming support for AB-216 / SB-218. We appreciate the legislature for making time to meet with our professionals from across the state and thank Nels Rude and the Kammer Group for their help in coordinating these efforts.
If you are interested in becoming more involved in these activities, or if you would like guidance on reaching out to your legislators to support the Real Estate Transfer Fee legislation, please contact Nick Gamroth and Nik Anderson.
Finally, we extend our sincere thanks to everyone who participated in these meetings. Your representation reflected positively on our organization and helped raise awareness of the valuable work our professionals are doing every day across the state.
