Wisconsin State Building Commission

The Wisconsin State Building Commission was created by Chapter 563, Laws of 1949. Another 1949 law (Chapter 604) gave the commission authority to organize a nonprofit-sharing corporation, the Wisconsin State Public Building Corporation, to construct public buildings. Chapter 267, Laws of 1961, authorized financing public welfare buildings by nonprofit corporations and this resulted in the creation of the Wisconsin State Agencies Building Corporation. Additional powers were given to the commission in 1957 to finance university academic buildings (Chapter 593). A 1969 constitutional amendment providing for direct state borrowing terminated continued use of the various building corporations and enlarged the powers of the commission to finance capital facilities for all state agencies. In 1973, the State Bond Board was abolished and its duties transferred to the Building Commission.

The commission coordinates the state's building program and establishes long-range plans for developing the state's physical plant. The commission recommends to the legislature a biennial building program and oversees all state construction other than highway construction. The commission is the only state agency that can authorize state debt and may authorize expenditures from the State Building Trust Fund.