This leaves staffing resources at the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) as the only major outstanding item that stands in the way of reaching a final, bipartisan deal.
Just days ago, Gov. Evers cited PFAS legislation as an opportunity for bipartisan work and compromise as he announced his 2026 legislative agenda and laid out his top priorities for the remaining 11 months of the current 2025-27 legislative session. The governor called for working across the aisle and urged lawmakers to make releasing $125 million to fight PFAS statewide “another bipartisan win for the people of Wisconsin” after 2025 yielded historic bipartisan accomplishments despite divided government.
Gov. Evers expressed optimism about reaching a final, bipartisan deal with Republican lawmakers as negotiations continue. The governor released the following statement:
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“I met with Republican lawmakers and the DNR last week about critical PFAS bill changes that will be necessary to garner my support, and I’m really optimistic we’re finally going to be able to get something good done here after months of successful and productive negotiations. I’m grateful Republican lawmakers have formally introduced an amendment that reflects the changes we’ve agreed to so far as a sign of good faith. We still have some important details to iron out to make sure DNR has the resources they need, but we’ve made a lot of progress. So, I’m really hopeful.
“We just have to get something done on PFAS this year, folks. We have to.
“The bottom line for me is that I believe we have a responsibility to make sure Wisconsinites have access to safe and clean drinking water, no matter where they live in our state. My administration began working on PFAS from the get-go when I took office in 2019, and I was proud when the Legislature joined me in making the first meaningful, statewide investment to help fight these harmful contaminants. But the simple truth is that those investments should have been out the door a long time ago.
“I’ve said from the beginning that we’d work with anyone in the Legislature—Republican, Democrat, doesn’t matter to me—who wanted to pass legislation to fight harmful contaminants like PFAS, and that’s what we’ve been doing, and that’s what we’ll continue to do.
“I’m as optimistic as ever that PFAS can be a bipartisan success story for us in 2026 and that we can work together to make it happen. I remain hopeful that Republican lawmakers will continue working with me and my administration to get this done—and get it done right. I’ve appreciated their partnership in this effort over the last few months, and I look forward to continuing our work together so we can reach a final deal on PFAS that will pass with broad, bipartisan support.”
DNR Secretary Karen Hyun is expected to testify in the Assembly Committee on Environment later today in support of the two respective substitute amendments as introduced on behalf of the Evers administration. Hyun stated the DNR supports both of the two amendments so long as no additional changes are made to those agreed-upon details while acknowledging the work ahead toward finalizing a bipartisan deal.
“The narrow exemptions for PFAS, which the department has agreed upon with the bill authors, are pragmatic, reasonable, implementable and, most importantly, protective of human health and the environment,” Secretary Hyun is set to testify. “The proposed exemptions are designed so someone can read the statute on their own and determine whether they meet the criteria. The approach is efficient, straightforward, self-implementing and doesn’t require additional steps by the property owner. In other words, if a property owner meets the criteria, they are exempt and they don’t need to ask the DNR to grant the exemption.”
Progress toward final bipartisan deal on PFAS
In recent months, members of the Evers administration, at the direction of Gov. Evers, have participated in a series of productive, bipartisan meetings with lawmakers regarding several Republican-introduced PFAS bills in hopes of reaching consensus and compromise.
The negotiations have resulted in Gov. Evers and the Evers administration agreeing to a series of changes thus far that have been compiled into two substitute amendments that represent a good-faith effort toward reaching a final, bipartisan deal on PFAS. The agreement includes narrow modifications to the Spills Law specific to PFAS and the creation of PFAS grant programs designed to get money to Wisconsin communities that have been impacted by PFAS contamination.
The agreed-upon changes that represent progress from the bipartisan negotiations and conversations so far have been officially introduced, respectively, as substitute amendments to Republican-backed Assembly Bills (AB) 130 and 131 relating to PFAS contamination. The substitute amendments, introduced by the Republican bill authors, are set to be taken up in a public hearing of the Assembly Committee on Environment at 10 a.m. on Wed., Jan. 21, 2025.
Overview of currently agreed-upon bipartisan changes
Protection for innocent landowners
The proposal builds upon the governor’s budget provisions protecting innocent landowners by amending the Spills Law to ensure farmers, landowners, business owners, fire departments and municipalities are not held responsible for PFAS contamination they did not cause.
