At Issue
Recently Passed Legislation
Recently passed legislation is a feature of the At Issue column in
response to your requests for more information on new laws. Summaries of
1997
Acts 61 - 83 appeared in the May 1998 Wisconsin Lawyer;
summaries of 1997
Acts 84 - 136 appeared in the June 1998 issue. Due to the volume of
legislation passed during the regular and special sessions, legislative
summaries appear in multiple issues.
To subscribe to the slip laws (acts), send your order with payment
to: Department of Administration, Document Sales, P.O. Box 7840,
Madison, WI 53707-7840. The subscription period is from January 1997
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Legislative Documents, 1 E. Main St., Madison, WI 53702, (608) 266-2400.
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Editor's Note: To view Wisconsin
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Qualified domestic relations under the Wisconsin retirement
system
Publication date*: May 1, 1998
Relating to: Qualified domestic relations orders under the
Wisconsin retirement system.
Corrected copy: Initially printed with incorrect publication
date of April 30, 1998.
Farmland preservation credit
Publication date*: May 4, 1998
Relating to: Eligibility and certification to receive the
farmland preservation credit.
Initial applicability: This act first applies to taxable
years beginning on Jan. 1 of the year following the year in which this
subsection takes effect.
Reinstating a bank trust fund provision
Publication date*: May 4, 1998
Relating to: Reinstating a bank trust fund provision created
by 1995 Wis. Act 273 that was unintentionally repealed by 1995 Wisconsin
Act 336 (Revisor's Correction Bill).
Administrative warnings to holders of credentials issued by the
department of regulation and licensing
Publication date*: May 4, 1998
Relating to: The issuance of administrative warnings to
holders of credentials issued by the department of regulation and
licensing and granting rule-making authority.
Adopting the Uniform Unincorporated Nonprofit Association Act
Publication date*: May 4, 1998
Relating to: The adoption of the Uniform Unincorporated
Nonprofit Association Act; the authority of nonprofit associations to
acquire, hold and transfer property; the liability of nonprofit
associations and their members; and the ability of nonprofit
associations to sue and to be sued.
Effective dates: This act takes effect on the day after
publication, except as follows:
(1) The creation of section 184.10 of the statutes takes effect on
the first day of the 7th month beginning after publication.
Liability for dogs used in law enforcement functions
Publication date*: May 4, 1998
Relating to: Liability for damages caused by dogs used to
perform law enforcement functions.
Repealing the rejection of the federal preemption over state
interest rate provisions
Publication date*: May 4, 1998
Relating to: Repealing the rejection of federal preemption
over state interest rate provisions.
Threats to harm a witness
Publication date*: May 4, 1998
Relating to: Threats to cause bodily harm to a witness or to
damage the property of a witness and providing penalties.
Savings and loan institutions
Publication date*: May 4, 1998
Relating to: Investments and lending powers of savings
institutions, the location of savings institution offices and the power
of boards of directors of savings and loan associations to provide for
pension and deferred compensation plans.
Registration requirements for loan originators
Publication date*: May 4, 1998
Relating to: Registration requirements for loan originators,
mortgage bankers, and mortgage brokers, providing an exemption from
emergency rule procedures, granting rule-making authority, and providing
a penalty.
Operation and examination of banks
Publication date*: May 4, 1998
Relating to: In-state branches of out-of- state banks;
examination of state banks and trust company banks by the division of
banking; action without a meeting by a bank's board of directors;
dividend rights on capital stock; providing an exemption from emergency
rule procedures; and granting rule-making authority.
Property tax exemption for nonprofit organizations that rehabilitate
housing
Publication date*: May 4, 1998
Relating to: Creating a property tax exemption for nonprofit
organizations that rehabilitate housing for sale to low-income
persons.
Effective date: This act takes effect on the Jan. 1 after
publication.
Assigning benefits to pay fines
Publication date*: May 4, 1998
Relating to: Assignments of earnings, pension benefits,
lottery winnings, and other benefits for the payment of assessments,
fines, forfeitures, costs, restitution, and surcharges, making an
appropriation and providing a penalty.
Effective date: This act takes effect on the first day of
the 4th month beginning after publication.
Valuing state employee accumulated sick leave credits
Publication date*: May 4, 1998
Relating to: The valuation of a state employee's accumulated
sick leave credits for the payment of health insurance premiums under a
group health insurance program administered by the group insurance
board.
Effective date: This act takes effect on July 1, 1997, or on
the day after publication, whichever is later.
Governing library systems
Publication date*: May 4, 1998
Relating to: The number of members on the system board in
certain federated library systems; nomination and approval of members of
a library system board in a federated public library system; public
library advisory committees; exemption from the county property tax levy
for library services; the establishment by counties of standards for
public libraries; public library system aids; reports on the
effectiveness of public library systems; withdrawal from and
participation in public library systems; appeals to the state
superintendent of public instruction of a county library board or county
board of supervisors' disapproval of a town's request to establish a
public library; authorizing private colleges and universities to
participate in telecommunications networks; and requiring counties to
pay public libraries for services provided to residents of the county
that reside in municipalities that do not maintain public libraries.
Effective date: This act takes effect on July 1, 1998.
Hunting near certain schools
Publication date*: May 4, 1998
Relating to: Hunting near certain schools.
Powers and duties of credit unions
Publication date*: May 4, 1998
Relating to: The powers and duties of credit unions and
their directors, officers, employees and members; and the "good funds"
requirements for loan closings.
Hospital visitation
Publication date*: May 5, 1998
Relating to: Hospital visitation.
Creating a statewide trauma care system
Publication date*: May 5, 1998
Relating to: Creating a statewide trauma care system,
granting rule-making authority and making an appropriation.
Treating emergency medical conditions
Publication date*: May 5, 1998
Relating to: Coverage of, and prohibiting requiring prior
authorization for, treatment of an emergency medical condition.
Effective date: This act takes effect on the first day of
the 6th month beginning after publication.
Registration of massage therapists and bodyworkers
Publication date*: May 5, 1998
Relating to: Registration of massage therapists and
bodyworkers, granting rule-making authority and providing a penalty.
Effective date: This act takes effect on the first day of
the 9th month beginning after publication.
Release of patient health-care records
Publication date*: May 5, 1998
Relating to: Release of patient health-care records to the
patient's health-care provider.
College tuition prepayment program
Publication date*: May 5, 1998
Relating to: The college tuition prepayment program.
Parking vehicles on highways adjacent to schoolhouses
Publication date*: May 5, 1998
Relating to: The parking of vehicles on highways adjacent to
schoolhouses during specified hours.
Using school district property by citizen associations
Publication date*: May 5, 1998
Relating to: The use of school district property by citizen
associations.
Term of the student member of the state technical college
Publication date*: May 5, 1998
Relating to: The term of the student member of the state
technical college board.
Annual earnings period under the Wisconsin retirement system
Publication date*: May 5, 1998
Relating to: The determination of the annual earnings period
under the Wisconsin retirement system for certain technical college
district and cooperative educational service agency employees.
Exempting certain resident students from tuition
Publication date*: May 5, 1998
Relating to: Exempting certain resident students from
tuition at the University of Wisconsin System and at the technical
college system.
Initial applicability: This act first applies to students
enrolled in courses that begin on the effective date of this
subsection.
Special education programs
Publication date*: May 5, 1998
Relating to: Special education programs for children with
disabilities and granting rule-making authority.
Ozone-depleting refrigerant and mobile air conditioners
Publication date*: May 5, 1998
Relating to: Ozone-depleting refrigerant and mobile air
conditioners.
Fermented malt beverage wholesalers
Publication date*: May 5, 1998
Relating to: Fermented malt beverage wholesalers.
Barricades around ice holes
Publication date*: May 6, 1998
Relating to: Barricades around ice holes.
Disabled hunter permits for persons with visual handicaps
Publication date*: May 6, 1998
Relating to: Disabled hunter permits issued to persons who
are visually handicapped.
Prospecting and mining fees
Publication date*: May 6, 1998
Relating to: Prospecting and mining fees.
Regulating hunting, fishing, and trapping
Publication date*: May 6, 1998
Relating to: The regulation of hunting, fishing, and
trapping and the management of wild animals by local governmental
units.
Permits for mining sulfide ore
Publication date*: May 6, 1998
Relating to: Issuance of metallic mining permits for the
mining of sulfide ore bodies.
Public access to lakes and streams
Publication date*: May 6, 1998
Relating to: Vacating or discontinuing public access to
lakes and streams and requiring construction for shoreline erosion
control under certain circumstances.
Employment-connected disease for fire fighters
Publication date*: May 11, 1998
Relating to: Presumption concerning employment-connected
disease for certain municipal fire fighters.
General permits for navigable waters
Publication date*: May 11, 1998
Relating to: Issuing general permits for activities in
navigable waters that are located in the Wolf River and the Fox River
basin area or in another area as designated by the secretary of natural
resources.
Regulating podiatrists
Publication date*: May 11, 1998
Relating to: The regulation and licensure of podiatrists,
abolishing the podiatry examining council and creating a podiatrists
affiliated credentialing board, granting rule-making authority and
providing a penalty.
Effective dates: This act takes effect on the first day of
the 7th month beginning after publication, except as follows: (1) The
treatment of section 15.406(3) of the statutes and Section 76 of this
act take effect on the day after publication.
False complaints of police misconduct
Publication date*: May 11, 1998
Relating to: False complaints of police misconduct and
providing a penalty.
Employees of fraternals
Publication date*: May 11, 1998
Relating to: Defining employees of fraternals to include
retired employees and providing insurance for the spouses and minor
children of employees of fraternals.
Tractor and machinery safety training
Publication date*: May 11, 1998
Relating to: Tractor and machinery operation safety training
and certification.
Unclassified division administrator position in the department of
health and family services
Publication date*: May 11, 1998
Relating to: The creation of an additional unclassified
division administrator position in the department of health and family
services.
Abuse of vulnerable adults
Publication date*: May 11, 1998
Relating to: Abuse of vulnerable adults and providing
penalties.
Rights of crime victims
Publication date*: May 11, 1998
Relating to: Rights of victims of crime, granting
rule-making authority and providing a penalty.
Effective date: This act takes effect on the first day of
the 7th month beginning after publication.
Testing for HIV and sexually transmitted diseases in criminal
defendants
Publication date*: May 11, 1998
Relating to: Testing for the presence of the human
immunodeficiency virus and sexually transmitted diseases in criminal
defendants and juveniles alleged to be delinquent or in need of
protection or services who are found not competent to proceed or not
guilty by reason of mental disease or defect.
Services as restitution by juveniles
Publication date*: May 11, 1998
Relating to: The performance of services for the victim by a
juvenile as restitution for the juvenile's act.
Joint local water authorities
Publication date*: May 11, 1998
Relating to: Permitting the creation of joint local water
authorities and granting rule-making authority.
Emergency rules by the joint committee for review of administrative
rules
Publication date*: May 11, 1998
Relating to: Promulgation of emergency rules and the
extension of emergency rules by the joint committee for review of
administrative rules.
Principals' reporting of certain lobbying activities to the ethics
board
Publication date*: May 11, 1998
Relating to: Reporting by principals with respect to certain
lobbying activities, voluntary registration by certain persons with the
ethics board, compilation and use of certain information provided to the
ethics board, making an appropriation and providing penalties.
Effective dates: This act takes effect on Jan. 1, 1999,
except as follows: The repeal and recreation of section 13. 69 (2m) of
the statutes takes effect on Jan. 1, 2001.
Increasing the time to serve a summons and complaint and a
responsive pleading
Publication date*:May 11, 1998
Relating to: Increasing the time to serve a summons and
complaint and a responsive pleading.
Changes to the probate code
Publication date*:May 11, 1998
Relating to: Changes to the probate code.
Fish species harvest limits
Publication date*:May 11, 1998
Relating to: Establishment of species harvest limits and
allotment of individual licensee catch quotas among holders of
commercial fishing licenses and granting rule-making authority.
Traffic regulation ordinances
Publication date*:May 11, 1998
Relating to: Enacting traffic regulation ordinances that
conform with rules of the department of transportation.
Child support obligations
Publication date*:April 30, 1998
Relating to: Suspension of licenses, permits and other
credentials for failure to pay child support or to comply with a
subpoena or warrant related to paternity or child support proceedings
and requiring social security numbers on license, permit and other
credential applications and on certain documents concerning marriage and
children; creating a record matching program to match information about
delinquent child support obligors with financial account information of
financial institutions; creating a statutory lien for delinquent child
support obligations; creating a mechanism for enforcing child support
liens; fees for the child and spousal support, establishment of
paternity and medical liability support program and cooperation with
child support efforts under Wisconsin works; income withholding for
support or maintenance, adjudicating paternity when the mother fails to
appear and other technical changes related to child support enforcement;
access to certain agency records, nonliability for providing information
from records, issuing subpoenas, ordering genetic tests; providing
notice to new employers of a parent's obligation to provide health care
coverage for a child; providing medical and medical history information
in custody matters; hospital-based voluntary establishment of paternity;
administratively changing interstate income-withholding orders to sum
certain amounts; presumption of paternity; acknowledgment of paternity;
procedure, temporary orders, and probable cause in paternity actions;
payment for genetic tests in paternity actions; changes in departmental
responsibility for support enforcement; intercepting delinquent support
and certain other payments from pension plan disbursements; intercepting
delinquent support from court judgments and settlements; granting
rule-making authority; making appropriations; and providing a
penalty.
Effective dates; general: Except as otherwise provided in
sections 9401 to 9456 of this act, this act takes effect on the day
after publication.
Humane officers, the custody and disposition of animals
Publication date*:May 11, 1998
Relating to: Humane officers, the custody and disposition of
animals, granting rule-making authority, making an appropriation and
providing a penalty.
Effective dates: This act takes effect on the first day of
the 19th month beginning after publication, except as follows: Section
33 (1) of this act takes effect on the day after publication.
Environmental laws regulating mining and water pollution
Publication date*:May 11, 1998
Relating to: Enforcement of certain environmental laws
regulating mining and water pollution.
Kickapoo Valley reserve, and management board
Publication date*:May 11, 1998
Relating to: The Kickapoo Valley reserve, the Kickapoo
reserve management board and providing a penalty.
Trapping approvals
Publication date*:May 11, 1998
Relating to: The waiver of requirements for trapping
approvals for certain special events or programs sponsored or approved
by the department of natural resources.
Revocation or suspension to engage in a fish or game activity
Publication date*:May 11, 1998
Relating to: Revocation or suspension of the privilege to
engage in a fish or game activity and providing a penalty.
Hunter education programs
Publication date*:May 11, 1998
Relating to: Hunter education programs and hunting approvals
issued to bow hunters.
Effective date: This act takes effect on July 1, 1998.
The intoxicated boating law
Publication date*:May 11, 1998
Relating to: The intoxicated boating law; capacity plates on
boats; certificate of number and registration requirements for boats;
prohibitions against falsifying boat titles and other documentation;
prohibitions against operating boats using unsafe methods and in certain
locations; boating safety course and certificates; granting rule-making
authority; and providing penalties.
Effective dates: This act takes effect on the day after
publication, except as follows:
(1) CERTIFICATE OF NUMBERS FOR NONMOTORIZED BOATS AND FOR BOATS OWNED
BY DEALERS OR MANUFACTURERS. The treatment of sections 30.505, 30.52 (3)
(im), (3m) (a) and (5) (a) 3. and 30.523 (2) (c) and (3) of the statutes
takes effect on the April 1 after publication.
(2) BOATING SAFETY PROGRAM AND CERTIFICATES. The treatment of
sections 30.74 (intro.), (1) (a), (b), (bn) and (c), (2) (a) and (3),
30.80 (2m) and 938.343 (5) of the statutes takes effect on the first day
of the 12th month beginning after publication.
(3) OTHER. The treatment of sections 30.52 (1) (b) 1r., 30.66 (3)
(b), 30.80 (6) (c) and 885.235 (1m) and (4) of the statutes, the
amendment of section 30.80 (6) (a) of the statutes, the creation of
section 30.80 (6) (a) 4. and 5. of the statutes and section 52 (2) of
this act take effect on the first day of the 3rd month beginning after
publication.
Selling a motor vehicle seized for OWI-related crimes
Publication date*:May 11, 1998
Relating to: The sale of a motor vehicle subject to a
seizure for a crime related to driving while under the influence of an
intoxicant or other drug and providing a penalty.
Changes to the Minnesota-Wisconsin student reciprocity
agreement
Publication date*:May 11, 1998
Relating to: Various changes to the Minnesota-Wisconsin
student reciprocity agreement.
Initial Applicability: Minnesota-Wisconsin student
reciprocity agreement. The treatment of section 39.47 (2) and (2g) of
the statutes first applies to students enrolled in and reciprocal fees
for the 1998-99 academic year.
Misrepresentations of business locations
Publication date*:May 11, 1998
Relating to: Misrepresentations of the locations of
businesses and providing a penalty.
Initial applicability: This act first applies to names or
other information that is published on the effective date of this
subsection.
Group health insurance for state employees in the Wisconsin
retirement system
Publication date*:May 11, 1998
Relating to: The eligibility for group health insurance for
state employees participating under the Wisconsin retirement system.
Increasing the number of circuit court branches
Publication date*:May 11, 1998
Relating to: Increasing the number of circuit court
branches.
Public utilities
Publication date*:May 11, 1998
Relating to: Strategic energy assessments, certification
requirements applicable to certain projects proposed by public
utilities, certificates of public convenience and necessity for certain
electric generating facilities and high-voltage transmission lines,
independent system operator or transmission owner of electric
transmission system, certain out-of-state retail electric sales,
ownership and operation of wholesale merchant plants, service standards
for electric generation, transmission or distribution facilities,
regional transmission planning and granting rule-making authority.
Effective dates: This act takes effect on the day after
publication, except as follows: Strategic Advance Plan. The treatment of
sections 196.491 (title), (1) (a) and (d) and (2) (title), (a) (intro.),
1., 2., 3., 3g., 3m., 3r., 4., 5., 6., 7., 8. and 9. to 13., (ag), (am),
(b) (intro.), 8., 9. and 10., (c), (d), (e), (f), (g), (gm) and (i) to
(m) and 196.795 (7) (a) 1. b. of the statutes takes effect on Jan. 1,
1999.
Original adult court jurisdiction over a juvenile
Publication date*:May 12, 1998
Relating to: Original adult court jurisdiction over a
juvenile who is alleged to have attempted or committed a violation of
any state criminal law if that violation may be joined with an alleged
assault, battery, homicide or attempted homicide over which the adult
court has original jurisdiction, the imposition of a juvenile
adjudication and disposition by an adult court on a juvenile who has
been found to have committed a lesser offense or a joined offense,
requiring the parent of a juvenile to make restitution for any damage or
injury resulting from the juvenile's act or to pay a forfeiture for the
juvenile's act, sanctions for a juvenile who violates a condition of his
or her dispositional order, contempt of court by a juvenile who violates
a condition of his or her dispositional order, the authority to take
into custody and hold in short-term detention a juvenile who has
violated a condition of his or her dispositional order, aftercare
supervision or participation in an intensive supervision program, the
rules of evidence at postdispositional hearings under the juvenile
justice code, access to juvenile court records, law enforcement agency
records, social services agency records and pupil records by a fire
investigator, disclosure by the victim-witness coordinator to the victim
of a juvenile's act or alleged act of the name and address of the
juvenile and the juvenile's parents, the confidential exchange of
information between a law enforcement agency, a social welfare agency
and the school attended by a child or juvenile, the disclosure of
information relating to a child or a juvenile by a law enforcement
agency, a social welfare agency or a juvenile court to the private
school attended by the child or the juvenile, requesting the legislative
audit bureau to audit the use of secure detention facilities, referral
of a juvenile to a teen court program and the disclosure of juvenile
court records for the purposes of preparing a presentence investigation,
determining custody of a juvenile, setting bail, impeaching a witness
and determining whether a juvenile who would otherwise be an heir has
intentionally killed the decedent.
Anatomical gifts, power of attorney for health care
Publication date*:May 12, 1998
Relating to: Allowing a power of attorney for health-care
instrument to be used to make or refuse to make an anatomical gift and
allowing a health-care agent to make an anatomical gift.
Notification when a delinquent juvenile escapes or is released from
a nonsecured setting
Publication date*:May 12, 1998
Relating to: Notification of victims, witnesses, and the
public when a juvenile who has committed a delinquent act or who is not
competent to proceed escapes, is absent from, or is released from a
nonsecured child caring institution or inpatient facility.
The filing officer for municipal judge candidates
Publication date*:May 12, 1998
Relating to: The filing officer for candidates for the
office of municipal judge in municipal courts serving two or more
municipalities.
Designating the Root River watershed as a priority for the nonpoint
source water pollution abatement program
Publication date*:May 12, 1998
Relating to: Designating the Root River watershed as a
priority watershed for the nonpoint source water pollution abatement
program.
Uncertified copies of vital records for events before Oct. 1,
1907
Publication date*:May 12, 1998
Relating to: Issuance of uncertified copies of vital records
for events occurring before Oct. 1, 1907, and providing penalties.
A county treasurer's appointment of a deputy treasurer
Publication date*:May 12, 1998
Relating to: A county treasurer's appointment of a deputy
treasurer.
Stationery used by state agencies for outside correspondence
Publication date*:May 12, 1998
Relating to: Stationery used by state agencies for outside
correspondence.
*Section 991.11, WISCONSIN STATUTES 1995-96: Effective date of acts.
"Every act and every portion of an act enacted by the legislature over
the governor's partial veto which does not expressly prescribe the time
when it takes effect shall take effect on the day after its date of
publication as designated" by the secretary of state [the date of
publication may not be more than 10 working days after the date of
enactment].
Wisconsin Lawyer
