SB627: Bill Text

LRB-1873/2

RCT:skg&mkd:dw

1995 - 1996 LEGISLATURE

1995 Senate BILL 627

March 19, 1996 - Introduced by Senator Decker. Referred to Committee on Transportation, Agriculture and Local Affairs.

SB627,1,3 An Act to amend 174.05, 174.052, 174.053 (1) and (2), 174.06 (1) and (7), 174.065 (1), 174.07 (1) (d), (2) (a) and (3) (b) and 174.09 (2) of the statutes; relating to: dog licensing.

Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau

Under current law, the owner of a dog must annually obtain a license for the dog. The license is valid from January 1, to the following December 31.

This bill makes dog licenses valid for 2 years, from January 1 of an odd-numbered year to the December 31 preceding the next odd-numbered year. The bill provides for a minimum dog license tax for the 2-year period of $6 for a neutered or spayed dog and $16 for any other dog, double the current minimum for the one-year license. The bill changes certain local responsibilities related to dog licensing, such as publishing notice of the dog license requirement, from annual to biennial responsibilities.

This bill also allows counties to authorize veterinarians to issue dog licenses.

For further information see the state and local fiscal estimate, which will be printed as an appendix to this bill.

The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do enact as follows:

SB627, s. 1 Section 1. 174.05 of the statutes is amended to read:

SB627,2,2 174.05 Dog license tax. (1) Requirement. Except as provided in s. 174.054, the owner of a dog more than 5 months of age on January 1 of any odd-numbered year, or 5 months of age within the license period beginning on January 1 of any odd-numbered year, shall annually biennially, or on or before the date the dog becomes 5 months of age, pay the dog license tax and obtain a license.

SB627,2,7 (2) Tax. The minimum dog license tax is $3 $6 for a neutered male dog or spayed female dog, upon presentation of evidence that the dog is neutered or spayed, and $8 $16 for an unneutered male dog or unspayed female dog, or one-half of these amounts if the dog became 5 months of age after July 1 January 1 of the even-numbered year of the license year period.

SB627,2,18 (3) Additional tax. The governing body of any county may by a majority vote of the members present at any regular meeting raise the minimum dog license tax on dogs within its jurisdiction and the governing body of any town, village or city may by resolution raise the minimum dog license tax on dogs within its jurisdiction. If the governing body of any county, town, village or city increases the minimum tax, it shall provide that the tax for unneutered male dogs and unspayed female dogs is greater than the tax for neutered male dogs and spayed female dogs. The additional tax may not exceed the total cost of all dog licensing, regulating and impounding activities for the previous year 2 years, less any refunds which may be received under s. 174.09 (2), and shall be levied and collected in the same manner as other dog license taxes.

SB627,2,21 (4) (title) License year period. The license year period commences on January 1 of an odd-numbered year and ends on the following December 31 preceding the next odd-numbered year.

SB627,3,5 (5) Late fees. The collecting official shall assess and collect a late fee of $5 from every owner of a dog 5 months of age or over, if the owner failed to obtain a license prior to April 1 of each odd-numbered year, or within 30 days of acquiring ownership of a licensable dog or if the owner failed to obtain a license on or before the dog reached licensable age. All late fees received or collected shall be paid into the local treasury as revenue of the town, village or city in which the license was issued. The governing body of any county, town, village or city may, when setting the amount of the tax, provide that any person purchasing a dog license for a dog 5 months of age or over after April 1 of an odd-numbered year shall pay an additional late fee.

SB627, s. 2 Section 2. 174.052 of the statutes is amended to read:

SB627,3,12 174.052 Publication of the dog license requirement and rabies vaccination requirement. (1) January notice. The county board of each county shall cause a class 1 notice under ch. 985 to be published between January 1 and January 15 of each odd-numbered year in a newspaper having general circulation in the county notifying the public that rabies vaccinations and dog licenses are required under the statutes.

SB627,3,17 (2) March notice. The county board of each county shall cause a class 1 notice under ch. 985 to be published between March 1 and March 15 of each odd-numbered year in a newspaper having general circulation in the county notifying the public that rabies vaccinations and dog licenses are required under the statutes and that late fees may be assessed after April 1.

SB627, s. 3 Section 3. 174.053 (1) and (2) of the statutes are amended to read:

SB627,4,2 174.053 (1) Kennel license option. Any person who keeps or operates a kennel may, instead of the license tax for each dog required by this chapter, apply to the collecting official for a kennel license for the keeping or operating of the kennel. Such person shall pay for the license year period a license tax of $35 $70 for a kennel of 12 or fewer dogs and an additional $3 $6 for each dog in excess of 12. Upon payment of the required kennel license tax and upon presentation of evidence that all dogs over 5 months of age are currently immunized against rabies, the collecting official shall issue the kennel license and a number of tags equal to the number of dogs authorized to be kept in the kennel.

SB627,4,17 (2) Kennel license tags. Kennel license tags shall be made in a form so that they may be readily distinguishable from the individual license tags for the same year license period. The owner or keeper of a kennel shall keep at all times a kennel license tag attached to the collar of each dog over 5 months old kept by the owner or keeper under a kennel license but this requirement does not apply to a dog during competition or training, to a dog securely confined indoors, to a dog while hunting or to a dog securely confined in a fenced area. These tags may be transferred from one dog to another within the kennel whenever any dog is removed from the kennel. The rabies vaccination tag or substitute tag shall remain attached to the dog for which it is issued at all times but this requirement does not apply to a dog during competition or training, to a dog securely confined indoors, to a dog while hunting or to a dog securely confined in a fenced area. No dog bearing a kennel tag shall be permitted to stray or to be taken anywhere outside the limits of the kennel unless the dog is in leash or temporarily out for the purposes of hunting, breeding, trial, training or competition.

SB627, s. 4 Section 4. 174.06 (1) and (7) of the statutes are amended to read:

SB627,4,21 174.06 (1) Responsibility to list. Every town, village and city shall annually, by September 1 of each even-numbered year, ascertain by diligent inquiry the dogs owned or kept within the assessment district.

SB627,4,24 (7) List delivery. The listing official shall, by September 15 of each even-numbered year, deliver one copy of the list under sub. (5) or (6) to the county clerk, one copy to the collecting official, and retain one copy for his or her files.

SB627, s. 5 Section 5. 174.065 (1) of the statutes is amended to read:

SB627,5,6 174.065 (1) Collecting official. The collecting official is the city, village or town treasurer or other tax collecting officer or a person deputized by the treasurer or tax collecting official, unless the common council or village or town board provides by ordinance or resolution for the appointment of a different person. A county board may, by ordinance or resolution, authorize veterinarians to be collecting officials in the county.

SB627, s. 6 Section 6. 174.07 (1) (d), (2) (a) and (3) (b) of the statutes are amended to read:

SB627,5,10 174.07 (1) (d) Tag. After issuing the license the collecting official shall deliver to the owner a tag of durable material bearing the same serial number as the license, the name of the county in which issued and the license year period.

SB627,5,14 (2) (a) The department shall contract for and have prepared and furnished annually biennially to the county clerk of each county a sufficient number of tags. The cost of making and furnishing the tags and the cost of printing all forms shall be paid by the counties out of the dog license fund.

SB627,5,23 (3) (b) Return of tags and licenses. The collecting official shall annually, by December 31 of each even-numbered year, return to the county clerk all unused tags of the current license year period, together with license books and all duplicate licenses of the current year license period. The county clerk shall carefully check the returned tags, duplicate licenses, and license blanks to ascertain whether all tags and license blanks which were furnished by the county clerk have been accounted for, and to enable the county clerk to do that the county clerk shall charge each collecting official with all tags and blank licenses furnished or delivered and credit those returned. In case of discrepancy, the county clerk shall notify the department.

SB627, s. 7 Section 7. 174.09 (2) of the statutes is amended to read:

SB627,6,17 174.09 (2) Expenses necessarily incurred by the county in purchasing and providing books, forms and other supplies required in the administering of the dog license law, expenses incurred by the county under s. 95.21 (4) (b) and (8) and expenses incurred by the county pound or by a humane society or other organization designated to provide a pound for collecting, caring for and disposing of dogs may be paid out of the dog license fund. The amount remaining in the fund after deducting these expenses shall be available for and may be used as far as necessary for paying claims allowed by the county to the owners of domestic animals because of damages done by dogs during the license year period for which the taxes were paid. Any surplus in excess of $1,000 which may remain from the dog license taxes of any license year period shall, on March 1 of the succeeding odd-numbered year following the license period, be paid by the county treasurer to the county humane society or other organization designated by the county board to provide a pound. If there is no humane society or other organization designated to provide a pound, these funds shall be paid to the towns, villages and cities of the county for their use in the proportion in which the towns, villages and cities contributed to the fund out of which the surplus arises.

SB627, s. 8 Section 8. Effective date.

SB627,6,19 (1) This act takes effect on January 1, 1997.

SB627,6,20 (End)