LRB-3921/2
EVM:emw&amn
2015 - 2016 LEGISLATURE
January 12, 2016 - Introduced by Senators LeMahieu, Harris Dodd, Gudex, C.
Larson
, Lassa, Lazich, Stroebel, Tiffany and L. Taylor, cosponsored by
Representatives Tittl, Allen, Barnes, Hintz, Jarchow, Kahl, Ohnstad, A.
Ott
, Rohrkaste, Sinicki, Steffen, Vorpagel and Zamarripa. Referred to
Committee on Transportation and Veterans Affairs.
SB550,1,5 1An Act to amend 341.14 (6r) (b) 1., 341.14 (6r) (c), 341.14 (6r) (e) and 341.14 (6r)
2(fm) 7.; and to create 20.395 (5) (eL), 25.40 (1) (a) 32., 341.14 (6r) (b) 1m. c.,
3341.14 (6r) (b) 17., 341.14 (6r) (f) 65. and 341.14 (11) of the statutes; relating
4to:
special registration plates associated with certain professional basketball
5teams and making an appropriation.
Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau
This bill allows persons who are interested in supporting the Milwaukee Bucks
to obtain special motor vehicle registration plates.
Under current law, a group or organization that meets certain criteria may
apply to the Department of Transportation (DOT) for designation as an authorized
special group. If the application is approved, members of the authorized special
group may obtain special registration plates for certain vehicles, including
automobiles and motor homes, that are owned or leased by special group members.
A fee, in addition to the regular registration fee for the particular kind of vehicle, is
charged for the issuance or reissuance of most special plates.
This bill establishes an authorized special group specifically enumerated in
state law for persons interested in obtaining special plates expressing support for
certain professional basketball teams. In addition to the regular vehicle registration
fee, special group members are required to pay a $15 fee for issuance or reissuance
of the special plates and to annually include a voluntary payment of $25. Eighty
percent of the voluntary payment is deposited in the general fund until the state is

fully reimbursed for its contributions to a professional basketball arena, and all other
amounts are paid to the Milwaukee Bucks Foundation. The bill requires the special
plates to display a logo or symbol associated with the professional basketball team
and that the plates' design be approved by the president of the Milwaukee Bucks.
DOT may not issue these special plates until DOT has obtained authority to use any
applicable trademark or service mark associated with the team on these special
plates and until DOT receives a contribution from any interested person or group in
the amount of the initial costs of production of these special plates or $23,700,
whichever is less.
For further information see the state 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:
SB550,1 1Section 1. 20.395 (5) (eL) of the statutes is created to read:
SB550,2,42 20.395 (5) (eL) Basketball plate payments to the Milwaukee Bucks Foundation.
3From the general fund, all moneys received under s. 341.14 (6r) (b) 17. b. for
4payments to the Milwaukee Bucks Foundation.
SB550,2 5Section 2. 25.40 (1) (a) 32. of the statutes is created to read:
SB550,2,76 25.40 (1) (a) 32. Moneys received under s. 341.14 (6r) (b) 17. that are deposited
7into the general fund.
SB550,3 8Section 3. 341.14 (6r) (b) 1. of the statutes is amended to read:
SB550,3,179 341.14 (6r) (b) 1. Subject to subd. 1m., upon application to register an
10automobile or motor home, or a motor truck, dual purpose motor home or dual
11purpose farm truck which has a gross weight of not more than 8,000 pounds, or a
12farm truck which has a gross weight of not more than 12,000 pounds, by any person
13who is a resident of this state and a member of an authorized special group, the
14department shall issue to the person special plates whose colors and design shall
15indicate that the vehicle is owned by a person who is a member of the applicable
16special group. The department may not issue any special group plates under par. (f)

155., 60., or 61r. until 6 months after the department has received information
2sufficient for the department to determine that any approvals required for use of any
3logo, trademark, trade name or other commercial symbol designating the
4professional football team or professional baseball team or associated with
5Harley-Davidson, Inc., have been obtained. Subject to subs. (9) (d) and, (10) (d), and
6(11) (d),
the department may not issue any special group plates under par. (f) 61m.
7or, 63., or 65. until the department has received information sufficient for the
8department to determine that any license or other approval required for use of any
9logo, trademark or service mark, trade name or other commercial symbol to be used
10on or in association with these plates has been obtained. Notwithstanding s. 341.12
11(2), if the department of corrections does not have flat-plate technology available for
12use in manufacturing license plates at quality and cost comparable to that available
13from the state of Minnesota, the department of transportation may not issue any
14special group plates under par. (f) 59. unless the department of transportation
15purchases the plates from the state of Minnesota. Sections 16.70, 16.71, 16.72, 16.75,
1616.752 to 16.755, 16.765, 16.77, and 16.82 do not apply to purchases of plates issued
17under par. (f) 59. from the state of Minnesota.
SB550,4 18Section 4. 341.14 (6r) (b) 1m. c. of the statutes is created to read:
SB550,4,819 341.14 (6r) (b) 1m. c. Upon receipt of a contribution totaling an amount equal
20to the department's final estimate of the initial costs of production of the special
21group plates under par. (f) 65. or $23,700, whichever is less, from any person or group
22interested in the special group plates under par. (f) 65., the department shall
23commence any development work necessary to implement the provisions of par. (f)
2465. and related provisions under this subsection and shall complete the development
25work within one year of its commencement. As soon as possible, the department

1shall post notice on the department's Internet site of its final estimate of the initial
2costs of production of the special group plates under par. (f) 65. The development
3work under this subd. 1m. c. shall be funded only from the appropriation under s.
420.395 (4) (ch) from the contribution received by the department for purposes of this
5subd. 1m. c. No contribution received by the department under this subd. 1m. c. may
6be applied to any fee established under subd. 2. The department may not issue any
7special group plates under par. (f) 65. until the department has completed the
8development work specified in this subd. 1m. c.
SB550,5 9Section 5. 341.14 (6r) (b) 17. of the statutes is created to read:
SB550,4,2010 341.14 (6r) (b) 17. A voluntary payment of $25 that is in addition to the fee
11under subd. 2. shall be collected in connection with the issuance or renewal of a plate
12issued on an annual basis for the special group specified under par. (f) 65. A
13voluntary payment of $50 that is in addition to the fee under subd. 2. shall be
14collected in connection with the issuance or renewal of a plate issued on a biennial
15basis for the special group specified under par. (f) 65. if the plate is issued or renewed
16during the first year of the biennial registration period or $25 for the issuance or
17renewal if the plate is issued or renewed during the 2nd year of the biennial
18registration period. No plate may be issued for the special group specified under par.
19(f) 65. unless the voluntary payment under this subdivision is collected. All moneys
20received under this subdivision shall be deposited and credited as follows:
SB550,5,221 a. Until $80,000,000 has been deposited into the general fund under this subd.
2217. a. or until the secretary of administration has certified that the state has been
23fully reimbursed, from any source, for its contributions related to the construction
24of the sports and entertainment arena under 229.44, 80 percent shall be deposited

1into the general fund for the purpose of reimbursing the state for its contributions
2related to the construction of the sports and entertainment arena.
SB550,5,73 b. The remainder after depositing moneys as provided in subd. 17. a. shall be
4deposited into the general fund and credited to the appropriation account under s.
520.395 (5) (eL). The department of transportation shall identify and record the
6percentage of moneys that are attributable to each professional basketball team
7represented by a plate under par. (f) 65.
SB550,6 8Section 6. 341.14 (6r) (c) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB550,6,229 341.14 (6r) (c) Special group plates shall display the word "Wisconsin", the
10name of the applicable authorized special group, a symbol representing the special
11group, not exceeding one position, and identifying letters or numbers or both, not
12exceeding 6 positions and not less than one position. Except as provided in this
13paragraph, the department shall specify the design for special group plates, but the
14department shall consult the president of the University of Wisconsin System before
15specifying the word or symbol used to identify the special groups under par. (f) 35.
16to 47., the secretary of natural resources before specifying the word or symbol used
17to identify the special groups under par. (f) 50. and 59., the chief executive officer of
18the professional football team and an authorized representative of the league of
19professional football teams described in s. 229.823 to which that team belongs before
20specifying the design for the applicable special group plate under par. (f) 55., the chief
21trademark officer of Harley-Davidson Michigan, LLC before specifying the design
22for the applicable special group plate under par. (f) 61r., the department of veterans
23affairs before specifying the design for the special group plates under par. (f) 49d.,
2449h., and 49s., and the department of tourism and chief executive officer of the
25organization specified in par. (f) 55m. before specifying the design and word or

1symbol used to identify the special group name for special group plates under par.
2(f) 55m. Special group plates under par. (f) 50. shall be as similar as possible to
3regular registration plates in color and design. Special group plates issued under
4par. (f) 62. shall display the words "In God We Trust". The department shall make
5available 2 designs for the special group plates under par. (f) 60. The department
6may not specify any design for the special group plates under par. (f) 60. unless the
7design is approved by the executive vice president of the Milwaukee Brewers
8Baseball Club LP. The department may not specify any design for the special group
9plates under par. (f) 65. unless the design is approved by the president of the
10Milwaukee Bucks.
The word or symbol used to identify the special group under par.
11(f) 59. shall be different from the word or symbol used to identify the special group
12under par. (f) 50. and the design shall cover the entire plate. Special group plates
13under par. (f) 61m. shall display a logo or image of the lion associated with the Lions
14Clubs International. Special group plates under par. (f) 61r. shall display a bar and
15shield logo associated with Harley-Davidson, Inc., on the left portion of the plates
16and the words "share the road" on the bottom portion of the plates. Special group
17plates under par. (f) 63. shall display the words "Trout Unlimited." Notwithstanding
18par. (e), special group plates under par. (f) 33m. and 48m. shall be the same color and
19design that was specified by the department for special group plates under par. (f)
2033. and 48., respectively, immediately prior to January 1, 2007. The design for
21special group plates under par. (f) 33. and 48. shall be different from the design of
22special group plates under par. (f) 33m. and 48m., respectively.
SB550,7 23Section 7. 341.14 (6r) (e) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB550,7,1424 341.14 (6r) (e) The department shall specify one combination of colors for
25special group plates for groups or organizations which are not military in nature and

1not special group plates under par. (f) 35. to 47., 50., and 59., for each professional
2football team under par. (f) 55., and for each professional baseball team under par.
3(f) 60., and for each professional basketball team under par. (f) 65. The department
4shall specify one combination of colors for special group plates under par. (f) 35. to
547. Subject to par. (c), the department shall specify the word or words comprising the
6special group name and the symbol to be displayed upon special group plates for a
7group or organization which is not military in nature after consultation with the
8chief executive officer in this state of the group or organization. The department
9shall require that the word or words and symbol for a university specified under par.
10(f) 35. to 47. be a registration decal or tag and affixed to the special group plate and
11be of the colors for a university specified under par. (f) 35. to 47. that the president
12of the University of Wisconsin System specifies. The department shall consult the
13chief trademark officer of Harley-Davidson Michigan, LLC before specifying the
14colors for the special group plate under par. (f) 61r.
SB550,8 15Section 8. 341.14 (6r) (f) 65. of the statutes is created to read:
SB550,7,1816 341.14 (6r) (f) 65. Persons interested in expressing support for a professional
17basketball team that has entered into, or whose affiliate has entered into, a
18development agreement with a local exposition district under s. 229.461.
SB550,9 19Section 9. 341.14 (6r) (fm) 7. of the statutes is amended to read:
SB550,8,220 341.14 (6r) (fm) 7. After October 1, 1998, additional authorized special groups
21may only be special groups designated by the department under this paragraph. The
22authorized special groups enumerated in par. (f) shall be limited solely to those
23special groups specified under par. (f) on October 1, 1998. This subdivision does not
24apply to the special groups specified under par. (f) 3m., 6m., 9g., 9m., 12g., 12m.,

115m., 15n., 15o., 15p., 15q., 19m., 33m., 48m., 49d., 49h., 49s., 54., 55., 55m., 56., 57.,
258., 59., 60., 61., 61m., 61r., and 62. and, 63. and, 64., and 65.
SB550,10 3Section 10. 341.14 (11) of the statutes is created to read:
SB550,8,64 341.14 (11) (a) Subject to par. (c), from the appropriation under s. 20.395 (5)
5(eL), the department shall make payments to the Milwaukee Bucks Foundation, if
6the department issues special group plates under sub. (6r) (f) 65.
SB550,8,107 (b) For each year in which the department makes payments under par. (a), the
8Milwaukee Bucks Foundation shall submit to the presiding officer of each house of
9the legislature an audited financial statement of its use of the payments under this
10subsection, prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.
SB550,8,1711 (c) The department may make payments to the Milwaukee Bucks Foundation
12under this subsection only if the Milwaukee Bucks Foundation is eligible for the
13exemption from taxation under section 501 (a) of the Internal Revenue Code. The
14department shall discontinue payments to the Milwaukee Bucks Foundation under
15this subsection if the Milwaukee Bucks Foundation dissolves, becomes insolvent,
16files a petition for bankruptcy, or is no longer exempt from taxation under section 501
17(a) of the Internal Revenue Code.
SB550,8,2218 (d) 1. If the special group plates under sub. (6r) (f) 65. will display any logo,
19trademark or service mark, trade name, or other commercial symbol associated with
20the Milwaukee Bucks, the department may not issue any plates under sub. (6r) (f)
2165. unless the approval specified in sub. (6r) (b) 1. for these plates provides for all of
22the following:
SB550,8,2423 a. That the approval is irrevocable with respect to all plates issued for vehicles
24after the plates are issued for these vehicles.
SB550,9,4
1b. That, if the approval is withdrawn, the department may continue to renew
2the registration of vehicles previously issued plates under sub. (6r) (f) 65., without
3replacing those plates, but the department shall discontinue collecting the voluntary
4payment specified in sub. (6r) (b) 17. with respect to these renewals.
SB550,9,85 2. Notwithstanding sub. (6r) (b) 1. and (f) (intro.), if the approval specified in
6sub. (6r) (b) 1. for plates issued under sub. (6r) (f) 65. is withdrawn, the department
7shall discontinue issuing plates under sub. (6r) (f) 65. unless additional approval, as
8specified in this paragraph and sub. (6r) (b) 1., is obtained by the department.
SB550,9,99 (End)
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