AB210,104,22
18(5) Additional eligibility requirements of a surviving spouse. The surviving
19spouse of a person under sub. (2) (a) 1. or 2. who was a resident of this state at the
20time of the veteran's death is eligible if the surviving spouse meets the requirements
21of sub. (2) (b) 3. to 5. and if the surviving spouse satisfies all of the following
22conditions:
AB210,104,2323
(a) 1. The surviving spouse satisfies any of the following conditions:
AB210,104,2524
a. Was married to and living with the deceased person under sub. (2) (a) 1. or
252. not less than 6 months immediately prior to the death of the person.
AB210,105,4
1b. Was married to the person under sub. (2) (a) 1. or 2. at the time the person
2entered the service and who became a widow or widower by the death of the person
3while in the service or as a result of physical disability of the person incurred during
4the service.
AB210,105,75
c. The period during which the surviving spouse was married to and lived with
6the deceased person under sub. (2) (a) 1. or 2. plus the period of widowhood or
7widowerhood is 6 months or more.
AB210,105,98
d. Was married to and living with the person under sub. (2) (a) 1. or 2. less than
96 months and a child was born of the marriage.
AB210,105,1010
(b) Has not remarried.
AB210,105,1111
(c) Is 45 years of age or over on the date of application.
AB210,105,1212
(d) Is physically disabled.
AB210,105,1413
(e) Is unable adequately to care for himself or herself and lacks adequate means
14of support.
AB210,105,1615
(f) Has been a resident of this state for the 12 months immediately preceding
16the date of application for membership.
AB210,105,21
17(6) Additional eligibility requirements of parents. The parent of a person
18under sub. (2) (a) 1. or 2. who was a resident of this state at the time of the person's
19death or, the parent of a living person under sub. (2) (a) 1. or 2. who is eligible for
20membership, is eligible if the parent meets the requirements of sub. (2) (b) 3. to 5.
21and if the parent satisfies all of the following conditions:
AB210,105,2222
(a) Has reached 60 years of age.
AB210,105,2423
(b) Has been a resident of this state for the 12-months preceding the date of
24application for membership.
AB210,106,2
1(c) Is physically disabled, unable adequately to care for himself or herself, and
2lacks adequate means of support.
AB210,106,5
3(7) Member income retention and payment. (a)
The board shall establish a pay
4plan for compensation of members for services rendered to a veterans home under
5its work therapy program.
AB210,106,126
(b) Members shall pay the amount due the state for care and maintenance of
7the member within 30 days after the receipt of the veterans home's billing statement
8by the member or by the member's personal representative. The department may
9subject any bill not paid within 30 days after receipt of the billing statement to an
10interest assessment of 1 percent per month or fraction of a month. If payment is not
11made within 60 days after the receipt of the billing statement, the department may
12discharge the member from the veterans home.
AB210,106,1513
(c)
Payment of amounts due the state for care and maintenance of a member
14shall be made to the fullest extent possible from sources of income other than pension
15or compensation paid by the U.S. department of veterans affairs.
AB210,106,1916
(d) A member is not required to use income received from services rendered to
17the veterans home under its work therapy program or from the sale of products or
18services through the hobby shop as payment for the care or maintenance of the
19member at the veterans home.
AB210,106,2220
(e) The department shall supervise the operation of a veterans home exchange,
21including the operation of the hobby shop for the sale of products made by all
22members.
AB210,107,4
23(8) Personal funds of member. A member may, in writing, authorize a
24veterans home to receive, hold, and account for his or her personal funds. Section
2549.498 (8) applies to the funds of a member held by the veterans home under this
1subsection. The department may transfer the personal funds of a member received
2under this subsection to the Wisconsin veterans facilities members fund under s.
325.37. Upon request of the member, the department shall pay the member the
4amount the member requests from his or her personal account.
AB210,107,7
5(9) Medical assistance payments. All moneys received under medical
6assistance, as defined in s. 49.43 (8), for the care of members shall be transferred to
7the appropriation under s. 20.485 (1) (gk).
AB210,107,18
8(10) Conveyance of property; descent. (a) Except as otherwise provided in
9this subsection, the application and admission of any applicant admitted under this
10section shall constitute a valid and binding contract between a member and the
11department. If a member dies leaving a relative that is entitled to an interest in the
12property of the member under the rules of intestate succession or a will the existence
13of which is made known to the commandant of the veterans home within 60 days of
14the member's death, the member's property shall constitute a part of the member's
15estate, except the commandant may distribute personal effects of nominal monetary
16value of a deceased member who is not survived by a member spouse to surviving
17relatives of the member who request the personal effects within a reasonable time
18after the member's death.
AB210,107,2419
(b) The department may manage, sell, lease, or transfer property passing to the
20state pursuant to this section or conveyed to it by members, defend and prosecute all
21actions concerning it, pay all just claims against it, and do all other things necessary
22for the protection, preservation, and management of the property. All expenditures
23necessary for the execution of functions under this paragraph or sub. (14) shall be
24made from the appropriation in s. 20.485 (1) (h).
AB210,108,4
1(c) A person who at the time of death is a member of a veterans home is a
2resident of the county in which the veterans home is located for the probate of the
3person's will, issuance of letters testamentary or other letters authorizing the
4administration of the decedent's estate, and the administration of the estate.
AB210,108,21
5(11) Disposition of property passing to state. If a member dies without a
6relative who is entitled to an interest in the property of the member under the rules
7of intestate succession and without leaving a will the existence of which is made
8known to the commandant of the home within 60 days of the member's death, the
9member's property shall be converted to cash, without administration. The
10commandant of a veterans home shall submit that converted sum to the secretary
11of administration to be paid into the appropriation under s. 20.485 (1) (h). The
12amount paid to the secretary of administration is subject to refund within 6 years to
13the estate of a member if it is subsequently discovered that the member left a will
14or a relative that is entitled to an interest in the property of the member under the
15rules of intestate succession or to any creditor of the member who establishes right
16to the funds or property or any portion of the funds or property. The department of
17administration, upon being satisfied that a claim out of the funds or property is legal
18and valid, shall pay the claim out of the funds or property, except that payment of
19claims for a member's funeral and burial expenses may not exceed a total of $1,500
20including any amount allowed by the United States for the member's funeral and
21burial and the right for burial and interment provided in s. 45.61 (2).
AB210,108,23
22(12) Powers of commandant over personal funds of members. A commandant
23may receive, disburse, and account for funds of members.
AB210,109,3
24(13) Additional eligibility requirements for skilled nursing facilities. Any
25person admitted to a skilled nursing facility at a veterans home shall meet the
1eligibility requirements under ss. 49.45 and 49.46 and rules promulgated under
2those sections during residence at the skilled nursing facility except if any of the
3following apply:
AB210,109,74
(a) Persons with sufficient income and resources to meet the expenses of care
5for one or more months may be admitted to the skilled nursing facility but shall apply
6income and resources to costs to the extent required under ss. 49.45 and 49.46 and
7rules promulgated under those sections.
AB210,109,128
(b) Persons who meet all the requirements of this section but whose degree of
9physical disability does not meet the minimum requirements under ss. 49.45 and
1049.46 and rules promulgated under those sections may be admitted to the skilled
11nursing facility but shall apply income and resources to costs to the extent required
12by ss. 49.45 and 49.46 and rules promulgated under those sections.
AB210,109,18
13(14) Additional eligibility requirement for other care facilities at veterans
14homes. An otherwise eligible person may be admitted to or remain in residency at
15a community-based residential facility, as defined in s. 50.01 (1g) or a residential
16care apartment complex, as defined in s. 50.01 (1d) at a veterans home only if the
17person has sufficient income and resources, and applies the income and resources to
18fully reimburse the department for the cost of providing care to the person.
AB210,109,1919
sUbchapter VI
AB210,109,2020
funerals, burials
, and cemeteries
AB210,109,24
2145.60 Military funeral honors. (1)
Program. (a) The department shall
22administer a program to coordinate the provision of military funeral honors in this
23state to deceased veterans and to deceased persons who have served under honorable
24conditions in any national guard or in a reserve component of the U.S. armed forces.
AB210,110,5
1(b) Military funeral honors may be provided by local units of member
2organizations of the council on veterans programs, by local units of veterans
3organizations certified by the department to provide military funeral honors, by
4members of the Wisconsin national guard activated under s. 21.11 (3), or by staff of
5the department.
AB210,110,11
6(2) Stipends. From the appropriation under s. 20.485 (2) (q), the department
7shall reimburse a local unit of a member organization of the council on veterans
8programs or a local unit of a veterans organization certified by the department to
9provide military funeral honors for the costs of providing military funeral honors in
10this state to a person described in sub. (1). The reimbursement may not exceed $50
11for each funeral for which military honors are provided.
AB210,110,16
12(3) Tuition voucher. (a) The department shall create a tuition voucher form
13to be used by funeral directors under par. (b). The department shall distribute copies
14of the tuition voucher form, plus an explanation of the form's use, to every operator
15of a funeral establishment. The department may not charge a fee for the tuition
16voucher form or for the distribution of the form.
AB210,110,2517
(b) A funeral director may issue a tuition voucher in the amount of $25 to an
18individual who sounds "Taps" on a bugle, trumpet, or cornet during each funeral for
19which military honors are held in this state for a person described in sub. (1) and who
20is a student in grades 6 to 12 or at an institution of higher education, as defined under
21s. 895.515 (1) (b). The tuition voucher may be used at any time for the payment of
22tuition and required program activity fees at a University of Wisconsin System
23institution as provided under s. 36.27 (3r) or a technical college as provided under
24s. 38.24 (6). The department shall encourage private institutions of higher education
25to accept the vouchers. The vouchers are not transferable.
AB210,111,17
145.61 Wisconsin veterans cemeteries. (1) Construction and operation of
2cemeteries. Subject to authorization under ss. 13.48 (10) and 20.924 (1), the
3department may construct and operate veterans cemeteries in central,
4northwestern, and southeastern Wisconsin and may employ any personnel that are
5necessary for the proper management of the cemeteries. The cemetery in central
6Wisconsin is the Central Wisconsin Veterans Memorial Cemetery. The cemetery in
7southeastern Wisconsin is the Southern Wisconsin Veterans Memorial Cemetery.
8The cemetery in northwestern Wisconsin is the Northern Wisconsin Veterans
9Memorial Cemetery. The department may acquire, by gift, purchase, or
10condemnation, lands necessary for the purposes of the cemeteries. Title to the
11properties shall be taken in the name of this state. Every deed of conveyance shall
12be immediately recorded in the office of the proper register of deeds and thereafter
13filed with the secretary of state. The department may accept for the state all gifts,
14grants, and bequests for the purposes of maintenance, restoration, preservation, and
15rehabilitation of the veterans cemeteries constructed under this subsection. All
16cemeteries operated by the department are exempt from the requirements of ss.
17157.061 to 157.70 and 440.90 to 440.95.
AB210,111,19
18(2) Eligibility. The following persons are eligible for burial at a cemetery
19constructed and operated under sub. (1):
AB210,111,2320
(a) A person who died while on active duty or who was discharged or released
21from active duty in the U.S. armed forces under honorable conditions and who was
22a resident of this state at the time of his or her entry or reentry into active service
23and his or her dependent child and surviving spouse.
AB210,112,3
1(b) A person who was discharged or released from active duty in the U.S. armed
2forces under honorable conditions and who was a resident of this state at the time
3of his or her death and his or her dependent child and surviving spouse.
AB210,112,54
(c) The spouse or dependent child of a person who meets one of the following
5conditions:
AB210,112,86
1. Is serving on active duty at the time of the spouse's or dependent child's death
7if the person was a resident of this state at the time of his or her entry or reentry into
8active service.
AB210,112,119
2. Was a resident of this state at the time of his or her entry or reentry into
10active service and was discharged or released from active duty in the U.S. armed
11forces under honorable conditions.
AB210,112,1412
3. Was discharged or released from active duty in the U.S. armed forces under
13honorable conditions if the person and spouse or dependent child were residents of
14this state at the time of the spouse's or dependent child's death.
AB210,112,2015
(d) A person who was a resident of this state at the time of his or her entry or
16reentry into service in any national guard or a reserve component of the U.S. armed
17forces or who was a resident of this state for at least 12 consecutive months
18immediately preceding his or her death, and the person's spouse, surviving spouse,
19and dependent children, if the person is eligible for burial in a national cemetery
20under
38 USC 2402.
AB210,112,2321
(e) A person who was discharged or released from active duty in the U.S. armed
22forces under honorable conditions and who was a resident of this state for at least
2312 consecutive months after entering or reentering service on active duty.
AB210,113,2
24(3) Fees and costs. The department may charge a fee for burials under this
25section and may promulgate rules for the assessment of any fee. The cost of
1preparing the grave and the erection of a marker for a person described under sub.
2(2) (a), (b), (d), or (e) shall be paid from the appropriation under s. 20.485 (1) (gk).
AB210,113,8
3(4) Application. Application for burial shall be made to the department. The
4surviving spouse of the person described under sub. (2) (a), (b), (d), or (e), if that
5person is interred at the Central Wisconsin Veterans Memorial Cemetery, shall have
6the privilege of selecting a plot next to that person if available. The department shall
7hold the plot for the surviving spouse for a period of one year from the date of granting
8the privilege, but may extend the hold, on request, for additional one-year periods.
AB210,113,14
9(5) Expenses. Expenses incident to the burial under this section shall be paid
10from the estate of the decedent, except that if there is no estate or the estate is
11insufficient, the expense of burial, or necessary part of the burial, shall be paid from
12the appropriation under s. 20.485 (1) (gk) for members of veterans homes, and the
13amount expended for those expenses shall not exceed the amount established for
14funeral and burial expenses under s. 49.785 (1) (b).
AB210,113,17
1545.62 Burial places compiled. (1) The department may compile a record
16of veteran's burial places located within the state that may, so far as practicable,
17indicate all of the following information:
AB210,113,1818
(a) The deceased veteran's name.
AB210,113,1919
(b) The service in which the deceased veteran was engaged.
AB210,113,2020
(c) The appropriate designation of the deceased veteran's armed forces unit.
AB210,113,2121
(d) The deceased veteran's rank and period of service.
AB210,113,2322
(e) The name and location of the cemetery or other place in which the deceased
23veteran's body is interred.
AB210,113,2524
(f) The location of the deceased veteran's grave in the cemetery or other place
25of interment.
AB210,114,2
1(g) The character of the headstone or other marker, if any, at the deceased
2veteran's grave.
AB210,114,9
3(2) The department may prepare blank forms for the transmission to the
4department of the information required for the record under sub. (1). The
5department may distribute the forms to county veterans service officers. A county
6veterans service officer within whose county any cemetery or other burial place is
7located in which deceased veteran's bodies are interred shall submit the facts
8required for the record under sub. (1) to the department on the forms provided by the
9department, if so requested by the department.
AB210,114,1010
sUbchapter VII
AB210,114,18
1245.70 Veterans memorials. (1) Persian Gulf memorial. From the
13appropriation under s. 20.485 (2) (d), the department shall provide funding to the
14Wisconsin Vietnam Veterans Memorial Project, Inc., for the construction of a
15memorial for the veterans of the Persian Gulf War. The memorial shall be
16constructed at the veterans memorial site located at the Highground in Clark
17County. The department may expend up to $60,000 for the memorial for the veterans
18of the Persian Gulf War.
AB210,114,23
19(2) Camp Randall memorial. (a) The board may approve, recommend, and veto
20any proposed plans, modifications, and changes or policies with respect to
21established state memorials, including the Camp Randall Memorial Park, Madison,
22Wisconsin, as described in par. (c), and any future veterans state memorials, and
23recommend the creation and establishment of veterans state memorials.
AB210,115,224
(b) No structures, other than memorials approved by the board, and no walks,
25roads, or subterranean footings may be placed or erected upon Camp Randall
1Memorial Park unless authorized by the legislature; nor shall the park be used for
2any purpose other than a memorial park.
AB210,115,113
(c) Camp Randall Memorial Park, Madison, Wisconsin, is established and
4described as follows: beginning on the west line of Randall Avenue 96.6 feet north
5of the center line of Dayton Street extended; thence west at right angles to Randall
6Avenue 370 feet; thence south parallel to Randall Avenue 722 feet; thence west at
7right angles to Randall Avenue 235 feet; thence south parallel to Randall Avenue 205
8feet to the north line of Monroe Street; thence north 50 degrees 14 minutes east along
9the north line of Monroe Street approximately 780 feet to the west line of Randall
10Avenue; thence north along the west line of Randall Avenue 429 feet to the place of
11beginning.
AB210,115,14
1245.71 Catalog of memorials. The department shall prepare a catalog of
13memorials, describing each memorial and giving its location and condition. The
14department shall periodically update that catalog.
AB210,115,16
1545.72 County and municipal memorials.
(1) In this section and s. 45.73,
16"local unit of government" means a city, village, town, or county.
AB210,115,25
17(2) Any local unit of government may by gift, purchase, contract, or
18condemnation acquire property, real or personal, for the purpose of providing,
19furnishing, constructing, erecting, repairing, maintaining, or conducting a suitable
20memorial to the memory of former residents thereof who lost their lives in the
21military or naval service of the state or of the United States, or to commemorate and
22honor the deeds of persons, residents thereof, or of the state or United States, who
23served the nation in any war, or other persons who rendered great state or national
24service, or to the memory of any president of the United States, or for a combination
25of any those purposes, which are declared to be public purposes.
AB210,116,4
1(3) The local unit of government shall determine the character of the memorial,
2and without limitation because of enumeration, the memorial may comprise a public
3building, hospital, sanatorium, home for the aged or indigent, park, recreation
4facility, community forest, or other suitable object having a public purpose.
AB210,116,7
5(4) Any local unit of government may appropriate money and may levy a tax
6to acquire, pay for, construct, erect, furnish, equip, operate, repair, maintain, or
7reconstruct a suitable memorial for the purpose or purposes provided in this section.
AB210,116,11
8(5) Any local unit of government may authorize the use of any public property
9respectively of such city, village, town, or county as a site for a memorial, and any
10county may authorize its public property to be so used by any city, village, or town
11in the county.
AB210,116,17
12(6) Any local unit of government may by ordinance or contract provide for the
13management, control, or operation of any memorial. The local unit of government
14may enter into a written lease, for a term not exceeding 25 years, with any duly
15chartered and incorporated veterans organization established in the local unit of
16government. The lease shall include the provisions for the amount of rental and such
17conditions of public use as the local unit determines.
AB210,117,3
18(7) Any local unit of government may contract with or make an appropriation,
19or both, to any other local unit of government or to any nonprofit corporation without
20capital stock organized expressly for any of the purposes of this section or to any duly
21chartered and incorporated veterans organization established in the local unit of
22government, and for the purpose of raising funds for memorial purposes or
23contributions. The local unit of government may levy taxes upon the taxable
24property located in the local unit of government, or borrow money and issue bonds
25in the manner and under the regulations provided by ch. 67. The facilities of the
1memorial shall be available to the residents of the local unit of government making
2the appropriation to the extent that the governing body of the local unit of
3government may require.
AB210,117,6
445.73 Sites for veterans memorial halls. (1) Any local unit of government
5may donate to any organization specified in s. 70.11 (9) land upon which is to be
6erected a memorial hall to contain the memorial tablet specified in s. 70.11 (9).
AB210,117,15
7(2) The action of any local unit of government in granting veterans
8organizations or any other civic, patriotic, educational, or historical society rooms
9and space within public buildings for the establishment of memorial halls and
10museums, and occupancy thereof by its members, is authorized and confirmed. The
11local unit of government may permit the use and occupancy of the rooms and space
12for such terms and subject to such conditions and provisions as the local unit of
13government may impose. Any contract, lien, or agreement between the local unit of
14government and any organization now in force shall continue in force according to
15the terms of the contract, lien, or agreement.
AB210,117,20
1645.74 Memorial corporations organized under 1919 act. (1) Any
17commission or board of trustees that governs a corporation organized to construct a
18memorial under s. 45.057 (5), statutes of 1919 to 1943 (created by
chapter 598, laws
19of 1919, and repealed by
chapter 301, laws of 1945), shall have the following powers
20in addition to those it now has:
AB210,117,2221
(a) All powers vested in the members of the corporation by the articles of
22incorporation or bylaws, including the power to amend the articles of incorporation.
AB210,117,2423
(b) The powers set forth in s. 181.0302 and all other applicable provisions of ch.
24181.
AB210,118,3
1(c) The power to convey any property under its control to any municipality and
2lease it back under terms agreed upon by the commission or board of trustees and
3the municipality.
AB210,118,64
(d) The power to dissolve the corporation and dispose of the real and personal
5property of the corporation in a manner that it deems will best serve the purposes
6for which it was organized and the interests of the community.
AB210,118,15
7(2) The commission or board of trustees shall have a membership composed of
85 residents of the city, village, or town in which the memorial is located, one
9appointed by the common council, village board, or town board of the city, village, or
10town, and 4 by the circuit judge of the county in which the memorial is located. The
11commission or board may appoint 4 additional members who are residents of this
12state. The terms of all members shall be 5 years. In order that terms of members
13may expire at different times, not more than 2 members shall be appointed in any
14one year in addition to appointments made to fill vacancies occurring by resignation
15or death. Members shall hold office until their successors are appointed and qualify.
AB210,118,20
16(3) Notwithstanding the repeal of s. 45.057, 1943 stats., by
chapter 301, laws
17of 1945, the continuing existence of all commissions, boards, and corporations
18organized under s. 45.057 (5), statutes of 1919 to 1943, is affirmed, and the
19continuing operation of such commissions, boards, and corporations is ratified as to
20the past and authorized in the future.
AB210,118,25
2145.75 Memorials in populous counties.
(1) Any county having a population
22of 500,000 or more may establish and maintain a memorial or memorials in the
23county under s. 45.72 by agreement between the county board of the county and any
24nonprofit private corporation without capital stock organized under the laws of this
25state, except as provided in this section, expressly for any of the purposes of s. 45.72.
AB210,119,4
1(2) The board of directors of the corporation shall be designated as the
2"memorial board," and its members shall be called "trustees." The membership of
3the memorial board may include special members, who need not be members of the
4corporation.
AB210,119,7
5(3) The memorial board shall consist of 15 members, of whom 8 may be special
6members to be elected as provided in this section, and the remaining members shall
7be elected from the membership of the corporation.
AB210,119,9
8(4) Special members of the memorial board shall be elected by the county board
9of such county and consist of the following:
AB210,119,1010
(a) Four members from the county board.
AB210,119,1111
(b) Four members elected from among the residents of the county.