AB821: Bill Text

AB821,22,19 45.80 (1) (a) 2. A county veterans benefit specialist who shall be a Wisconsin resident who served on active duty under honorable conditions in the U.S. armed forces or in forces incorporated as part of the U.S. armed forces, served under honorable conditions in a reserve unit of the U.S. armed forces, or served under honorable conditions in the national guard, and who shall be accredited by the U.S. department of veterans affairs to assist veterans and their families in the preparation, presentation, and prosecution of a veteran benefit claim in accordance with 38 USC 5901 to 5904 and 38 CFR 14.629.

AB821,92 Section 92. 45.80 (1) (c) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB821,23,2 45.80 (1) (c) In counties with a county executive or county administrator, the county executive or county administrator shall appoint and supervise a county veterans service officer or county veterans benefit specialist who shall have the qualifications prescribed under par. (a). The appointment is subject to confirmation by the county board unless the county board, by ordinance, elects to waive confirmation or unless the appointment is made under a civil service system competitive examination procedure established under s. 59.52 (8) or ch. 63.

AB821,93 Section 93. 45.80 (2) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB821,23,7 45.80 (2) Term. A county veterans service officer or county veterans benefit specialist elected under sub. (1) (a) shall serve until the first Monday in January of the 2nd year subsequent to the year of his or her election, and, if reelected, shall continue to serve unless removed under s. 17.10 (2).

AB821,94 Section 94. 45.80 (3) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB821,23,11 45.80 (3) Salary. The salary of the county veterans service officer or county veterans benefit specialist shall be fixed by the county board prior to or at the time of the service officer's election and annually thereafter.

AB821,95 Section 95. 45.80 (4) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB821,23,15 45.80 (4) Milwaukee County. In counties having a population of 500,000 750,000 or more the county veterans service officer or county veterans benefit specialist shall be appointed subject to ss. 63.01 to 63.17.

AB821,96 Section 96. 45.80 (5) (intro.) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB821,23,18 45.80 (5) Duties. (intro.) The A county veterans service officer shall do all of the following:

AB821,97 Section 97. 45.80 (5) (e) of the statutes is repealed.

AB821,98 Section 98. 45.80 (6) (intro.) of the statutes is repealed.

AB821,99 Section 99. 45.80 (6) (a) of the statutes is renumbered 45.80 (5) (g).

AB821,100 Section 100. 45.80 (6) (b) of the statutes is renumbered 45.80 (5) (h).

AB821,101 Section 101. 45.80 (7) of the statutes is repealed.

AB821,102 Section 102. 45.80 (8) of the statutes is repealed.

AB821,103 Section 103. 45.80 (9) of the statutes is created to read:

AB821,24,2 45.80 (9) Prohibited activities. A county veterans service officer may not do any of the following:

AB821,24,5 (a) Verify veterans status for individuals for the purpose of obtaining permits or licenses from the department of natural resources or the department of motor vehicles.

AB821,24,6 (b) Initiate mortgage loans under s. 45.37 or personal loans under s. 45.42.

AB821,104 Section 104. 45.805 of the statutes is created to read:

AB821,24,12 45.805 County veterans service consortium. (1) The department may approve a county veterans service consortium to administer veterans benefits and services within the boundaries of the participating counties. The department may not approve more than one county veterans service consortium. The department shall create standards under which a consortium shall operate.

AB821,24,19 (2) The department shall designate one of the proposed participating counties to submit a plan for the proposed county veterans service consortium to the department that sets forth policies and procedures for the consortium. The plan shall provide for the establishment of a county veterans consortium commission to administer the consortium, and the county veterans consortium commission shall consist of one representative from each county that is a member of the consortium. The plan may not be implemented without the department's approval.

AB821,24,22 (3) If the department approves the plan under sub. (2), the department shall award a grant to the county that submitted the plan to assist the county veterans service consortium in implementing its plan.

AB821,105 Section 105. 45.805 of the statutes, as created by 2015 Wisconsin Act .... (this act), is repealed.

AB821,106 Section 106. 45.81 (2) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB821,25,11 45.81 (2) The commission shall be organized by the election of one of their number as chairperson. The county executive or county board chairperson in a county that does not have a county executive after the expiration of the terms of those first appointed shall annually on or before the 2nd Monday in December appoint one person as a member of the commission for the term of 3 years. Except as provided in s. 59.21 (1) (intro.), the county executive or county board chairperson shall require each member of the commission and the county veterans service officer to execute to the county an individual surety bond, with sufficient sureties to be approved by the county executive or county board chairperson, each bond to be in an amount equal to the tax levied in the current year for expenditure by the commission. Each bond shall be filed with the county clerk.

AB821,107 Section 107. 45.81 (3) (a) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB821,25,15 45.81 (3) (a) Except as provided under sub. (4), the The commission may furnish aid to any person described in s. 45.86 if the right of that person to aid is established to the commission's satisfaction.

AB821,108 Section 108. 45.81 (4) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB821,25,19 45.81 (4) A county veterans service officer appointed under s. 45.80 (1) (b) or (4) shall may have the administrative powers and duties prescribed for the county veterans service commission under sub. (2).

AB821,109 Section 109. 45.81 (6) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB821,25,25 45.81 (6) The county veterans service officer shall may serve as executive secretary of the county veterans service commission and shall may make or direct all necessary investigations to determine eligibility for aid under s. 45.86 when the commission so requests. The county service officer, in making an investigation, may use the facilities for investigating that are made available by the county board.

AB821,110 Section 110. 45.82 (1) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB821,26,15 45.82 (1) Each county may annually apply to the department for a grant for the improvement of service to former military personnel of the county through the county veterans service office. A county may not allocate any portion of a grant for use by another county department nor may the county reduce funding to a county veterans service office based upon receipt of a grant. The county veterans service officer of any A county applying for the grant shall enter into an agreement with the department. The agreement shall state the goals and objectives to be attained by the county veterans service office during the remainder of the year covered by the grant application. The department shall prepare the basic form of this agreement in consultation with the county veterans service officers association and provide a copy and an explanation of that agreement to each county veterans service officer. The department shall develop reasonable budget and operating standards to assure improved services, but full operating control of the county office shall be left to each county.

AB821,111 Section 111. 45.82 (2) of the statutes, as affected by 2015 Wisconsin Act 55, is amended to read:

AB821,27,9 45.82 (2) The department of veterans affairs shall award a grant annually, on a reimbursable basis as specified in this subsection, to a county that meets the standards developed under this section if the county executive, administrator, or administrative coordinator certifies to the department that it employs a county veterans service officer who, if chosen after April 15, 2015, is chosen from a list of candidates who have taken a civil service examination for the position of county veterans service officer developed and administered by the bureau of merit recruitment and selection in the department of administration, or is appointed under a civil service competitive examination procedure under s. 59.52 (8) or ch. 63. The department of veterans affairs shall twice yearly reimburse grant recipients for documented expenses under sub. (5), subject to the following annual reimbursement limits: $8,500 for a county with a population of less than 20,000, $10,000 for a county with a population of 20,000 to 45,499, $11,500 for a county with a population of 45,500 to 74,999, and $13,000 for a county with a population of 75,000 or more. The department of veterans affairs shall use the most recent Wisconsin official population estimates prepared by the demographic services center when making grants under this subsection.

AB821,112 Section 112. 45.82 (3) of the statutes is repealed.

AB821,113 Section 113. 45.84 of the statutes is amended to read:

AB821,27,21 45.84 Burial allowance. (1) Each county veterans service officer or county veterans benefit specialist shall cause to be interred in a decent and respectable manner in any cemetery in this state, other than those used exclusively for the burial of paupers, the body of any veteran, spouse, or surviving spouse who was living in the county at the time of death and who dies not leaving sufficient means to defray the necessary expenses of a decent burial, or under circumstances that would cause financial distress to the person's family. The cost of this interment shall be the responsibility of the county, but may not be less than $300, and shall be in addition to the burial allowance payable under laws administered by the U.S. department of veterans affairs.

AB821,28,3 (2) Before assuming the burial expense, the county veterans service officer or county veterans benefit specialist shall exercise due diligence in attempting to determine the financial condition required by sub. (1). The county veterans service officer, in making the inquiry, may use the facilities for investigation that are made available by the county board. The county veterans service officer shall report the results of that determination to the appropriate authorities designated by the county.

AB821,28,12 (3) The chairperson of the county board and the clerk of the county on the receipt of the report under sub. (2) shall draw an order on the county treasurer for the amount of expenses so incurred, payable to the person designated in the report as being entitled to that payment. The county veterans service officer or county veterans benefit specialist of each county shall, upon the death and burial of a veteran described under sub. (1) who was living in the county at the time of death, make application to the proper authorities for a suitable headstone as provided for by act of congress, and at the expense of the county cause the same to be placed at the head of the deceased's grave.

AB821,114 Section 114. 59.21 (1) (intro.) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB821,29,3 59.21 (1) (intro.) Each county officer named in this chapter, except county supervisors, shall execute and file an official bond and take and file the official oath within 20 days after receiving official notice of election or appointment, or if not officially notified, within 20 days after the commencement of the term for which the officer is elected or appointed, or the board may provide a schedule or blanket bond that includes any or all of these officials, except county supervisors, and a blanket bond may also include members of a county veterans service commission under s. 45.81 (1) and a county veterans service officer under s. 45.81 (2) or a county veterans benefit specialist. Every county supervisor shall take and file the official oath within 20 days after receiving official notice of election or appointment, or if not officially notified, within 20 days after the commencement of the term for which he or she is elected or appointed. Every deputy appointed by any such officer shall take and file the official oath and if the deputy neglects to do so, he or she shall forfeit $100. If the board does not provide a schedule or blanket bond, the official bonds shall be in sums and with sureties, as follows:

AB821,115 Section 115. 59.535 (4) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB821,29,7 59.535 (4) Service officer and commission. The board may appropriate funds for the execution of the duties of the county veterans service officer or the county veterans benefit specialist and the county veterans service commission.

AB821,116 Section 116. 851.09 of the statutes is amended to read:

AB821,29,14 851.09 Heir. "Heir" means any person, including the surviving spouse, who is entitled under the statutes of intestate succession to an interest in property of a decedent. The state is an heir of the decedent and a person interested under s. 45.51 (10) 45.50 (14) and (11) (15) when the decedent was a member of a Wisconsin veterans home operated by the department of veterans affairs under s. 45.50 at the time of the decedent's death.

AB821,117 Section 117. Fiscal changes.

AB821,29,25 (1) Facilities management. In the schedule under section 20.005 (3) of the statutes for the appropriation to the department of veterans affairs under section 20.485 (1) (gk) of the statutes, as affected by the acts of 2015, the dollar amount for fiscal year 2015-16 is increased by $0 to increase the authorized FTE positions for the department by 1.0 PR position for facilities maintenance at the Veterans Home at Union Grove. In the schedule under section 20.005 (3) of the statutes for the appropriation to the department of veterans affairs under section 20.485 (1) (gk) of the statutes, as affected by the acts of 2015, the dollar amount for fiscal year 2016-17 is increased by $0 to provide funding for the position authorized under this subsection.

AB821,30,1 (2) County veterans services grants.

AB821,30,5 (a) In the schedule under section 20.005 (3) of the statutes for the appropriation to the department of veterans affairs under section 20.485 (2) (tf) of the statutes, as affected by the acts of 2015, the dollar amount for fiscal year 2016-17 is decreased by $250,000 to decrease the amount in the appropriation.

AB821,30,9 (b) In the schedule under section 20.005 (3) of the statutes for the appropriation to the department of veterans affairs under section 20.485 (2) (vx) of the statutes, as affected by the acts of 2015, the dollar amount for fiscal year 2016-17 is increased by $250,000 to provide funding for a county veterans services consortium.

AB821,118 Section 118. Effective dates. This act takes effect on the day after publication, except as follows:

AB821,30,13 (1) The repeal and recreation of section 20.485 (1) (gk) of the statutes takes effect on July 1, 2017.

AB821,30,14 (2) The repeal of section 45.805 of the statutes takes effect on July 1, 2017.

AB821,30,16 (3) The amendment of section 20.485 (2) (vx) (by Section 25) of the statutes takes effect on July 1, 2017.

AB821,30,17 (End)