1995 Wisconsin Act 27

27,7066 Section 7066 . 706.11 (1) (f) of the statutes is amended to read:

706.11 (1) (f) Any mortgage executed to a mortgage banker, as defined in s. 440.71 224.71 (3).

27,7066c Section 7066c. 707.49 (4) of the statutes is amended to read:

707.49 (4) Surety bond and other options. Instead of placing deposits in an escrow account, a developer may obtain a surety bond issued by a company authorized to do business in this state, an irrevocable letter of credit or a similar arrangement, in an amount which at all times is not less than the amount of the deposits otherwise subject to the escrow requirements of this section. The bond, letter of credit or similar arrangement shall be filed with the department of justice agriculture, trade and consumer protection and made payable to the department of justice agriculture, trade and consumer protection for the benefit of aggrieved parties.

27,7066g Section 7066g. 707.57 (2) (title) of the statutes is amended to read:

707.57 (2) (title) Attorney general's Department of agriculture, trade and consumer protection authority.

27,7066n Section 7066n. 707.57 (2) (a) of the statutes is amended to read:

707.57 (2) (a) The department of justice agriculture, trade and consumer protection, or any district attorney upon informing the department of justice agriculture, trade and consumer protection, may commence an action in circuit court in the name of the state to restrain by temporary or permanent injunction any violation of this chapter. Before entry of final judgment, the court may make such orders or judgments as may be necessary to restore to any person any pecuniary loss suffered because of the acts or practices involved in the action if proof of these acts or practices is submitted to the satisfaction of the court.

27,7066r Section 7066r. 707.57 (2) (b) of the statutes is amended to read:

707.57 (2) (b) The department of justice agriculture, trade and consumer protection may conduct hearings, administer oaths, issue subpoenas and take testimony to aid in its investigation of violations of this chapter.

27,7066w Section 7066w. 707.57 (3) of the statutes is amended to read:

707.57 (3) Penalty. Any person who violates this chapter shall be required to forfeit not more than $5,000 for each offense. Forfeitures under this subsection shall be enforced by action on behalf of the state by the department of justice agriculture, trade and consumer protection or by the district attorney of the county where the violation occurs.

27,7067 Section 7067 . 709.03 (form) 8. of the statutes is amended to read:

709.03 (form) 8. .... .... .... I am aware of underground fuel storage tanks on the property. (If correct, the owner, by law, must report the location to the department of industry, labor and human relations development at P.O. Box 7969 7970, Madison, Wisconsin, 53707.)

27,7068g Section 7068g. 751.025 of the statutes is created to read:

751.025 Temporary use of court reporters. If the court reporter appointed by the judge is not available or if an additional court reporter is needed, the judge, in cooperation with the chief judge and court administrator for that judicial district, shall attempt to locate and use a court reporter from another branch of court before hiring a private court reporter.

27,7070 Section 7070 . 753.061 (3) of the statutes is repealed.

27,7073 Section 7073 . 756.04 (2) (am) 1. f. of the statutes is amended to read:

756.04 (2) (am) 1. f. Lists of persons on general relief under ch. 49 and persons on receiving aid to families with dependent children under ch. 49.

27,7074 Section 7074 . 756.04 (2) (am) 1. f. of the statutes, as affected by 1995 Wisconsin Act .... (this act), is amended to read:

756.04 (2) (am) 1. f. Lists of persons receiving aid to families with dependent children under subch. III of ch. 49.

27,7075 Section 7075 . 756.096 (3) (b) of the statutes is renumbered 756.096 (3) (b) 1. and amended to read:

756.096 (3) (b) 1. A Except as provided in subd. 2., a jury in civil and traffic cases shall consist of 6 persons unless a party requests a greater number, not to exceed 12. The court, on its own motion may require a greater number, not to exceed 12.

27,7076 Section 7076 . 756.096 (3) (b) 2. of the statutes is created to read:

756.096 (3) (b) 2. A jury in cases involving traffic regulations, as defined in s. 345.20 (1) (b), shall consist of 6 persons.

27,7076m Section 7076m. 757.48 (1) (b) of the statutes is amended to read:

757.48 (1) (b) The guardian ad litem shall be allowed reasonable compensation for his or her services such as is customarily charged by attorneys in this state for comparable services. If the court orders a county to pay the compensation of the guardian ad litem, the amount ordered may not exceed the compensation paid to private attorneys under s. 977.08 (4m) (b). If the attorney of record is also the guardian ad litem, the attorney shall be entitled only to attorney fees and shall receive no compensation for services as guardian ad litem.

27,7077 Section 7077 . 757.57 (5) of the statutes is amended to read:

757.57 (5) Except as provided in SCR 71.04 (4), every reporter, upon the request of any party to an action or proceeding, shall make a typewritten transcript, and as many copies thereof as the party requests, of the testimony and proceedings reported by him or her in the action or proceeding, or any part thereof specified by the party, the transcript and each copy thereof to be duly certified by him or her to be a correct transcript thereof. For the transcripts the reporter is entitled to receive the fees prescribed in s. 814.69 (2) (1) (b).

27,7078 Section 7078 . 757.83 (4) of the statutes is amended to read:

757.83 (4) Staff. The judicial commission shall hire an executive director, and may hire one staff member, in the unclassified service. The executive director shall be a member of the state bar of Wisconsin and shall provide staff services to the judicial commission and the judicial council.

27,7079 Section 7079 . 758.01 (2) of the statutes is amended to read:

758.01 (2) The supreme court may establish and charge fees for photocopying, microfilm copying, books, generation of copies of documents from optical disk or electronic storage, computer services and other services provided by the state law library. The fees are subject to the cost limitations under ss. 19.35 (3) and 20.908.

27,7080 Section 7080 . 758.13 (1) of the statutes is amended to read:

758.13 (1) Membership; appointment; terms. There is created a judicial council of 20 21 members as follows: a supreme court justice designated by the supreme court; a court of appeals judge designated by the court of appeals; the director of state courts or his or her designee; 4 circuit judges designated by the judicial conference; the chairpersons of the senate and the assembly committees dealing with judicial affairs or a member of each such committee designated by the respective chairperson; the attorney general or his or her designee; the revisor of statutes or an assistant designated by the revisor; the deans of the law schools of the university of Wisconsin and Marquette university or a member of the respective law school faculties designated by the deans; the state public defender or his or her designee; the president-elect of the state bar of Wisconsin or a member of the board of governors of the state bar designated by the president-elect and 3 additional members thereof selected by the state bar to serve 3-year terms; one district attorney appointed by the governor; and 2 citizens at large appointed by the governor to serve 3-year terms. The names of the members shall be certified to the secretary of state by the executive secretary of the judicial commission. Members shall hold office until their successors have been selected. Members shall receive no compensation, but shall be reimbursed from the appropriation made by s. 20.645 20.665 (1) for expenses necessarily incurred by them in attending council meetings.

27,7081 Section 7081 . 758.13 (2) (g) of the statutes is created to read:

758.13 (2) (g) Recommend to the supreme court, legislature and governor any changes in the organization, operation and methods of conducting the business of the courts that will improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the court system and result in cost savings.

27,7082 Section 7082 . 758.13 (3) (d) of the statutes is repealed.

27,7084 Section 7084 . 758.19 (4m) of the statutes is created to read:

758.19 (4m) The director of state courts shall purchase equipment needed by court reporters employed by the state on July 1, 1999, who have not purchased the necessary equipment by July 1, 1999. The director of state courts is not required to purchase necessary equipment for any court reporter who has not purchased his or her equipment by July 1, 1999, if that court reporter, on July 1, 1999, is within 2 years of retirement, as determined by the director of state courts. If a court reporter begins employment as a court reporter with the state after July 1, 1999, he or she shall have the option of purchasing the necessary court reporter equipment before commencing employment or having the state purchase the necessary equipment. The department of administration shall promulgate a rule specifying the types and amount of equipment that a court reporter needs to purchase to be exempt from the state purchasing court reporter equipment on his or her behalf under this subsection. Any equipment that the director of state courts purchases for state employes, including equipment purchased for state-employed court reporters, is the property of the state.

27,7086 Section 7086 . 758.19 (5) (a) 8. of the statutes is created to read:

758.19 (5) (a) 8. Any other court costs, except costs related to courtroom security, including security personnel, and costs related to rent, utilities, maintenance, rehabilitation and construction of court facilities.

27,7087 Section 7087 . 758.19 (5) (b) (intro.) of the statutes is amended to read:

758.19 (5) (b) (intro.) From the appropriation under s. 20.625 (1) (d), the director of state courts shall make the following payments to counties totaling $3,443,950 on July 1, 1995, or the effective date of this paragraph .... [revisor inserts date], whichever is later, totaling $8,294,050 on January 1, 1996, and totaling $8,244,800 on every July 1 and January 1 thereafter, which the director of state courts shall distribute as follows:

27,7088 Section 7088 . 758.19 (5) (b) 1. and 2. of the statutes are repealed and recreated to read:

758.19 (5) (b) 1. For each circuit court branch in the county, $32,900.

2. In addition to the payment under subd. 1., for each county with one or less circuit court branches, $5,000 in the 1995-96 fiscal year and $10,000 in each fiscal year thereafter.

27,7089 Section 7089 . 758.19 (5) (b) 3. of the statutes is repealed and recreated to read:

758.19 (5) (b) 3. In addition to the payment under subd. 1., for each county with more than one circuit court branch, a payment equal to the county's proportion of the state population times the amount remaining after the payments are made under subds. 1. and 2.

27,7090 Section 7090 . 758.19 (5) (b) 4. of the statutes is repealed.

27,7091 Section 7091 . 758.19 (5) (c) of the statutes is amended to read:

758.19 (5) (c) The amount paid to each county under par. (b) shall be determined by dividing the number of circuit court branches in the county by the total number of circuit court branches in the state and multiplying that result by the total payment to be made. For those counties that share the services of one or more circuit court branches, the director of state courts shall annually determine the proportional share of that circuit court branch for each county based on the circuit court branch case load in each county.

27,7092 Section 7092 . 758.19 (5) (e) (intro.) of the statutes is renumbered 758.19 (5) (e) and amended to read:

758.19 (5) (e) No later than July 1, 1994, and no later than July 1 of each year thereafter, each county shall submit to the director of state courts, in a format that is established by the director of state courts, information regarding the amount of actual court costs that the county incurred in the previous calendar year for each of the following: court costs listed in par. (a) 1. to 8.

27,7095k Section 7095k. 758.19 (6) of the statutes is repealed and recreated to read:

758.19 (6) (a) In this subsection, “guardian ad litem costs" means the costs of guardian ad litem compensation that a county incurs under ch. 48, 55, 767 or 880, that the county has final legal responsibility to pay or that the county is unable to recover from another person and that does not exceed the per hour rate established for time spent in court by private attorneys under s. 977.08 (4m) (b).

(b) From the appropriation under s. 20.625 (1) (e), the director of state courts, beginning on July 1, 1995, shall annually on July 1 pay to each county the county's share, as determined under par. (c), of the total appropriation under s. 20.625 (1) (e). The payment is designed to defray a county's guardian ad litem costs but, except as provided in par. (d), the director of state courts may not require a county to account for the county's guardian ad litem costs or the manner in which or the purposes for which the county expends the payment.

(c) 1. In this paragraph:

a. “Court support services fee" means the fee under s. 814.634.

b. “Judicial need" means the need for a circuit judge, calculated under the weighted caseload formula, based on case filings in the previous calendar year for those types of cases which the director of state courts determines are likely to involve significant guardian ad litem costs.

c. “Weighted caseload formula" means the formula utilized by the director of state courts to assist in determining the comparative need for circuit court judges in this state, based on the number of cases filed in a given year and the judicial time needed to process the cases.

2. The amount paid to each county under par. (b) shall be the sum of the following amounts:

a. The amount determined by dividing the number of circuit court branches in the county by the total number of circuit court branches in the state and multiplying that result by one‐third of the total amount to be paid under par. (b).

b. The amount determined by dividing the judicial need for the county by the total judicial need for all counties in this state and multiplying that result by one‐third of the total amount to be paid under par. (b).

c. The amount determined by dividing the amount of court support services fees charged and collected in the county in the previous calendar year by the total amount of court support services fees charged and collected in the state in the previous calendar year and multiplying that result by one‐third of the total amount to be paid under par. (b).

(d) Annually, no later than July 1, each county shall submit to the director of state courts, in a format that the director of state courts establishes, all of the following:

1. The total cost of guardian ad litem compensation that the county incurred under chs. 48, 55, 767 and 880 in the previous calendar year.

2. The total guardian ad litem compensation that the county initially paid under chs. 48, 55, 767 and 880 and that was recovered in the previous calendar year by the county from another responsible person.

27,7095m Section 7095m. 758.19 (7) of the statutes is created to read:

758.19 (7) The director of state courts shall adopt, revise biennially and submit to the cochairpersons of the joint committee on information policy, the governor and the secretary of administration, no later than September 15 of each even-numbered year, a strategic plan for the utilization of information technology to carry out the functions of the courts and judicial branch agencies, as defined in section 16.70 (5) of the statutes. The plan shall address the business needs of the courts and judicial branch agencies and shall identify all resources relating to information technology which the courts and judicial branch agencies desire to acquire, contingent upon funding availability, the priority for such acquisitions and the justification for such acquisitions. The plan shall also identify any changes in the functioning of the courts and judicial branch agencies under the plan.

27,7096 Section 7096 . 766.565 (7) of the statutes is amended to read:

766.565 (7) With respect to consumer credit transactions, the commissioner division of banking may promulgate rules to interpret this chapter and chs. 421 to 427, consistent with the purposes and policies of this chapter and chs. 421 to 427.

27,7096t Section 7096t. 767.045 (6) of the statutes is amended to read:

767.045 (6) Compensation. The guardian ad litem shall be compensated at a rate that the court determines is reasonable. The court shall order either or both parties to pay all or any part of the compensation of the guardian ad litem. In addition, upon motion by the guardian ad litem, the court shall order either or both parties to pay the fee for an expert witness used by the guardian ad litem, if the guardian ad litem shows that the use of the expert is necessary to assist the guardian ad litem in performing his or her functions or duties under this chapter. If either or both parties are unable to pay indigent, the court may direct that the county of venue pay the compensation and fees, in whole or in part, and may direct that any or all parties reimburse the county, in whole or in part, for the payment. If the court orders a county to pay the compensation of the guardian ad litem, the amount ordered may not exceed the compensation paid to private attorneys under s. 977.08 (4m) (b). The court may order a separate judgment for the amount of the reimbursement in favor of the county and against the party or parties responsible for the reimbursement. The court may enforce its orders under this subsection by means of its contempt power.

27,7098 Section 7098 . 767.078 (1) (b) 1. of the statutes is amended to read:

767.078 (1) (b) 1. Register for work at a public employment office established under s. 101.23 106.09.

27,7098c Section 7098c. 767.078 (1) (d) 1. c. of the statutes is amended to read:

767.078 (1) (d) 1. c. The parent who is absent from the home works, on average, less than 32 hours per week and is not participating in an employment training program that meets criteria established by the department of industry, labor and human relations.

27,7098e Section 7098e. 767.078 (1) (d) 3. of the statutes is amended to read:

767.078 (1) (d) 3. Subdivisions 1. and 2. only apply while the department of health and social services industry, labor and human relations conducts the program under s. 49.25.

27,7100 Section 7100 . 767.10 (2) (b) of the statutes is amended to read:

767.10 (2) (b) A court may not approve a stipulation for a division of property that assigns substantially all of the property to one of the parties in the action if the other party in the action is in the process of applying for medical assistance under ss. 49.45 to 49.47 subch. IV of ch. 49 or if the court determines that it can be reasonably anticipated that the other party in the action will apply for medical assistance under ss. 49.45 to 49.47 subch. IV of ch. 49 within 30 months of the stipulation.

27,7100h Section 7100h. 767.23 (1) (am) of the statutes is amended to read:

767.23 (1) (am) Granting Upon the request of a party, granting periods of physical placement to a party specified in s. 767.24 (4). The court or family court commissioner shall make a determination under this paragraph within 30 days after the request for a temporary order regarding periods of physical placement is filed.

27,7101 Section 7101 . 767.25 (4m) (a) of the statutes is amended to read:

767.25 (4m) (a) In this subsection, “health insurance" does not include medical assistance provided under subch. IV of ch. 49.

27,7102 Section 7102 . 767.25 (4m) (e) 1. of the statutes is amended to read:

767.25 (4m) (e) 1. If a parent who has been ordered by a court to provide coverage of the health care expenses of a child who is eligible for medical assistance under ss. 49.45 to 49.47 subch. IV of ch. 49 receives payment from a 3rd party for the cost of services provided to the child but does not pay the health care provider for the services or reimburse the department of health and social services or any other person who paid for the services on behalf of the child, the department of health and social services may obtain a judgment against the parent for the amount of the 3rd party payment.

27,7103 Section 7103 . 767.254 (2) (a) of the statutes is amended to read: