45.81 County veterans service commission. (1) There is created in each county a county veterans service commission consisting of at least 3 residents of the county who are veterans appointed for staggered 3-year terms by the county executive or county board chairperson in a county that does not have a county executive.
(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. 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.
(3) (a) Except as provided under sub. (4), 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.
(b) The secretary of the commission shall maintain a list containing the name, place of residence, and amount of aid furnished to each person under par. (a), which shall be signed by the chairperson and secretary of the commission.
(c) The total disbursements made by the commission under this subsection may not exceed the amount collected from the tax levied, except when specifically authorized by the county board. The commission shall provide the county treasurer with sufficient information to deliver the specified aid to the person entitled to that aid.
(d) The commission may furnish aid in a different manner than by supplying money. The commission may request the county treasurer to pay a purveyor of services or commodities for the purchase of services or commodities, or the commission may furnish supplies, as it considers appropriate.
(e) The commission shall make a detailed report to the county board annually showing the amount expended under this subsection. The report may not include any personal identifying information regarding the persons that received aid under this subsection.
(4) A county veterans service officer appointed under s. 45.80 (1) (b) or (4) shall have the administrative powers and duties prescribed for the county veterans service commission under sub. (2).
(5) The county board shall allow the members of the commission a reasonable rate of compensation for services and actual expenses incurred in the performance of their duties to be determined under s. 59.22. The county board may provide for the employment of clerical assistance to the commission.
(6) The county veterans service officer shall serve as executive secretary of the county veterans service commission and shall 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.
45.82 Grants to counties and tribes for improvement of services. (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 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.
(2) The department shall award a grant annually to a county that meets the standards developed under this section and employs a county veterans service officer who, if chosen after August 9, 1989, 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 division of merit recruitment and selection in the office of state employment relations, or is appointed under a civil service competitive examination procedure under s. 59.52 (8) or ch. 63. The grant shall be $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 shall use the most recent Wisconsin official population estimates prepared by the demographic services center when making grants under this subsection.
(3) Notwithstanding sub. (2), an eligible county with a part-time county veterans service officer shall be eligible for an annual grant not exceeding $500.
(4) The department shall provide grants to the governing bodies of federally recognized American Indian tribes and bands from the appropriation under s. 20.485 (2) (vz) if that governing body enters into an agreement with the department regarding the creation, goals, and objectives of a tribal veterans service officer, appoints a veteran to act as a tribal veterans service officer, and gives that veteran duties similar to the duties described in s. 45.80 (5), except that the veteran shall report to the governing body of the tribe or band. The department may make annual grants of up to $2,500 under this subsection and shall promulgate rules to implement this subsection.
45.83 Transportation services grants to counties. (1) Annually, from the appropriation under s. 20.485 (2) (s), the department shall award grants to counties that are not served by transportation services provided by the Wisconsin department of Disabled American Veterans to develop, maintain, and expand transportation services for veterans. The grants may be used to support multicounty cooperative transportation services.
(2) The department shall promulgate rules specifying the application procedures and eligibility criteria for grants under this section.
(3) A county may not reduce funding to a county veterans service office based upon receipt of a grant.
45.84 Burial allowance. (1) Each county veterans service officer 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.
(2) Before assuming the burial expense, the county veterans service officer 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.
(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 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.
45.85 Care of graves. (1) Every town board, village board, or common council of every city shall at all times see that the graves and tombstones of all veterans, including women's auxiliary organizations created by act of Congress, who shall at any time have served in any branch of the armed forces of the United States, and of the spouses or surviving spouses of all those veterans, receive proper and decent care, and may employ all necessary assistance to carry out this section. The expense of the care of the graves and tombstones shall be borne by the county where the graves are located, except where suitable care is otherwise provided. The amount of expense charged the county for the care may not exceed the charge made for the care of other graves in the same cemetery.
(2) The governing body specified in sub. (1) shall report to the county clerk of its county, on or before September 1 of each year, the locations of the graves cared for by the governing body under sub. (1), together with the names of the deceased and the amount claimed for care of the graves for the fiscal year from the previous July 1 to June 30.
(3) The chairperson of the county board and the county clerk, upon receipt of the report under sub. (2), shall draw an order on the county treasurer for the amount of the expenses incurred in caring for the graves, payable to the person or persons designated in the report as being entitled to the payment.
45.86 County tax for needy veterans.
(1) Every county board shall annually levy, in addition to all other taxes, a tax sufficient to carry out the purposes of this section. The tax shall be levied and collected as other county taxes for the purpose of providing aid to needy veterans, the needy spouses, surviving spouses, minor and dependent children of the veterans, and the needy parents of veterans entitled to aid under ss. 45.81 to 45.84, and to carry out the purposes of s. 45.85. Aid may not be denied solely on the basis that a person otherwise eligible for aid owns a homestead that the person occupies.
(2) The county veterans service commission or county veterans service officer shall estimate the probable amount required under this section and shall file that estimate with the county board.
22,93
Section
93. 46.27 (1) (b) of the statutes is amended to read:
46.27 (1) (b) "Nursing home" means a facility that meets the definition in s. 50.01 (3) and that is licensed under s. 50.03 (1) and includes a state center for the developmentally disabled, the Wisconsin Veterans Home at King and the nursing care facility and a Wisconsin veterans home operated by the department of veterans affairs under s. 45.385 45.50.
22,94
Section
94. 46.27 (1) (dr) of the statutes is amended to read:
46.27 (1) (dr) "State-operated long-term care facility" means a state center for the developmentally disabled, the Wisconsin Veterans Home at King and the nursing care facility and a Wisconsin veterans home operated by the department of veterans affairs under s. 45.385 45.50.
22,95
Section
95. 46.27 (6) (a) 2. cm. of the statutes is amended to read:
46.27 (6) (a) 2. cm. Persons under subd. 1. seeking admission to or about to be admitted to the Wisconsin Veterans Home at King and the nursing care facility a Wisconsin veterans home operated by the department of veterans affairs under s. 45.385 45.50 who are informed about the program but waive the assessment.
22,96
Section
96. 49.19 (9) of the statutes is amended to read:
49.19 (9) If the head of a family is a veteran, as defined in s. 45.37 (1a) 45.01 (12), or a person under s. 45.51 (2) (a) 2., and is hospitalized or institutionalized because of disabilities in a county other than that of his or her residence or settlement at time of admission, aid shall be granted to the dependent children of the veteran by the county wherein the head of the family had his or her residence or settlement at the time of admission so long as he or she remains hospitalized or institutionalized.
22,97
Section
97. 49.45 (3) (e) 7m. of the statutes is amended to read:
49.45 (3) (e) 7m. Notwithstanding subd. 7., the daily reimbursement or payment rate for services at a hospital established under s. 45.375 (1) 45.50 (10) provided to medical assistance recipients whose continued hospitalization is no longer medically necessary or appropriate during a period where the recipient awaits placement in an alternate custodial living arrangement shall be the skilled nursing facility rate paid to the facility created under s. 45.365 (1) a Wisconsin veterans home operated by the department of veterans affairs under s. 45.50.
22,98
Section
98. 49.45 (6m) (bg) of the statutes is amended to read:
49.45 (6m) (bg) The department shall determine payment levels for the provision of skilled, intermediate, limited, personal or residential care or care for the mentally retarded in the state centers for the developmentally disabled, in the Wisconsin Veterans Home at King and the nursing care facility and in a Wisconsin veterans home operated by the department of veterans affairs under s. 45.385 45.50 separately from the payment principles, applicable costs and methods established under this subsection.
22,99
Section
99. 49.855 (4m) (b) of the statutes is amended to read:
49.855 (4m) (b) The department of revenue may provide a certification that it receives under sub. (1), (2m), or (2p) to the department of administration. Upon receipt of the certification, the department of administration shall determine whether the obligor is a vendor or is receiving any other payments from this state, except for wages, retirement benefits, or assistance under s. 45.352, 1971 stats., s. 45.351 (1) 45.40 (1), this chapter, or ch. 46, 108, or 301. If the department of administration determines that the obligor is a vendor or is receiving payments from this state, except for wages, retirement benefits, or assistance under s. 45.352, 1971 stats., s. 45.351 (1) 45.40 (1), this chapter, or ch. 46, 108, or 301, it shall begin to withhold the amount certified from those payments and shall notify the obligor that the state intends to reduce any payments due the obligor by the amount the obligor is delinquent under the support, maintenance, or receiving and disbursing fee order or obligation, by the outstanding amount for past support, medical expenses, or birth expenses under the court order, or by the amount due under s. 46.10 (4) or 301.12 (4). The notice shall provide that within 20 days after receipt of the notice the obligor may request a hearing before the circuit court rendering the order under which the obligation arose. An obligor may, within 20 days after receiving notice, request a hearing under this paragraph. Within 10 days after receiving a request for hearing under this paragraph, the court shall set the matter for hearing. A circuit court commissioner may conduct the hearing. Pending further order by the court or circuit court commissioner, the department of workforce development or its designee, whichever is appropriate, may not disburse the payments withheld from the obligor. The sole issues at the hearing are whether the obligor owes the amount certified and, if not and it is a support or maintenance order, whether the money withheld shall be paid to the obligor or held for future support or maintenance.
22,100
Section
100. 50.034 (4) of the statutes is amended to read:
50.034 (4) Limitation. A nursing home or a community-based residential facility may not convert a separate area of its total area to a residential care apartment complex unless the department first approves the conversion. A nursing home, other than the nursing homes operated at the Wisconsin Veterans Home at King or in southeastern Wisconsin a Wisconsin veterans home operated by the department of veterans affairs under s. 45.385
45.50, that intends to convert a separate area of its total area to a residential care apartment complex shall also agree to reduce its licensed nursing home beds by the corresponding number of residential care apartment complex residential units proposed for the conversion.
22,101
Section
101. 50.135 (3) of the statutes is amended to read:
50.135 (3) Exemption. The inpatient health care facilities under ss. 45.365 45.50, 48.62, 51.05, 51.06, 233.40, 233.41, 233.42 and 252.10 are exempt from this section.
22,102
Section
102. 50.39 (3) of the statutes is amended to read:
50.39 (3) Facilities governed by ss. 45.365 45.50, 48.62, 49.70, 49.72, 50.02, 51.09 and 252.10, secured correctional facilities as defined in s. 938.02 (15m), correctional institutions governed by the department of corrections under s. 301.02 and the offices and clinics of persons licensed to treat the sick under chs. 446, 447 and 448 are exempt from ss. 50.32 to 50.39. Sections 50.32 to 50.39 do not abridge the rights of the medical examining board, physical therapists affiliated credentialing board, podiatrists affiliated credentialing board, dentistry examining board, pharmacy examining board, chiropractic examining board, and board of nursing in carrying out their statutory duties and responsibilities.
22,103
Section
103. 51.20 (10) (cm) of the statutes is amended to read:
51.20 (10) (cm) Prior to or at the final hearing, for individuals for whom a petition is filed under sub. (1) (a) 2. e., the county department under s. 51.42 or 51.437 shall furnish to the court and the subject individual an initial recommended written treatment plan that contains the goals of treatment, the type of treatment to be provided, and the expected providers. If the person has served in the U.S. armed forces or forces incorporated as part of the U.S. armed forces, the county department shall contact the U.S. department of veterans affairs to determine if the person is eligible for treatment at a U.S. department of veterans affairs facility. If the person is eligible for that treatment, the county department shall include that information in the treatment plan. The treatment plan shall address the individual's needs for inpatient care, residential services, community support services, medication and its monitoring, case management, and other services to enable the person to live in the community upon release from an inpatient facility. The treatment plan shall contain information concerning the availability of the needed services and community treatment providers' acceptance of the individual into their programs. The treatment plan is only a recommendation and is not subject to approval or disapproval by the court. Failure to furnish a treatment plan under this paragraph does not constitute grounds for dismissal of the petition unless the failure is made in bad faith.
22,104
Section
104. 51.35 (6) (a) of the statutes is amended to read:
51.35 (6) (a) When the department has notice that any person other than a prisoner is entitled to receive care and treatment in a U.S. department of veterans affairs facility, the person may petition the department of health and family services for a transfer to such facility, and that department may procure admission to such the facility in accordance with s. 45.30.
22,105
Section
105. 51.45 (13) (h) of the statutes is amended to read:
51.45 (13) (h) A person committed under this subsection shall remain in the custody of the county department for treatment for a period set by the court, but not to exceed 90 days. During this period of commitment the county department may transfer the person from one approved public treatment facility or program to another as provided in par. (k). If the person has served in the U.S. armed forces or forces incorporated as part of the U.S. armed forces, the county department shall contact the U.S. department of veterans affairs to determine if the person is eligible for treatment at a U.S. department of veterans affairs facility. If the person is eligible for that treatment, the county department may transfer the person to that facility if the U.S. department of veterans affairs approves that transfer. At the end of the period set by the court, the person shall be discharged automatically unless the county department before expiration of the period obtains a court order for recommitment upon the grounds set forth in par. (a) for a further period not to exceed 6 months. If after examination it is determined that the person is likely to inflict physical harm on himself or herself or on another, the county department shall apply for recommitment. Only one recommitment order under this paragraph is permitted.
22,106
Section
106. 59.52 (16) (b) (title) of the statutes is amended to read:
59.52 (16) (b) (title) County veterans' veterans housing.
22,107
Section
107. 59.52 (16) (b) 2. of the statutes is amended to read:
59.52 (16) (b) 2. In case of a joint school district, computation shall be made on the basis of the valuation of the several municipalities in which the school district lies. If school buildings are inadequate to accommodate the additional school population resulting from the county veterans' veterans housing program, and the school district cannot legally finance the necessary increased facilities, the board may appropriate money and grant assistance to the school district but the assistance shall be used solely to finance the purchase of land and the erection and equipment of the necessary additional facilities.
22,108
Section
108. 59.535 (1) (a) of the statutes is amended to read:
59.535 (1) (a) In this subsection, "veteran" has the meaning given in s. 45.37 (1a) 45.01 (12), and includes a person under s. 45.51 (2) (a) 2.
22,109
Section
109. 59.535 (4) of the statutes is amended to read:
59.535 (4) Service officer and commission. The board may appropriate funds for the execution of the duties of the county veterans' veterans service officer and the county veterans' veterans service commission.
22,110
Section
110. 59.65 of the statutes is amended to read:
59.65 Publication of financial report. A board shall cause to be made out and published in the county, as a class 1 notice, under ch. 985, immediately after its annual meeting, a report of the receipts and expenditures of the immediately preceding year and the accounts allowed. The board may waive the publication of names of needy soldiers, sailors, marines and United States war veterans and the amount of relief aid provided under s. 45.14 (2) 45.81 (3) and shall publish in lieu thereof the total disbursements thereunder.
22,111
Section
111. 66.0509 (title) of the statutes is amended to read:
66.0509 (title) Civil service system;
veterans' veterans preference.
22,112
Section
112. 66.1201 (9) (x) of the statutes is amended to read:
66.1201 (9) (x) To, within its area of operation, either by itself or with the department of veterans affairs, undertake and carry out studies and analyses of veterans'
veterans housing needs and meeting those needs and make the study results available to the public, including the building, housing and supply industries.
22,113
Section
113. 67.015 of the statutes is amended to read:
67.015 Housing authorities exempted. This chapter shall not be applicable to borrowing by housing authorities or county veterans' veterans housing authorities under ss. 66.1201 to 66.1213.
22,114
Section
114. 69.30 (1) (bm) of the statutes is amended to read:
69.30 (1) (bm) "Service office" has the meaning given in s. 45.36 (1) (c) 45.04 (1) (b).
22,115
Section
115. 69.30 (2) of the statutes is amended to read:
69.30 (2) A financial institution, state agency, county department, Wisconsin works agency, service office or family care district or an employee of a financial institution, state agency, county department, Wisconsin works agency, service office or family care district is not subject to s. 69.24 (1) (a) for copying a certified copy of a vital record for use by the financial institution, state agency, county department, Wisconsin works agency, service office or family care district, including use under s. 45.36 (4m) 45.04 (5), if the copy is marked "FOR ADMINISTRATIVE USE".
22,116
Section
116. 70.11 (1) of the statutes is amended to read:
70.11 (1) Property of the state. Property owned by this state except land contracted to be sold by the state. This exemption shall not apply to land conveyed after September, 1933, to this state or for its benefit while the grantor or others for the grantor's benefit are permitted to occupy the land or part thereof in consideration for the conveyance; nor shall it apply to land devised to the state or for its benefit while another person is permitted by the will to occupy the land or part thereof. This exemption shall not apply to any property acquired by the department of veterans affairs under s. 45.72 (5) and (7)
45.32 (5) and (7) or to the property of insurers undergoing rehabilitation or liquidation under ch. 645. Property exempt under this subsection includes general property owned by the state and leased to a private, nonprofit corporation that operates an Olympic ice training center, regardless of the use of the leasehold income.
22,117
Section
117. 70.11 (3a) of the statutes is amended to read:
70.11 (3a) Buildings at the Wisconsin Veterans Home at King or in southeastern Wisconsin
homes. All buildings, equipment and leasehold interests in lands described in s. 45.38 45.03 (5).
22,118
Section
118. 70.11 (9) of the statutes is amended to read:
70.11 (9) Memorials. All memorial halls and the real estate upon which the same are located, owned and occupied by any organization of United States war veterans organized pursuant to act of congress and domesticated in this state pursuant to the laws of this state, containing permanent memorial tablets with the names of former residents of any given town, village, city or county who lost their lives in the military or naval service of the state or the United States in any war inscribed thereon, and all personal property owned by such organizations, and all buildings erected, purchased or maintained by any county, city, town or village as memorials under s. 45.05 or 45.055 45.72. The renting of such halls or buildings for public purposes shall not render them taxable, provided that all income derived therefrom be used for the upkeep and maintenance thereof. Where such hall or building is used in part for exempt purposes and in part for pecuniary profit, it shall be assessed for taxation to the extent of such use for pecuniary profit as provided in s. 70.1105 (1).
22,119
Section
119. 71.05 (6) (b) 28. (intro.) of the statutes is amended to read:
71.05
(6) (b) 28. (intro.) An amount paid by a claimant for tuition expenses for a student who is the claimant or who is the claimant's child and the claimant's dependent who is claimed under section
151 (c) of the Internal Revenue Code, to attend any university, college, technical college or a school approved under s.
45.54 39.90, that is located in Wisconsin or to attend a public vocational school or public institution of higher education in Minnesota under the Minnesota-Wisconsin reciprocity agreement under s. 39.47, calculated as follows:
22,120
Section
120. 86.03 (4) of the statutes is amended to read:
86.03 (4) Cutting or injuring trees on highway. No person shall cut down, break, girdle, bruise the bark, or in any other manner injure, or allow any animal under that person's control to injure, any public or private trees, shrubs, or hedges growing within the highway, except as the owner thereof or the public authority maintaining the highway may cut down, trim and remove trees, shrubs, and hedges for the purpose of and conducing to the benefit and improvement of the owner's land or the highway facility, subject to sub. (7).
22,121
Section
121. 86.03 (6) of the statutes is amended to read:
86.03 (6) Fines. Any
Except as provided in sub. (7), any person violating any of the provisions of this section shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof shall be punished by a fine not to exceed $25 for each tree or shrub damaged, felled or destroyed.
22,122
Section
122. 86.03 (7) of the statutes is created to read:
86.03 (7) No person may cut or trim any tree planted along any federal or state trunk highway as a memorial to the men and women who served in the armed forces of the United States in time of war, without the written permission of the department. Violations of this section shall be punishable by a fine of not less than $10 nor more than $200 or by imprisonment for not more than 30 days or both. Nothing in this section shall interfere with the rights of abutting property owners in those trees.
22,123
Section
123. 120.13 (37) (a) 3. of the statutes is amended to read:
120.13 (37) (a) 3. Left high school before receiving a high school diploma to join the U.S. armed forces during a war period under s. 45.001 (5) 45.01 (13).
22,124
Section
124. 125.14 (2) (e) of the statutes is amended to read:
125.14 (2) (e) Disposal. The department shall dispose of the alcohol beverages turned over to it by the court by either giving it to law enforcement agencies free of charge for use in criminal investigations, giving it to state-operated veterans' hospitals in amounts needed for medicinal purposes, selling it to the highest bidder if the bidder is a person holding a license or permit issued under this chapter, or destroying it, at the discretion of the department. If the department elects to sell the alcohol beverages, it shall publish a class 2 notice under ch. 985 asking for sealed bids from qualified bidders. Any items or groups of items in the inventory subject to a security interest, the existence of which was established in the proceedings for conviction as being bona fide and as having been created without the secured party having notice that the items were being used or were to be used in connection with the violation, shall be sold separately. The net proceeds from the sale, less all costs of seizure, storage, and sale, shall be turned over to the secretary of administration and credited to the common school fund.
