AB67: Bill Text

Finally, under the bill DATCP may request any person to provide DATCP with information about the year 2000 readiness of any electronic computing device that the person sells or offers to sell or has ever sold or offered to sell in this state. If a person fails to respond to an information request from DATCP or if the person provides false, misleading or deceptive information to DATCP, then any person adversely affected by the failure of that electronic computing device to be year 2000 ready may bring an action against the person who failed to respond or who responded with false, misleading or deceptive information. The court may award the injured party appropriate relief, including damages of not less than $500 nor more than twice the amount of actual damages, injunctive or declaratory relief, specific performance and reasonable attorney fees.

Admissibility of statements concerning year 2000 processing capabilities

This bill provides that no year 2000 processing information provided by a person at the request of a governmental unit that has regulatory power over the person is admissible in any civil action or proceeding. Any other year 2000 processing information may be offered in evidence only if the information is in a statement made by a person who knew that the statement was false, misleading or deceptive or that was made with reckless disregard as to the truth or falsity of the statement, if the information is in a republished year 2000 statement that the person who republished the statement knew was false, misleading or deceptive, if the information is in a statement made by a person who was compensated for providing a year 2000 statement as part of a contractual service or made by a person when soliciting a consumer, if the information is offered in any action brought by the state or a local governmental unit acting in regulatory, supervisory or enforcement capacity or if the information is offered in an action relating to false, deceptive or misleading statements or representations concerning year 2000 readiness.

Testing of local emergency management contingency plans

Under current law, the adjutant general, as the head of the department of military affairs is required to develop and promulgate a statewide plan of emergency management for the security of persons and property and to provide training to and standards for local emergency planning agencies. This bill gives the adjutant general the funding authority for the testing of the local emergency management agency contingency plans concerning possible failure of computer devices to deal with the year 2000 problems.

Activation of national guard

Under current law, in response to a war, insurrection, rebellion, riot or invasion, in the event of a public disaster resulting from a flood, conflagration or tornado, or upon application of certain public officials, the governor may order into active service all or any portion of the national guard. Current law also includes a procedure for activating the national guard if the governor is not able to do so.

This bill allows for activation of the national guard for a public disaster resulting from a computer device's failure to recognize and respond correctly to the year 2000 date data and in anticipation of such a public disaster.

State and local governmental liability

Currently, under the common law doctrine of sovereign immunity, the state is immune from lawsuits, except in certain instances in which laws permit the state to be sued or the enforcement of a federal or constitutional right is involved. State authorities and local governmental units do not enjoy such broad immunity, although narrower grants of immunity are provided to such authorities and units under various specific laws. Also, in certain limited circumstances, a state governmental officer, employe or agent may be sued for certain acts or omissions even though a lawsuit arising from the same acts or omissions may not be brought against the governmental unit that the officer, employe or agent serves. A state or local governmental officer, employe or agent who is sued for a negligent action or omission may be protected from liability currently if the officer, employe or agent makes a good faith attempt to resolve the problem that results in the act or omission. No punitive damages (damages not resulting from direct or indirect loss but awarded, instead, as punishment for wrongful conduct) may be awarded in any lawsuit against a state or local governmental officer, employe or agent based upon tort (a noncontractual claim based upon alleged wrongful conduct). Damages in tort lawsuits are generally limited to $250,000 in the case of a state officer, employe or agent, or $50,000 in the case of a local governmental unit or officer, employe or agent thereof. Currently, with certain exceptions, the state and local governments must pay interest on late payments to vendors.

This bill provides that no person may recover any damages against any state or local governmental unit, including a state authority, or any officer, employe or agent thereof, for any act or omission caused by the failure of an electronic computing device that is under the control of such a unit, officer, employe or agent to process, transmit or receive date data from, into and between the 20th and 21st centuries and during the years 1999 and 2000 and from leap year calculations if the unit had a remediation plan in effect at the time of the act or omission that was designed to prevent the failure and the unit or the officer, employe or agent made a reasonable effort to find, identify and replace or correct any electronic computing device that may have contributed to the failure. The bill also voids any contrary provision of a contract entered into on or after the day on which the bill becomes law. In addition, the bill provides that the state and local governments are not required to pay interest to vendors on late payments arising from a "year 2000" failure described above.

For further information see the state and local fiscal estimate, which will be printed as an appendix to this bill.

The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do enact as follows:

AB67, s. 1 Section 1. 13.0992 of the statutes is created to read:

AB67,6,3 13.0992 Review of bills impacting on year 2000 problem. (1) Definitions. In this section:

AB67,6,4 (a) "Department" means the department of administration.

AB67,6,9 (b) "Electronic computing device" means any computer hardware or software, computer chip, embedded chip, process control equipment or other information system used to capture, store, manipulate or process information, or that controls, monitors or assists in the operation of physical apparatus that relies on automation or digital technology to function.

AB67,6,13 (c) "Local governmental unit" means a political subdivision of this state, a special purpose district in this state, an instrumentality or corporation of such a political subdivision or special purpose district or a combination or subunit of any of the foregoing or an instrumentality of the state and any of the foregoing.

AB67,6,15 (d) "Processing" includes calculating, comparing, sequencing, displaying or storing.

AB67,6,18 (e) "State governmental unit" means this state, and every subunit or instrumentality of this state, including any institution or authority, regardless of whether moneys are appropriated to the unit.

AB67,6,20 (f) "Year 2000 problem" means a failure in year 2000 processing of an electronic computing device.

AB67,6,23 (g) "Year 2000 processing" means the processing, transmitting or receiving of date data from, into, and between the 20th and 21st centuries and during the years 1999 and 2000, and from leap year calculations.

AB67,7,12 (2) Report on bills impacting on year 2000 problem. (a) Whenever a bill is introduced in either house of the legislature that would have an impact on the ability of a state governmental unit, a local governmental unit or any other person to avoid a year 2000 problem, the department, upon the request of the speaker of the assembly, the president of the senate or the chairperson of a standing committee to which the bill is referred, shall prepare a report on the bill within 5 working days of the request. The department shall request information from any individual, organization or state or local governmental unit that the department considers likely to be affected by the bill, if enacted. Individuals, organizations and state and local governmental units shall comply with requests by the department for information that is reasonably necessary for the department to prepare the report. To the greatest extent possible, reports under this section shall be based on the information obtained by the department from individuals, organizations and state and local governmental units under this paragraph.

AB67,7,14 (b) The report prepared under this section shall be printed as an appendix to that applicable bill and shall be distributed in the same manner as amendments.

AB67,7,16 (3) Findings of the department to be contained in the report. The report of the department shall contain the following information:

AB67,7,18 (a) A statement of the year 2000 problem affected by the bill, including all of the following:

AB67,7,19 1. Whether current law creates a hardship and, if so, the degree of the hardship.

AB67,7,21 2. The costs associated with complying with current law and any anticipated savings likely to result from the bill, if enacted.

AB67,7,23 3. Whether any other efforts have been made to resolve the year 2000 problem affected by the bill.

AB67,7,25 4. The degree of control by those affected by the bill over the year 2000 problem affected by the bill.

AB67,8,2 (b) A description of the proposed effect of the bill, if enacted, on the year 2000 problem.

AB67,8,6 (c) Any other special considerations concerning the effect of the bill, such as the frequency of use of the proposed change and the support and involvement of businesses, industries, state governmental units and local governmental units affected by the proposed change.

AB67,8,8 (4) Rule-making authority. The department may promulgate any rules necessary for the administration of this section.

AB67, s. 2 Section 2. 13.0992 of the statutes, as created by 1999 Wisconsin Act .... (this act), is repealed.

AB67, s. 3 Section 3. 16.528 (3) (f) of the statutes is created to read:

AB67,8,12 16.528 (3) (f) An order or contract to which s. 893.83 applies.

AB67, s. 4 Section 4. 19.37 (2) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB67,8,23 19.37 (2) Costs, fees and damages. (a) Except as provided in this paragraph and s. 893.83, the court shall award reasonable attorney fees, damages of not less than $100, and other actual costs to the requester if the requester prevails in whole or in substantial part in any action filed under sub. (1) relating to access to a record or part of a record under s. 19.35 (1) (a). If the requester is a committed or incarcerated person, the requester is not entitled to any minimum amount of damages, but the court may award damages. Costs and fees shall be paid by the authority affected or the unit of government of which it is a part, or by the unit of government by which the legal custodian under s. 19.33 is employed and may not become a personal liability of any public official.

AB67,9,3 (b) In Except as provided in s. 893.83, in any action filed under sub. (1) relating to access to a record or part of a record under s. 19.35 (1) (am), if the court finds that the authority acted in a wilful or intentional manner, the court shall award the individual actual damages sustained by the individual as a consequence of the failure.

AB67, s. 5 Section 5. 19.37 (3) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB67,9,8 19.37 (3) Punitive damages. If Except as provided in s. 893.83, if a court finds that an authority or legal custodian under s. 19.33 has arbitrarily and capriciously denied or delayed response to a request or charged excessive fees, the court may award punitive damages to the requester.

AB67, s. 6 Section 6. 20.005 (3) (schedule) of the statutes: at the appropriate place, insert the following amounts for the purposes indicated: - See PDF for table - See PDF for table

AB67, s. 7 Section 7. 20.115 (1) (d) of the statutes is created to read:

AB67,10,5 20.115 (1) (d) Year 2000 consumer protection. As a continuing appropriation, the amounts in the schedule for the administration and enforcement of s. 100.261 and other consumer protection activities relating to the year 2000 readiness of electronic computing devices.

AB67, s. 8 Section 8. 20.115 (1) (d) of the statutes, as created by 1999 Wisconsin Act .... (this act), is repealed.

AB67, s. 9 Section 9. 20.465 (3) (b) of the statutes is created to read:

AB67,10,11 20.465 (3) (b) Year 2000 computer program development. As a continuing appropriation, the amounts in the schedule for the development, testing and distribution of a computer program under s. 166.03 (2) (a) 6.

AB67, s. 10 Section 10. 20.465 (3) (b) of the statutes, as created by 1999 Wisconsin Act .... (this act), is repealed.

AB67, s. 11 Section 11. 20.505 (1) (fo) of the statutes is created to read:

AB67,10,17 20.505 (1) (fo) Year 2000 educational outreach. As a continuing appropriation, the amounts in the schedule to contract for educational outreach services under 1999 Wisconsin Act .... (this act), section 9101 (2 ).

AB67, s. 12 Section 12. 20.505 (1) (fo) of the statutes, as created by 1999 Wisconsin Act .... (this act), is repealed.

AB67, s. 13 Section 13. 21.11 (1) of the statutes is renumbered 21.11 (1) (a).

AB67, s. 14 Section 14. 21.11 (1) (b) of the statutes is created to read:

AB67,11,2 21.11 (1) (b) 1. In this paragraph "electronic computing device" means any computer hardware or software, computer chip, embedded chip, process control equipment, or other information system used to capture, store, manipulate, or process information, or that controls, monitors, or assists in the operation of physical apparatus that relies on automation or digital technology to function.

AB67,11,18 2. In anticipation of, or in the event of, a public disaster resulting from the failure of an electronic computing device to process, transmit or receive date data from, into and between the 20th and 21st centuries, and during the years 1999 and 2000, and from leap year calculations, the governor may order into active service all or any portion of the national guard. If the governor is absent, or cannot be immediately communicated with, the commanding officers of any national guard company, battalion or regiment may, upon approval of the adjutant general, if the danger is great and imminent, order out that officer's command to respond to the public disaster. The order shall be delivered to the commanding officer, who shall immediately communicate the order to each, and every subordinate officer. Every company commander receiving an order under this paragraph shall immediately communicate the substance of that order to each member of the company, or if any member cannot be found, a notice in writing containing the substance of the order shall be left at the last and usual place of residence of the member with some person of suitable age and discretion, to whom its contents shall be explained. This paragraph does not apply after December 31, 2000.

AB67, s. 15 Section 15. 66.285 (4) (f) of the statutes is created to read:

AB67,11,20 66.285 (4) (f) An order or contract to which s. 893.83 applies.

AB67, s. 16 Section 16. 100.261 of the statutes is created to read:

AB67,11,22 100.261 Year 2000 readiness. (1) Definitions. In this section:

AB67,12,2 (a) "Electronic computing device" means any computer hardware or software, computer chip, embedded chip, process control equipment, or other information system used to capture, store, manipulate, or process information, or that controls, monitors, or assists in the operation of physical apparatus that relies on automation or digital technology to function.

AB67,12,3 (b) "Process" includes calculate, compare, sequence, display and store.

AB67,12,6 (c) "Year 2000 readiness" means the ability to process, transmit or receive date data from, into and between the 20th and 21st centuries, and during the years 1999 and 2000, and from leap year calculations.

AB67,12,16 (2) Advertising and sales representations. A person may not make any statement or representation with regard to the year 2000 readiness of an electronic computing device which is false, misleading or deceptive, or which omits material information with respect to the year 2000 readiness of an electronic computing device that is necessary to make the statement not false, misleading or deceptive. For the purpose of this subsection, it is false, misleading or deceptive to state or represent that an electronic computing device is able to process, transmit or receive date data from, into and between the 20th and 21st centuries and during the years 1999 and 2000, and from leap year calculations if the electronic computing device cannot do so without modification or alteration.

AB67,12,20 (3) Information on year 2000 readiness. The department may request information about the year 2000 readiness of an electronic computing device from any person who sells or offers to sell or who has ever sold or offered to sell an electronic computing device to a person in this state.

AB67,12,25 (4) Remedies and penalties. (a) 1. If a person makes a statement or representation in violation of sub. (2), any other person adversely affected by that violation has a claim for appropriate relief, including not less than $500 nor more than twice the amount of damages, injunctive or declaratory relief, specific performance and rescission.

AB67,13,12 2. If a person fails to respond to an information request about the year 2000 readiness of an electronic computing device by the department under sub. (3) or if the person provides information to the department in response to a request about the year 2000 readiness of an electronic computing device under sub. (3) that is false, misleading or deceptive, then any person adversely affected by the failure of that electronic computing device to process, transmit or receive date data from, into and between the 20th and 21st centuries and during the years 1999 and 2000, and from leap year calculations has a claim for appropriate relief, including not less than $500 nor more than twice the amount of damages, injunctive or declaratory relief, specific performance and rescission against the person who failed to respond to the department's request or gave the department false, misleading or deceptive information.

AB67,13,14 3. A person who is entitled to relief under subd. 1. or 2. is also entitled to recover costs and disbursements, including reasonable attorney fees.

AB67,13,21 (b) 1. The department of agriculture, trade and consumer protection may request the department of justice to commence, or any district attorney, upon informing the department of 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 sub. (2). In addition to injunctive relief, the court may award any person twice the amount of any damages suffered because of a violation of sub. (2).

AB67,13,24 2. The department may exercise its authority under ss. 93.14 to 93.16 and 100.18 (11) (c) to administer this section. The department may subpoena persons and require the production of books and other documents in a timely manner.

AB67,14,4 (c) Any person who violates sub. (2) or who fails to respond to an information request made by the department under sub. (3) or who provides information to the department in response to a request made under sub. (3) that is false, misleading or deceptive shall forfeit not less than $100 nor more than $10,000 for each offense.

AB67,14,8 (d) This section does not preempt the administration or enforcement of this chapter or ch. 133. Practices in violation of this section may also constitute unfair methods of competition or unfair trade practices under s. 100.20 (1) or (1t) or fraudulent representations under s. 100.18 (1) or violate ch. 133.

AB67, s. 17 Section 17. 134.92 of the statutes is created to read:

AB67,14,10 134.92 Year 2000 processing information. (1) In this section:

AB67,14,12 (a) "Agent" means an authorized person, other than a director, officer or employe, who acts on behalf of or at the direction of another person.

AB67,14,13 (b) "Authority" has the meaning given in s. 19.32 (1).

AB67,14,15 (c) "Processing" includes calculating, comparing, sequencing, displaying or storing.

AB67,14,17 (d) "Regulatory power" means the power to authorize or require a specific class of persons to perform certain acts.

AB67,14,20 (e) "Year 2000 processing" means the processing, transmitting or receiving of date data from, into, and between the 20th and 21st centuries and during the years 1999 and 2000, and from leap year calculations.

AB67,14,23 (f) "Year 2000 statement" means any communication or other conveyance of information by a person to another person or to the public, in any form or medium, including a computer program:

AB67,14,25 1. Concerning an assessment, projection or estimate relating to year 2000 processing capabilities of an entity, product, service or set of products and services.

AB67,15,3 2. Concerning plans, objectives, or timetables for implementing or verifying the year 2000 processing capabilities of an entity, product, service or set of products and services.

AB67,15,6 3. Concerning test plans, test dates, test results or operational problems or solutions related to year 2000 processing by products or services that incorporate or utilize products.

AB67,15,10 4. Concerning the correction or avoidance of a year 2000 processing failure in computer hardware, a computer system, a component of a computer system, a computer program or software or services utilizing any computer hardware, system, component, program or software or services.

AB67,15,12 5. Reviewing, commenting on, or otherwise directly or indirectly relating to year 2000 processing capabilities.

AB67,15,18 (2) Each authority may require any person over whom the authority exercises regulatory power to provide to the authority information relating to year 2000 processing, including a year 2000 statement, with respect to any matter relating to public health or safety that is regulated by that authority or any matter relating to public health or safety that has an effect upon a matter that is regulated by that authority.

AB67,15,20 (3) (a) Each director, partner or proprietor of a business shall forfeit $100 if the business does any of the following:

AB67,15,21 1. Fails to provide any information required under sub. (2).