May 17, 2013 - Introduced by Representatives Jacque, Tittl, Bies, Born, Endsley,
Kleefisch, Kooyenga, Murphy, A. Ott, Sanfelippo, Spiros, Strachota,
Thiesfeldt, Pridemore and Weininger, cosponsored by Senators Lazich,
Schultz, Leibham and Grothman. Referred to Committee on Transportation.
AB206,1,4 1An Act to amend 341.14 (6r) (b) 1., 341.14 (6r) (c) and 341.14 (6r) (fm) 7.; and
2to create 20.395 (5) (ei), 25.40 (1) (a) 30., 341.14 (6r) (b) 15., 341.14 (6r) (f) 62.
3and 341.14 (10) of the statutes; relating to: special registration plates
4displaying the words Choose Life and making an appropriation.
Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau
Under current law, any group or organization may apply to the Department of
Transportation (DOT) for designation as an authorized special group. If the
application is approved, members of the authorized special group may obtain special
distinguishing license plates for certain vehicles, including automobiles and motor
homes, that are owned or leased by special group members. A fee, in addition to the
regular registration fee for the particular kind of vehicle, is charged for the issuance
or reissuance of most special plates.
Before October 2, 1998, authorized special groups whose members may obtain
special plates were specifically enumerated in state law. With certain exceptions,
current law provides that specific enumeration in state law of authorized special
groups is limited to those special groups enumerated before October 2, 1998.
This bill establishes an authorized special group specifically enumerated in
state law for persons interested in obtaining special plates that display the words
"Choose Life" and the proceeds from which support the purposes and bylaws of
Choose Life Wisconsin. In addition to the regular vehicle registration fee, special
group members are required to pay a $15 fee for issuance or reissuance of the special
plates and to annually include payment of $25 that provides funds to Choose Life

Wisconsin. However, DOT may not issue these special plates until DOT has obtained
authority to use, without fee, any applicable trademark or service mark associated
with these "Choose Life" special plates.
For further information see the state 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:
AB206,1 1Section 1. 20.395 (5) (ei) of the statutes is created to read:
AB206,2,42 20.395 (5) (ei) Payments to Choose Life Wisconsin. From the general fund, all
3moneys received under s. 341.14 (6r) (b) 15. for payments to Choose Life Wisconsin
4under s. 341.14 (10).
AB206,2 5Section 2. 25.40 (1) (a) 30. of the statutes is created to read:
AB206,2,86 25.40 (1) (a) 30. Moneys received under s. 341.14 (6r) (b) 15. that are deposited
7into the general fund and credited to the appropriation account under s. 20.395 (5)
8(ei).
AB206,3 9Section 3. 341.14 (6r) (b) 1. of the statutes is amended to read:
AB206,3,1510 341.14 (6r) (b) 1. Subject to subd. 1m., upon application to register an
11automobile or motor home, or a motor truck, dual purpose motor home or dual
12purpose farm truck which has a gross weight of not more than 8,000 pounds, or a
13farm truck which has a gross weight of not more than 12,000 pounds, by any person
14who is a resident of this state and a member of an authorized special group, the
15department shall issue to the person special plates whose colors and design shall
16indicate that the vehicle is owned by a person who is a member of the applicable
17special group. The department may not issue any special group plates under par. (f)
1855., 60., or 61r. until 6 months after the department has received information
19sufficient for the department to determine that any approvals required for use of any

1logo, trademark, trade name or other commercial symbol designating the
2professional football team or professional baseball team or associated with
3Harley-Davidson, Inc., have been obtained. Subject to sub. subs. (9) (d) and (10) (d),
4the department may not issue any special group plates under par. (f) 61m. or 62. until
5the department has received information sufficient for the department to determine
6that any license or other approval required for use of any logo, trademark or service
7mark, trade name or other commercial symbol to be used on or in association with
8these plates has been obtained. Notwithstanding s. 341.12 (2), if the department of
9corrections does not have flat-plate technology available for use in manufacturing
10license plates at quality and cost comparable to that available from the state of
11Minnesota, the department of transportation may not issue any special group plates
12under par. (f) 59. unless the department of transportation purchases the plates from
13the state of Minnesota. Sections 16.70, 16.71, 16.72, 16.75, 16.752 to 16.755, 16.765,
1416.77, and 16.82 do not apply to purchases of plates issued under par. (f) 59. from the
15state of Minnesota.
AB206,4 16Section 4. 341.14 (6r) (b) 15. of the statutes is created to read:
AB206,4,717 341.14 (6r) (b) 15. Subject to sub. (10) (d), a voluntary payment of $25 that is
18in addition to the fee under subd. 2. shall be collected in connection with the issuance
19or renewal of a plate issued on an annual basis for the special group specified under
20par. (f) 62. Subject to sub. (10) (d), a voluntary payment of $50 that is in addition to
21the fee under subd. 2. shall be collected in connection with the issuance or renewal
22of a plate issued on a biennial basis for the special group specified under par. (f) 62.
23if the plate is issued or renewed during the first year of the biennial registration
24period or $25 for the issuance or renewal if the plate is issued or renewed during the
252nd year of the biennial registration period. No plate may be issued for the special

1group specified under par. (f) 62. unless the voluntary payment under this
2subdivision is collected. All moneys received under this subdivision in excess of
3$23,700 or of the initial cost of production of the special group plate under par. (f) 62.,
4whichever is less, shall be deposited into the general fund and credited to the
5appropriation under s. 20.395 (5) (ei). To the extent permitted under ch. 71, the
6voluntary payment under this subdivision is deductible as a charitable contribution
7for purposes of the taxes under ch. 71.
AB206,5 8Section 5. 341.14 (6r) (c) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB206,5,199 341.14 (6r) (c) Special group plates shall display the word "Wisconsin", the
10name of the applicable authorized special group, a symbol representing the special
11group, not exceeding one position, and identifying letters or numbers or both, not
12exceeding 6 positions and not less than one position. Except as provided in this
13paragraph, the department shall specify the design for special group plates, but the
14department shall consult the president of the University of Wisconsin System before
15specifying the word or symbol used to identify the special groups under par. (f) 35.
16to 47., the secretary of natural resources before specifying the word or symbol used
17to identify the special groups under par. (f) 50. and 59., the chief executive officer of
18the professional football team and an authorized representative of the league of
19professional football teams described in s. 229.823 to which that team belongs before
20specifying the design for the applicable special group plate under par. (f) 55., the chief
21trademark officer of Harley-Davidson Michigan, LLC before specifying the design
22for the applicable special group plate under par. (f) 61r., the department of veterans
23affairs before specifying the design for the special group plates under par. (f) 49d.,
2449h., and 49s., and the department of tourism and chief executive officer of the
25organization specified in par. (f) 55m. before specifying the design and word or

1symbol used to identify the special group name for special group plates under par.
2(f) 55m. Special group plates under par. (f) 50. shall be as similar as possible to
3regular registration plates in color and design. Special group plates under par. (f)
462. shall display the words "Choose Life".
The department shall make available 2
5designs for the special group plates under par. (f) 60. The department may not specify
6any design for the special group plates under par. (f) 60. unless the design is approved
7by the executive vice president of the Milwaukee Brewers Baseball Club LP. The
8word or symbol used to identify the special group under par. (f) 59. shall be different
9from the word or symbol used to identify the special group under par. (f) 50. and the
10design shall cover the entire plate. Special group plates under par. (f) 61m. shall
11display a logo or image of the lion associated with the Lions Clubs International.
12Special group plates under par. (f) 61r. shall display a bar and shield logo associated
13with Harley-Davidson, Inc., on the left portion of the plates and the words "share the
14road" on the bottom portion of the plates. Notwithstanding par. (e), special group
15plates under par. (f) 33m. and 48m. shall be the same color and design that was
16specified by the department for special group plates under par. (f) 33. and 48.,
17respectively, immediately prior to January 1, 2007. The design for special group
18plates under par. (f) 33. and 48. shall be different from the design of special group
19plates under par. (f) 33m. and 48m., respectively.
AB206,6 20Section 6. 341.14 (6r) (f) 62. of the statutes is created to read:
AB206,5,2321 341.14 (6r) (f) 62. Persons interested in obtaining registration plates that
22display the words "Choose Life" and the proceeds from which support the purposes
23and bylaws of Choose Life Wisconsin.
AB206,7 24Section 7. 341.14 (6r) (fm) 7. of the statutes is amended to read:
AB206,6,7
1341.14 (6r) (fm) 7. After October 1, 1998, additional authorized special groups
2may only be special groups designated by the department under this paragraph. The
3authorized special groups enumerated in par. (f) shall be limited solely to those
4special groups specified under par. (f) on October 1, 1998. This subdivision does not
5apply to the special groups specified under par. (f) 3m., 6m., 9g., 9m., 12g., 12m.,
615m., 19m., 33m., 48m., 49d., 49h., 49s., 54., 55., 55m., 56., 57., 58., 59., 60., 61., 61m.,
7and 61r., and 62.
AB206,8 8Section 8. 341.14 (10) of the statutes is created to read:
AB206,6,109 341.14 (10) (a) Subject to par. (c), from the appropriation under s. 20.395 (5)
10(ei), the department shall make payments to Choose Life Wisconsin.
AB206,6,1411 (b) For each year in which the department makes payments under par. (a),
12Choose Life Wisconsin shall submit to the presiding officer of each house of the
13legislature an audited financial statement of its use of the payments under this
14subsection, prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.
AB206,6,1815 (c) The department shall discontinue payments to Choose Life Wisconsin under
16this subsection if Choose Life Wisconsin dissolves, becomes insolvent, files a petition
17for bankruptcy, or is no longer exempt from taxation under section 501 (a) of the
18Internal Revenue Code.
AB206,6,2119 (d) 1. The department may not issue any plates under sub. (6r) (f) 62. unless
20the approval specified in sub. (6r) (b) 1. for these plates provides for all of the
21following:
AB206,6,2322 a. That the approval is provided without fee and as a condition of receiving
23payments under par. (a).
AB206,6,2524 b. That the approval is irrevocable with respect to all plates issued for vehicles
25after the plates are issued for these vehicles.
AB206,7,4
1c. That, if the approval is withdrawn, the department may continue to renew
2the registration of vehicles previously issued plates under sub. (6r) (f) 62., without
3replacing those plates, but the department shall discontinue collecting the voluntary
4payment specified in sub. (6r) (b) 15. with respect to these renewals.
AB206,7,85 2. Notwithstanding sub. (6r) (b) 1. and (f) (intro.), if the approval specified in
6sub. (6r) (b) 1. for plates issued under sub. (6r) (f) 62. is withdrawn, the department
7shall discontinue issuing plates under sub. (6r) (f) 62. unless additional approval, as
8specified in sub. (6r) (b) 1. and this paragraph, is obtained by the department.
AB206,9 9Section 9. Nonstatutory provisions.
AB206,7,1710 (1) Notwithstanding section 16.42 (1) (e) of the statutes, if this subsection takes
11effect in fiscal year 2014-15, in submitting information under section 16.42 of the
12statutes for purposes of the 2015-17 biennial budget bill, the department of
13transportation shall submit information concerning the appropriation under section
1420.395 (5) (cq) of the statutes as though the total amount appropriated under section
1520.395 (5) (cq) of the statutes for the 2014-15 fiscal year was $23,700 less than the
16total amount that was actually appropriated under section 20.395 (5) (cq) of the
17statutes for the 2014-15 fiscal year.
AB206,10 18Section 10. Fiscal changes.
AB206,7,2319 (1) In the schedule under section 20.005 (3) of the statutes for the appropriation
20to the department of transportation under section 20.395 (5) (cq) of the statutes, as
21affected by the acts of 2013, the dollar amount is increased by $23,700 for the fiscal
22year in which this subsection takes effect to increase funding for special registration
23plates displaying the words "Choose Life."
AB206,11 24Section 11. Effective date.
AB206,8,2
1(1) This act takes effect on the first day of the 7th month beginning after
2publication.
AB206,8,33 (End)
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