SB668,22,1918 45.80 (4) Milwaukee County. In counties having a population of 500,000
19750,000 or more the officer shall may be appointed subject to ss. 63.01 to 63.17.
SB668,93 20Section 93. 45.80 (5) (intro.) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB668,22,2221 45.80 (5) Duties. (intro.) The A county veterans service officer shall do all of
22the following:
SB668,94 23Section 94. 45.80 (5) (e) of the statutes is repealed.
SB668,95 24Section 95. 45.80 (5) (f) of the statutes is created to read:
SB668,23,4
145.80 (5) (f) Identify a county staff member to be accredited by the U.S.
2department of veterans affairs to assist veterans and their families in the
3preparation, presentation, and prosecution of a veteran benefit claim in accord with
438 USC 5901 to 5904 and 38 CFR 14.629.
SB668,96 5Section 96. 45.80 (6) (intro.) of the statutes is repealed.
SB668,97 6Section 97. 45.80 (6) (a) of the statutes is renumbered 45.80 (5) (g).
SB668,98 7Section 98. 45.80 (6) (b) of the statutes is renumbered 45.80 (5) (h).
SB668,99 8Section 99. 45.80 (7) of the statutes is repealed.
SB668,100 9Section 100. 45.80 (8) of the statutes is repealed.
SB668,101 10Section 101. 45.80 (9) of the statutes is created to read:
SB668,23,1211 45.80 (9) Prohibited activities. A county veterans service officer may not do
12any of the following:
SB668,23,1513 (a) Verify veterans status for individuals for the purpose of obtaining permits
14or licenses from the department of natural resources or the department of motor
15vehicles.
SB668,23,1616 (b) Initiate mortgage loans under s. 45.37 or personal loans under s. 45.42.
SB668,102 17Section 102. 45.805 of the statutes is created to read:
SB668,23,22 1845.805 County veterans service consortium. (1) The department may
19approve a county veterans service consortium to administer veterans benefits and
20services within the boundaries of the participating counties. The department may
21not approve more than one county veterans service consortium. The department
22shall create standards under which a consortium shall operate.
SB668,24,4 23(2) The department shall designate one of the proposed participating counties
24to submit a plan for the proposed county veterans service consortium to the
25department that sets forth policies and procedures for the consortium. The plan

1shall provide for the establishment of a county veterans consortium commission to
2administer the consortium, and the county veterans consortium commission shall
3consist of one representative from each county that is a member of the consortium.
4The plan may not be implemented without the department's approval.
SB668,24,7 5(3) If the department approves the plan under sub. (2), the department shall
6award a grant to the county that submitted the plan to assist the county veterans
7service consortium in implementing its plan.
SB668,103 8Section 103. 45.805 of the statutes, as created by 2015 Wisconsin Act .... (this
9act), is repealed.
SB668,104 10Section 104. 45.81 (2) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB668,24,2111 45.81 (2) The commission shall be organized by the election of one of their
12number as chairperson. The county executive or county board chairperson in a
13county that does not have a county executive after the expiration of the terms of those
14first appointed shall annually on or before the 2nd Monday in December appoint one
15person as a member of the commission for the term of 3 years. Except as provided
16in s. 59.21 (1) (intro.), the county executive or county board chairperson shall require
17each member of the commission and the county veterans service officer to execute to
18the county an individual surety bond, with sufficient sureties to be approved by the
19county executive or county board chairperson, each bond to be in an amount equal
20to the tax levied in the current year for expenditure by the commission. Each bond
21shall be filed with the county clerk.
SB668,105 22Section 105. 45.81 (3) (a) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB668,24,2523 45.81 (3) (a) Except as provided under sub. (4), the The commission may
24furnish aid to any person described in s. 45.86 if the right of that person to aid is
25established to the commission's satisfaction.
SB668,106
1Section 106. 45.81 (4) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB668,25,42 45.81 (4) A county veterans service officer appointed under s. 45.80 (1) (b) or
3(4) shall may have the administrative powers and duties prescribed for the county
4veterans service commission under sub. (2).
SB668,107 5Section 107. 45.81 (6) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB668,25,106 45.81 (6) The county veterans service officer shall may serve as executive
7secretary of the county veterans service commission and shall may make or direct
8all necessary investigations to determine eligibility for aid under s. 45.86 when the
9commission so requests. The county service officer, in making an investigation, may
10use the facilities for investigating that are made available by the county board.
SB668,108 11Section 108. 45.82 (1) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB668,25,2512 45.82 (1) Each county may annually apply to the department for a grant for the
13improvement of service to former military personnel of the county through the
14county veterans service office. A county may not allocate any portion of a grant for
15use by another county department nor may the county reduce funding to a county
16veterans service office based upon receipt of a grant. The county veterans service
17officer of any
A county applying for the grant shall enter into an agreement with the
18department. The agreement shall state the goals and objectives to be attained by the
19county veterans service office during the remainder of the year covered by the grant
20application. The department shall prepare the basic form of this agreement in
21consultation with the county veterans service officers association and provide a copy
22and an explanation of that agreement to each county veterans service officer. The
23department shall develop reasonable budget and operating standards to assure
24improved services, but full operating control of the county office shall be left to each
25county.
SB668,109
1Section 109. 45.82 (2) of the statutes, as affected by 2015 Wisconsin Act 55,
2is amended to read:
SB668,26,193 45.82 (2) The department of veterans affairs shall award a grant annually, on
4a reimbursable basis as specified in this subsection, to a county that meets the
5standards developed under this section if the county executive, administrator, or
6administrative coordinator certifies to the department that it employs a county
7veterans service officer who, if chosen after April 15, 2015, is chosen from a list of
8candidates who have taken a civil service examination for the position of county
9veterans service officer developed and administered by the bureau of merit
10recruitment and selection in the department of administration, or is appointed under
11a civil service competitive examination procedure under s. 59.52 (8) or ch. 63
. The
12department of veterans affairs shall twice yearly reimburse grant recipients for
13documented expenses under sub. (5), subject to the following annual reimbursement
14limits: $8,500 for a county with a population of less than 20,000, $10,000 for a county
15with a population of 20,000 to 45,499, $11,500 for a county with a population of
1645,500 to 74,999, and $13,000 for a county with a population of 75,000 or more. The
17department of veterans affairs shall use the most recent Wisconsin official
18population estimates prepared by the demographic services center when making
19grants under this subsection.
SB668,110 20Section 110. 45.82 (3) of the statutes is repealed.
SB668,111 21Section 111. 45.84 of the statutes is amended to read:
SB668,27,6 2245.84 Burial allowance. (1) Each county veterans service officer or county
23staff member accredited as specified under s. 45.80 (5) (f)
shall cause to be interred
24in a decent and respectable manner in any cemetery in this state, other than those
25used exclusively for the burial of paupers, the body of any veteran, spouse, or

1surviving spouse who was living in the county at the time of death and who dies not
2leaving sufficient means to defray the necessary expenses of a decent burial, or under
3circumstances that would cause financial distress to the person's family. The cost of
4this interment shall be the responsibility of the county, but may not be less than $300,
5and shall be in addition to the burial allowance payable under laws administered by
6the U.S. department of veterans affairs.
SB668,27,13 7(2) Before assuming the burial expense, the county veterans service officer or
8county staff member accredited as specified under s. 45.80 (5) (f)
shall exercise due
9diligence in attempting to determine the financial condition required by sub. (1). The
10county veterans service officer, in making the inquiry, may use the facilities for
11investigation that are made available by the county board. The county veterans
12service officer shall report the results of that determination to the appropriate
13authorities designated by the county.
SB668,27,22 14(3) The chairperson of the county board and the clerk of the county on the
15receipt of the report under sub. (2) shall draw an order on the county treasurer for
16the amount of expenses so incurred, payable to the person designated in the report
17as being entitled to that payment. The county veterans service officer of each county
18or county staff member accredited as specified under s. 45.80 (5) (f) shall, upon the
19death and burial of a veteran described under sub. (1) who was living in the county
20at the time of death, make application to the proper authorities for a suitable
21headstone as provided for by act of congress, and at the expense of the county cause
22the same to be placed at the head of the deceased's grave.
SB668,112 23Section 112. 851.09 of the statutes is amended to read:
SB668,28,4 24851.09 Heir. "Heir" means any person, including the surviving spouse, who
25is entitled under the statutes of intestate succession to an interest in property of a

1decedent. The state is an heir of the decedent and a person interested under s. 45.51
2(10)
45.50 (14) and (11) (15) when the decedent was a member of a Wisconsin veterans
3home operated by the department of veterans affairs under s. 45.50 at the time of the
4decedent's death.
SB668,113 5Section 113. Fiscal changes.
SB668,28,156 (1) Facilities management. In the schedule under section 20.005 (3) of the
7statutes for the appropriation to the department of veterans affairs under section
820.485 (1) (gk) of the statutes, as affected by the acts of 2015, the dollar amount for
9fiscal year 2015-16 is increased by $0 to increase the authorized FTE positions for
10the department by 1.0 PR position for facilities maintenance at the Veterans Home
11at Union Grove. In the schedule under section 20.005 (3) of the statutes for the
12appropriation to the department of veterans affairs under section 20.485 (1) (gk) of
13the statutes, as affected by the acts of 2015, the dollar amount for fiscal year 2016-17
14is increased by $0 to provide funding for the position authorized under this
15subsection.
SB668,28,1616 (2) County veterans services grants.
SB668,28,2017 (a) In the schedule under section 20.005 (3) of the statutes for the appropriation
18to the department of veterans affairs under section 20.485 (2) (tf) of the statutes, as
19affected by the acts of 2015, the dollar amount for fiscal year 2016-17 is decreased
20by $250,000 to decrease the amount in the appropriation.
SB668,28,2421 (b) In the schedule under section 20.005 (3) of the statutes for the appropriation
22to the department of veterans affairs under section 20.485 (2) (vx) of the statutes, as
23affected by the acts of 2015, the dollar amount for fiscal year 2016-17 is increased
24by $250,000 to provide funding for a county veterans services consortium.
SB668,114
1Section 114. Effective dates. This act takes effect on the day after
2publication, except as follows:
SB668,29,43 (1) The repeal and recreation of section 20.485 (1) (gk) of the statutes takes
4effect on July 1, 2017.
SB668,29,55 (2) The repeal of section 45.805 of the statutes takes effect on July 1, 2017.
SB668,29,76 (3) The amendment of section 20.485 (2) (vx) (by Section 25) of the statutes
7takes effect on July 1, 2017.
SB668,29,88 (End)
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