AB337: Bill Text

LRB-2160/1

TD/SW/ES/EW:cjs

2019 - 2020 LEGISLATURE

2019 Assembly BILL 337

July 16, 2019 - Introduced by Representatives Spreitzer, Zamarripa, Novak, Cabrera, Anderson, Billings, Bowen, Brostoff, Considine, Crowley, Doyle, Emerson, Fields, Goyke, Gruszynski, Haywood, Hebl, Hesselbein, Hintz, Kitchens, Kolste, McGuire, B. Meyers, Milroy, L. Myers, Neubauer, Ohnstad, Pope, Riemer, Sargent, Shankland, Sinicki, Stubbs, Stuck, Subeck, C. Taylor, Vining and Vruwink, cosponsored by Senators Carpenter, Bewley, Erpenbach, Hansen, Johnson, Larson, Miller, Ringhand, Risser, Schachtner, Shilling, Smith, L. Taylor and Wirch. Referred to Committee on Family Law.

AB337,3,2 An Act to repeal 49.141 (1) (j) 2., 102.51 (1) (a) 2., 115.76 (12) (a) 2., 115.76 (12) (a) 3. and 769.401 (2) (g); to renumber and amend 891.40 (1) and 891.41 (1) (b); to amend 29.219 (4), 29.228 (5), 29.228 (6), 29.229 (2) (i), 29.2295 (2) (i), 29.563 (3) (a) 3., 29.607 (3), 45.01 (6) (c), 45.51 (3) (c) 2., 45.51 (5) (a) 1. b., 45.51 (5) (a) 1. c., 45.55, 46.10 (2), 48.02 (13), 48.025 (title), 48.025 (2) (b), 48.025 (3) (c), 48.27 (3) (b) 1. a., 48.27 (3) (b) 1. b., 48.27 (5), 48.299 (6) (intro.), 48.299 (6) (e) 1., 48.299 (6) (e) 2., 48.299 (6) (e) 3., 48.299 (6) (e) 4., 48.299 (7), 48.355 (4g) (a) 1., 48.396 (2) (dm), 48.42 (1g) (a) 4., 48.42 (1g) (b), 48.42 (1g) (c), 48.42 (2) (b) 1., 48.42 (2) (b) 2., 48.42 (2) (bm) 1., 48.422 (6) (a), 48.422 (7) (bm), 48.422 (7) (br), 48.423 (2) (d), 48.432 (1) (am) 2. b., 48.63 (3) (b) 4., 48.63 (3) (b) 5., 48.82 (1) (a), 48.837 (1r) (d), 48.837 (1r) (e), 48.837 (6) (b), 48.837 (6) (br), 48.913 (1) (a), 48.913 (1) (b), 48.913 (1) (h), 48.913 (2) (intro.), 48.913 (2) (b), 48.913 (2) (c) (intro.), 48.913 (3), 48.913 (4), 48.913 (7), 49.141 (1) (j) 1., 49.155 (1m) (c) 1g., 49.155 (1m) (c) 1h., 49.163 (2) (am) 2., 49.19 (1) (a) 2. a., 49.19 (4) (d) (intro.), 49.19 (4) (d) 1., 49.19 (4) (d) 2., 49.19 (4) (d) 3., 49.19 (4) (d) 4., 49.19 (4) (d) 5., 49.345 (2), 49.43 (12), 49.471 (1) (b) 2., 49.90 (4), 54.01 (36) (a), 54.960 (1), 69.03 (15), 69.11 (4) (b), 69.12 (5), 69.13 (2) (b) 4., 69.14 (1) (c) 4., 69.14 (1) (e) (title) and 1., 69.14 (1) (f) 1., 69.14 (1) (g), 69.14 (2) (b) 2. d., 69.15 (1), 69.15 (3) (title), (a) (intro.), 1., 2. and 3. and (b) 1., 2., 3. and 4. (intro), a. and b., 69.15 (3) (d), 69.15 (3m) (title), (a) (intro.) and 3. and (b), 71.03 (2) (d) (title), 71.03 (2) (d) 1., 71.03 (2) (d) 2., 71.03 (2) (d) 3., 71.03 (2) (g), 71.03 (2) (m) 2., 71.03 (4) (a), 71.05 (22) (a) (title), 71.07 (5m) (a) 3., 71.07 (9e) (b), 71.09 (13) (a) 2., 71.52 (4), 71.83 (1) (a) 8., 71.83 (1) (b) 5., 77.25 (8m), 77.54 (7) (b) 1., 101.91 (5m), 102.07 (5) (b), 102.07 (5) (c), 102.51 (1) (a) 1., 103.10 (1) (h), 103.165 (3) (a) 3., 111.32 (12), 115.76 (12) (a) 1., 115.76 (13), 146.34 (1) (f), 157.05, 182.004 (6), 250.04 (3) (a), 301.12 (2), 301.50 (1), 700.19 (2), 705.01 (4), 705.01 (4m), 706.09 (1) (e), 765.001 (2), 765.01, 765.03 (1), 765.16 (1m) (intro.), 765.16 (1m) (c), 765.23, 765.24, 765.30 (3) (a), 766.587 (7) (form) 9., 766.588 (9) (form) 13., 766.589 (10) (form) 14., 767.215 (2) (b), 767.215 (5) (a) 2., 767.323, 767.80 (1) (intro.), 767.80 (1) (c), 767.80 (2), 767.803, 767.805 (1), (1m), (2), (3) (title) and (a), (4) (intro.) and (d), (5) and (6) (a) (intro.), 767.855, 767.863 (1m), 767.87 (1m) (intro.), 767.87 (8), 767.87 (9), 767.883 (1), 769.316 (9), 769.401 (2) (a), 815.20 (1), 822.40 (4), 851.30 (2) (a), 852.01 (1) (f) 1., 852.01 (1) (f) 2., 852.01 (1) (f) 3., 854.03 (3), 891.39 (title), 891.39 (1) (a), 891.39 (1) (b), 891.39 (3), 891.40 (2), 891.405, 891.41 (title), 891.41 (1) (intro.), 891.41 (1) (a), 891.41 (2), 905.05 (title), 938.02 (13), 938.396 (2g) (g), 943.20 (2) (c), 943.201 (1) (b) 8. and 943.205 (2) (b); and to create 69.15 (3) (b) 3m., 765.02 (3), 891.40 (1) (b), 891.40 (3), 891.41 (3), 990.01 (22m), 990.01 (39) and 990.01 (40m) of the statutes; relating to: marriage between persons of the same sex and extending parentage rights to married couples of the same sex.

Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau

Summary

This bill recognizes same-sex marriage by making references in the statutes to spouses gender neutral, with the intent of harmonizing the Wisconsin statutes with the holding of the U.S. Supreme Court in Obergefell v. Hodges, 135 S. Ct. 2584, 192 L.Ed.2d 609 (2015), which recognizes that same-sex couples have a fundamental constitutional right to marriage. The bill also recognizes legal parentage for same-sex couples under certain circumstances and adopts gender neutral parentage terminology.

Same-sex marriage

This bill provides that marriage may be contracted between persons of the same sex and confers the same rights and responsibilities on married persons of the same sex that married persons of different sexes have under current law. The bill defines “spouse" as a person who is legally married to another person of the same sex or a different sex and replaces every reference to “husband" or “wife" in current law with “spouse." The bill makes applicable to married persons of the same sex all provisions under current law that apply to married persons of different sexes. These provisions relate to such diverse areas of the law as income tax, marital property, inheritance rights, divorce, child and spousal support, insurance coverage, family and spousal recreational licenses, consent to conduct an autopsy, domestic abuse, and eligibility for various types of benefits, such as retirement or death benefits and medical assistance.

Parentage

In addition to making statutory references to spouses gender neutral, the bill specifies ways in which married couples of the same sex may be the legal parents of a child and, with some exceptions, makes current references in the statutes to “mother" and “father," and related terms, gender neutral.

Under current law, all of the following may adopt a child: a husband and wife jointly, a husband or wife whose spouse is the parent of the child, and an unmarried adult. Because the bill makes references in the statutes to spouses gender neutral, same-sex spouses jointly may adopt a child and become the legal parents of the child, and a same-sex spouse of a person who is the parent of a minor child may adopt the child and become the legal parent of his or her spouse's child.

Under current law, if a woman is artificially inseminated under the supervision of a physician with semen donated by a man who is not her husband and the husband consents in writing to the artificial insemination of his wife, the husband is the natural father of any child conceived. Under this bill, one spouse may also consent to the artificial insemination of his or her spouse and is the natural parent of the child conceived. The artificial insemination is not required to take place under the supervision of a physician, but, if it does not, the semen used for the insemination must have been obtained from a sperm bank.

Under current law, there is a paternity presumption whereby a man is presumed to be the father of a child if he and the child's natural mother 1) were married to each other when the child was conceived or born or 2) married each other after the child was born but had a relationship with each other when the child was conceived and no other man has been adjudicated to be the father or is presumed to be the father because the man was married to the mother when the child was conceived or born. The paternity presumption may be rebutted in a legal action or proceeding by the results of a genetic test showing that the statistical probability of another man's parentage is 99.0 percent or higher. The bill expands this presumption into a parentage presumption, so that a person is presumed to be the natural parent of a child if he or she 1) was married to the child's established natural parent when the child was conceived or born or 2) married the child's established natural parent after the child was born but had a relationship with the established natural parent when the child was conceived and no person has been adjudicated to be the father and no other person is presumed to be the child's parent because he or she was married to the mother when the child was conceived or born. The parentage presumption may still be rebutted by the results of a genetic test showing that the statistical probability of another person's parentage is 99.0 percent or higher. Expanding on current law, the bill allows for a paternity action to be brought for the purpose of rebutting the parentage presumption, regardless of whether that presumption applies to a male or female spouse.

Under current law, a mother and a man may sign a statement acknowledging paternity and file it with the state registrar. If the state registrar has received such a statement, the man is presumed to be the father of the child. Under current law, either person who has signed a statement acknowledging paternity may rescind the statement before an order is filed in an action affecting the family concerning the child, or within 60 days after the statement is filed, whichever occurs first. Under current law, a man who has filed a statement acknowledging paternity that is not rescinded within the time period is conclusively determined to be the father of the child. This bill provides that two people may sign a statement acknowledging parentage and file it with the state registrar. If the state registrar has received such a statement, the people who have signed the statement are presumed to be the parents of the child. Under the bill, a statement acknowledging parentage that is not rescinded conclusively establishes parentage with regard to the person who did not give birth to the child and who signed the statement.

The bill defines “natural parent" as a parent of a child who is not an adoptive parent, whether the parent is biologically related to the child or not. Thus, a person who is a biological parent, a parent by consenting to the artificial insemination of his or her spouse, or a parent under the parentage presumption is a natural parent of a child. The definition applies throughout the statutes wherever the term “natural parent" is used. In addition, the bill expands some references in the statutes to “biological parent" by changing the reference to “natural parent."

Birth certificates

Generally, the bill substitutes the term “spouse" for “husband" in the birth certificate statutes and enters the spouse, instead of the husband, of the person who has given birth on the birth certificate at times when a husband would currently be entered on a birth certificate. The name of the person who has given birth is entered on a birth certificate when the person gives birth to a child and current law specifies when another name should be entered on the birth certificate. Current law requires that if a birth mother is married at any time from the conception to the birth of a child, then her husband's name is entered on the birth certificate as the legal father of the child. Under the bill, if a person who gives birth is married at any time from the conception to the birth of the child, then that person's spouse's name is entered as a legal parent of the child. The bill also specifies that, in the instance that a second parent's name is initially omitted from the birth certificate, if the state registrar receives a signed acknowledgement of parentage by people presumed to be parents because the two people married after the birth of the child, the two people had a relationship during the time the child was conceived, no person is adjudicated to be the father, and no other person is presumed to be the parent, then the state registrar must enter the name of the spouse of the person who gave birth as a parent on the birth certificate.

This bill will be referred to the joint survey committee on tax exemptions for a detailed analysis, which will be printed as an appendix to this bill.

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:

AB337,1 Section 1. 29.219 (4) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB337,5,5 29.219 (4) Husband and wife Spouses resident licenses. A combined husband and wife spouses resident fishing license shall be issued subject to s. 29.024 by the department to residents applying for this license. This license confers upon both husband and wife spouses the privileges of resident fishing licenses.

AB337,2 Section 2. 29.228 (5) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB337,6,2 29.228 (5) Annual family fishing license. The department shall issue a nonresident annual family fishing license, subject to s. 29.024, to any nonresident who applies for this license. This license entitles the husband, wife spouses and any minor children to fish under this license.

AB337,3 Section 3. 29.228 (6) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB337,6,7 29.228 (6) Fifteen-day family fishing license. The department shall issue a nonresident 15-day family fishing license, subject to s. 29.024, to any nonresident who applies for this license. This license entitles the husband, wife spouses and any minor children to fish under this license.

AB337,4 Section 4. 29.229 (2) (i) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB337,6,9 29.229 (2) (i) Husband and wife Spouses fishing licenses.

AB337,5 Section 5. 29.2295 (2) (i) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB337,6,11 29.2295 (2) (i) Husband and wife Spouses fishing licenses.

AB337,6 Section 6. 29.563 (3) (a) 3. of the statutes is amended to read:

AB337,6,13 29.563 (3) (a) 3. Husband and wife Spouses: $30.25.

AB337,7 Section 7. 29.607 (3) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB337,6,24 29.607 (3) License required; exceptions; wild rice identification card. Every person over the age of 16 and under the age of 65 shall obtain the appropriate wild rice license to harvest or deal in wild rice but no license to harvest is required of the members of the immediate family of a licensee or of a recipient of old-age assistance or members of their immediate families. The department, subject to s. 29.024 (2g) and (2r), shall issue a wild rice identification card to each member of a licensee's immediate family, to a recipient of old-age assistance and to each member of the recipient's family. The term “immediate family" includes husband and wife spouses and minor children having their abode and domicile with the parent or legal guardian.

AB337,8 Section 8 . 45.01 (6) (c) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB337,7,3 45.01 (6) (c) The biological natural or adoptive parent or a person who acts in the place of a parent and who has so acted for not less than 12 months prior to the veteran's entrance into active service.

AB337,9 Section 9. 45.51 (3) (c) 2. of the statutes is amended to read:

AB337,7,6 45.51 (3) (c) 2. The department may deviate from this sequence upon order of the board to prevent the separation of a husband and wife spouses.

AB337,10 Section 10. 45.51 (5) (a) 1. b. of the statutes is amended to read:

AB337,7,11 45.51 (5) (a) 1. b. Was married to the person under sub. (2) (a) 1. or 2. at the time the person entered the service and who became a widow or widower surviving spouse by the death of the person while in the service or as a result of physical disability of the person incurred during the service.

AB337,11 Section 11. 45.51 (5) (a) 1. c. of the statutes is amended to read:

AB337,7,16 45.51 (5) (a) 1. c. The period during which the surviving spouse was married to and lived with the deceased person under sub. (2) (a) 1. or 2. plus the period of widowhood or widowerhood after the death of the deceased person is 6 months or more.

AB337,12 Section 12. 45.55 of the statutes is amended to read:

AB337,8,7 45.55 Notes and mortgages of minor veterans. Notwithstanding any provision of this chapter or any other law to the contrary, any minor who served in the active armed forces of the United States at any time after August 27, 1940, and the husband or wife spouse of such a minor may execute, in his or her own right, notes or mortgages, as defined in s. 851.15, the payment of which is guaranteed or insured by the U.S. department of veterans affairs or the federal housing administrator under the servicemen's readjustment act of 1944, the national housing act, or any acts supplementing or amending these acts. In connection with these transactions, the minors may sell, release, or convey the mortgaged property and litigate or settle controversies arising therefrom, including the execution of releases, deeds, and other necessary papers or instruments. The notes, mortgages, releases, deeds, and other necessary papers or instruments when so executed are not subject to avoidance by the minor or the husband or wife spouse of the minor upon either or both of them attaining the age of 18 because of the minority of either or both of them at the time of the execution thereof.

AB337,13 Section 13. 46.10 (2) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB337,9,12 46.10 (2) Except as provided in subs. (2m) and (14) (b) and (c), any person, including but not limited to a person admitted, committed, protected, or placed under s. 975.01, 1977 stats., s. 975.02, 1977 stats., s. 975.17, 1977 stats., s. 55.05 (5), 2003 stats., and s. 55.06, 2003 stats., and ss. 51.10, 51.13, 51.15, 51.20, 51.35 (3), 51.37 (5), 51.45 (10), (11), (12) and (13), 55.05, 55.055, 55.12, 55.13, 55.135, 971.14 (2) and (5), 971.17 (1), 975.06 and 980.06, receiving care, maintenance, services , and supplies provided by any institution in this state including University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics, in which the state is chargeable with all or part of the person's care, maintenance, services, and supplies, any person receiving care and services from a county department established under s. 51.42 or 51.437 or from a facility established under s. 49.73, and any person receiving treatment and services from a public or private agency under s. 980.06 (2) (c), 1997 stats., s. 980.08 (5), 2003 stats., or s. 971.17 (3) (d) or (4) (e) or 980.08 (4) (g) and the person's property and estate, including the homestead, and the spouse of the person, and the spouse's property and estate, including the homestead, and, in the case of a minor child, the parents of the person, and their property and estates, including their homestead, and, in the case of a foreign child described in s. 48.839 (1) who became dependent on public funds for his or her primary support before an order granting his or her adoption, the resident of this state appointed guardian of the child by a foreign court who brought the child into this state for the purpose of adoption, and his or her property and estate, including his or her homestead, shall be liable for the cost of the care, maintenance, services, and supplies in accordance with the fee schedule established by the department under s. 46.03 (18). If a spouse, widow surviving spouse, or minor, or an incapacitated person may be lawfully dependent upon the property for their support, the court shall release all or such part of the property and estate from the charges that may be necessary to provide for those persons. The department shall make every reasonable effort to notify the liable persons as soon as possible after the beginning of the maintenance, but the notice or the receipt thereof is not a condition of liability.