990.01(31)
(31) Property. "Property" includes real and personal property.
990.01(32)
(32) Publication. "Publication" in a newspaper of any notice or other matter indicated to be for a stated number of weeks means one insertion each week, unless specifically stated to be for more than one day in each week.
990.01(33)
(33) Qualified. "Qualified", when applied to any person elected or appointed to office, means that such person has done those things which the person was by law required to do before entering upon the duties of the person's office.
990.01(34)
(34) Railroad corporation. "Railroad corporation" and "railroad company" include any person managing, maintaining, operating or in possession of a railroad, whether as owner, contractor, lessee, mortgagee, trustee, assignee or receiver.
990.01(35)
(35) Real estate or real property. "Real estate" or "real property" includes lands, tenements and hereditaments and all rights thereto and interests therein.
990.01(36)
(36) Recorded. If any instrument is required to be recorded by any officer or in any office it must be recorded in a suitable book kept for that purpose unless otherwise expressly directed.
990.01(37)
(37) Seal. Except for the sealing of instruments by persons required to have and use official seals, "seal" includes the word "seal", the letters "L S" and a scroll or other device intended to represent a seal, if any is affixed in the proper place for a seal, as well as an impression of a seal on the instrument. An instrument executed in the corporate name, by the proper officers of a corporation, under any seal is sealed even though the corporate seal is not used. If the seal of any court or public officer is required to be affixed to any paper issuing from such court or officer "seal" includes an impression of such official seal made upon the paper alone.
990.01(38)
(38) Signature. If the signature of any person is required by law it shall always be the handwriting of such person or, if the person is unable to write, the person's mark or the person's name written by some other person at the person's request and in the person's presence.
Effective date note
NOTE: Sub. (38) is amended eff. 7-1-99 by
1997 Wis. Act 306 to read:
Effective date text
(38) Signature. If the signature of any person is required by law it shall always be the handwriting of such person or, if the person is unable to write, the person's mark or the person's name written by some other person at the person's request and in the person's presence, or, subject to any applicable requirements under subch. II of ch. 137, the electronic signature of the person.
990.01(40)
(40) State. "State," when applied to states of the United States, includes the District of Columbia, the commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the several territories organized by Congress.
990.01(41)
(41) Sworn. "Sworn" includes "affirmed" in all cases where by law an affirmation may be substituted for an oath.
990.01(42)
(42) Town. "Town" may be construed to include cities, villages, wards or districts.
990.01(43)
(43) Town board. "Town board" means the town board of supervisors.
990.01(44)
(44) United States. "United States" includes the District of Columbia, the states, the commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the territories organized by congress.
990.01(45)
(45) Village. "Village" means incorporated village.
990.01(46)
(46) Week. "Week" means 7 consecutive days.
990.01(47)
(47) Will. "Will" includes codicils as well as wills.
990.01(48)
(48) Written or in writing. "Written" or "in writing" includes any representation of words, letters, symbols or figures. This subsection does not affect any law relating to signatures.
990.01(49)
(49) Year. "Year" means a calendar year, unless otherwise expressed; "year" alone means "year of our Lord".
990.01 History
History: 1971 c. 164 ss.
80,
91;
1971 c. 213 s.
5; Sup. Ct. Order, 67 W (2d) 784;
1977 c. 305;
1979 c. 169;
1981 c. 291,
391;
1983 a. 447;
1985 a. 65,
182,
332; Sup. Ct. Order, 141 W (2d) xiii (1987);
1987 a. 399;
1989 a. 56,
278;
1991 a. 39;
1993 a. 486;
1995 a. 27 ss.
7294,
7295,
9126 (19);
1995 a. 77,
352;
1997 a. 252,
306.
990.01 Annotation
Statutory construction requires that a law be construed so that no word or clause is surplusage. Johnson v. State, 76 W (2d) 672, 251 NW (2d) 834.
990.01 Annotation
Applicable meaning of words in insurance policies should be determined by meaning given them by informed persons, not by "man in the street". Hochgurtel v. San Felippo, 78 W (2d) 70, 253 NW (2d) 526.
990.01 Annotation
Word "relative" has peculiar meaning in the law and so is construed to mean "blood relative". In re Estate of Haese, 80 W (2d) 285, 259 NW (2d) 54.
990.01 Annotation
Sub. (38) did not prevent delegation of authority to sign annexation petition on behalf of property owner. Town of Medary v. City of La Crosse, 88 W (2d) 101, 277 NW (2d) 310 (Ct. App. 1979).
990.01 Annotation
Oaths, affirmations, notary publics and jurats discussed. 60 Atty. Gen. 429.
990.02
990.02
Construing statutes of 1898. 990.02(1)
(1) All references to chapters or sections in the statutes of 1898 are to the chapters and sections of those statutes.
990.02(2)
(2) If the provisions of different chapters of the statutes of 1898 conflict with or contravene each other the provisions of each chapter shall prevail as to all matters and questions growing out of the subject matter of such chapter.
990.02(3)
(3) If conflicting provisions are found in different sections of the same chapter of the statutes of 1898 the provisions of the section which is last in numerical order shall prevail unless such construction is inconsistent with the meaning of such chapter.
990.02 History
History: 1979 c. 89.
990.03
990.03
Effect of repeals. 990.03(1)(1) No law repealed by a subsequent act of the legislature is revived or affected by the repeal of such repealing act.
990.03(2)
(2) The repeal of a curative or validating law does not impair or affect any cure or validation previously effected thereby.
990.03(3)
(3) No section, subsection or paragraph of Wisconsin Statutes is repealed or affected by the repeal of any session law from which it was in whole or in part derived.
990.03(4)
(4) The repeal, express or implied, of any law already repealed, expressly or by implication, does not constitute or supply a declaration or implication that such law was in force or was valid for any purpose at any time subsequent to such prior repeal.
990.04
990.04
Actions pending not defeated by repeal of statute. The repeal of a statute hereafter shall not remit, defeat or impair any civil or criminal liability for offenses committed, penalties or forfeitures incurred or rights of action accrued under such statute before the repeal thereof, whether or not in course of prosecution or action at the time of such repeal; but all such offenses, penalties, forfeitures and rights of action created by or founded on such statute, liability wherefore shall have been incurred before the time of such repeal thereof, shall be preserved and remain in force notwithstanding such repeal, unless specially and expressly remitted, abrogated or done away with by the repealing statute. And criminal prosecutions and actions at law or in equity founded upon such repealed statute, whether instituted before or after the repeal thereof, shall not be defeated or impaired by such repeal but shall, notwithstanding such repeal, proceed to judgment in the same manner and to the like purpose and effect as if the repealed statute continued in full force to the time of final judgment thereon, unless the offenses, penalties, forfeitures or rights of action on which such prosecutions or actions shall be founded shall be specially and expressly remitted, abrogated or done away with by such repealing statute.
990.04 Annotation
This section also applies to statutes which are amended after the commission of an alleged criminal act although before trial. Truesdale v. State, 60 W (2d) 481, 210 NW (2d) 726.
990.04 Annotation
See note to 973.013, citing State v. Hegwood, 113 W (2d) 544, 335 NW (2d) 399 (1983).
990.04 Annotation
Absent legislative intent to the contrary, repeal of statute governing appeals of tax assessments did not affect taxpayer whose right to appeal under statute accrued prior to its repeal. Jackson County Iron Co. v. Musolf, 134 W (2d) 95, 396 NW (2d) 323 (1986).
990.04 Annotation
Counties are liable for proportionate share of tax certified to them prior to repeal of 59.07 (21) by sec. 300m of ch. 90, laws of 1973. 63 Atty. Gen. 300.
990.06
990.06
Repeal or change of law limiting time for bringing actions. In any case when a limitation or period of time prescribed in any act which shall be repealed for the acquiring of any right, or barring of any remedy, or for any other purpose shall have begun to run before such repeal and the repealing act shall provide any limitation or period of time for such purpose, such latter limitation or period shall apply only to such rights or remedies as shall accrue subsequently to the time when the repealing act shall take effect, and the act repealed shall be held to continue in force and be operative to determine all such limitations and periods of time which shall have previously begun to run unless such repealing act shall otherwise expressly provide.
990.06 Annotation
See note to 893.88, citing In re Paternity of DLT. 137 W (2d) 57, 403 NW (2d) 434 (1987).
990.06 Annotation
Retroactivity of statutes of limitations discussed. Betthauser v. Medical Protective Co. 172 W (2d) 141, 493 NW (2d) 40 (1992).
990.06 Annotation
"Repeal" in this section includes "amendment". Poquette v. Community State Bank, 631 F Supp. 1480 (1986).
990.07
990.07
Evidence. The Wisconsin statutes as prepared under
s. 35.18 shall be prima facie evidence in all courts and proceedings as provided by
s. 889.01; but they shall not preclude reference to, nor control, in case of any discrepancy, any original act of the legislature; and the certified volumes of the Laws of Wisconsin provided for by
s. 35.15 shall also and in the same degree be prima facie evidence in all courts and proceedings.
990.07 History
History: 1981 c. 372 s.
8; Stats. 1981 s. 990.08;
1983 a. 192 s.
287; Stats. 1983 s. 990.07;
1991 a. 39.
990.08
990.08
Citation of supreme court rules. When a supreme court rule is cited within the statutes, the reference shall be to the SCR number, such as "words and phrases specified in
SCR 99.02".
990.08 History
History: 1983 a. 192.
