VTAE Board may subsidize public bus line to provide transportation under sec. 38.14(6), Stats. 63-305
Tuition
Section 38.24(3)(b), Stats., making the district board of a student's district of residence liable for payment of nonresident fees when attending another district VTAE school is not a denial of equal protection. VTAE districts cannot enter into agreements with each other to waive the nonresident tuition provided for in sec. 38.24(3)(b), Stats. 69-139
VOTES AND VOTING
See also ELECTIONS; REAPPORTIONMENT; REFERENDUM
Agriculture
An ordinance formulated and proposed by the supervisors of a county soil and water conservation district, created pursuant to sec. 92.05, Stats., is not necessarily invalid simply because its effect is limited to the regulation of agricultural practices and uses on land currently utilized for agricultural purposes. All resident electors of the "area to be affected" by such an ordinance may vote in a referendum election on the ordinance whether or not they reside on the specific kind of property which may be the subject of such regulations. 68-126
Ballots
Failure to publish notices of an election on the last Tuesday in May, the first Tuesday in June, and the second Monday preceding an election on the question of removal of a county seat and failure by the County Clerk to distribute the ballots will not invalidate the election where it appears that the voters were well informed of the time, place, and manner of the election and the issue involved, and a majority of the qualified voters who went to the polls, excluding those who had an opportunity to vote on the question of removal but chose not to, voted in favor of removal. 66-219
Campaign expenses
Constitutionality of Wisconsin's Campaign Finance Law, ch. 11, Stats., discussed in light of Buckley v. Valeo, 96 S. Ct. 612 (1976). 65-145
Dyslexia
An elector with dyslexia may qualify for voter assistance under the provisions of sec. 6.82(2)(a), Stats. 62-195
Federal election campaign reports
Those provisions of state law relating to campaign financing which conflict with the Federal Election Campaign Act are invalid. The Secretary of State must retain and make available for public inspection, not later than the end of the day of receipt, the federal election campaign reports and statements required to be filed with him. The Elections Board cannot be designated as the agent of the Secretary of State for purposes of compliance by this State with the federal law. (Unpub.). 24-1977
Metropolitan sewerage district
1973 Senate Bill 59 contains inconsistent provisions which require redrafting, although the general intent of the Bill appears to be to provide nonresident property owners with a voice in both metropolitan sewerage district and town sanitary district bond elections. Such a limited extension of voting rights probably would not infringe the local district electors' federal or state constitutional guarantees of equal protection. Such extension of suffrage probably is required to be submitted to a vote of the electors of the State, under art. III, sec. 1, Wis. Const. 63-391
Nonresident property owners
Voting rights at the annual meeting of inland lake protection and rehabilitation districts may be extended by the Legislature to nonresident property owners, but only pursuant to a statewide referendum under Wis. Const. art. III, sec. 1(3). 69-32
Open meeting
Voting procedures employed by Workmen's Compensation and Unemployment Advisory Councils which utilize adjournment of public meeting for purposes of having members representing employers and members representing employes or workers to separately meet in closed caucuses and to vote as a block on reconvening are contrary to secs. 66.77 and 15.09(4), (5), Stats. 63-14
Publication of notice
Failure to publish notices of an election on the last Tuesday in May, the first Tuesday in June, and the second Monday preceding an election on the question of removal of a county seat and failure by the County Clerk to distribute the ballots will not invalidate the election where it appears that the voters were well informed of the time, place, and manner of the election and the issue involved, and a majority of the qualified voters who went to the polls, excluding those who had an opportunity to vote on the question of removal but chose not to, voted in favor of removal. 66-219
Reapportionment
The federal district court apportioned both members and senatorial districts in its order of June 17, 1982. The effective date of new district lines for purposes of nominations, regular, recall and special elections, mass mailings and in-district travel is June 17, 1982, as to both holdover senators and incumbents in districts where elections are scheduled in the Fall of 1982. 71-157
Referendum
That part of sec. 67.12(12)(e)5., Stats., requiring the petition requesting that a referendum be held on a vocational, technical and adult education district board's resolution to incur indebtedness to contain the signatures of electors from each county in the district equal to at least 2.5% of the population of the county is unconstitutional as applied to the Moraine Park District. Equal protection of the laws is denied to electors in certain counties of the district in that their signatures on the petition, because of the wide disparity in population among the counties, are accorded greatly disproportionate weight as compared to the signatures of electors in other counties. 66-349
Secrecy
City Common Council may not vote to fill vacancy on Council by secret ballot. 65-131
Town sanitary district
1973 Senate Bill 59 contains inconsistent provisions which require redrafting, although the general intent of the Bill appears to be to provide nonresident property owners with a voice in both metropolitan sewerage district and town sanitary district bond elections. Such a limited extension of voting rights probably would not infringe the local district electors' federal or state constitutional guarantees of equal protection. Such extension of suffrage probably is required to be submitted to a vote of the electors of the State, under art. III, sec. 1, Wis. Const. 63-391
Unidentified paper ballots
County Board may not utilize unidentified paper ballot in voting to appoint County Highway Comissioner, but may vote by ayes and nays or show of hands at open session if some member does not require vote to be taken in such manner that the vote of each member may be ascertained and recorded. Sec. 66.77(6), Stats. 63-569
Vocational, technical and adult education
That part of sec. 67.12(12)(e)5., Stats., requiring the petition requesting that a referendum be held on a vocational, technical and adult education district board's resolution to incur indebtedness to contain the signatures of electors from each county in the district equal to at least 2.5% of the population of the county is unconstitutional as applied to the Moraine Park District. Equal protection of the laws is denied to electors in certain counties of the district in that their signatures on the petition, because of the wide disparity in population among the counties, are accorded greatly disproportionate weight as compared to the signatures of electors in other counties. 66-349
Weighted voting
Decision of the Wisconsin Supreme Court upholding weighted voting in school district fiscal boards remains in full force and effect notwithstanding subsequent developments in the law of one person, one vote. 69-14
- W -
WAGES
See SALARIES AND WAGES
WASTE MANAGEMENT
See also POLLUTION
Aquatic nuisances
A municipality has no jurisdiction over chemical treatment of waters to suppress aquatic nuisances. The Department of Natural Resources is granted statewide supervision over aquatic nuisance control under sec. 144.025(2)(i), Stats. Applications for permits to chemically treat aquatic nuisances under sec. 144.025(2)(i), Stats., may be denied even though statutory and regulatory requirements have been met if such chemical treatment would be counterproductive in achieving the goals set out in sec. 144.025(1), Stats. 63-260
Bonds
A joint sewerage commission is empowered within the territorial limits of its district to enact and enforce regulations which would be required of it under the mandates of the Clean Water Act of 1977, but it cannot make appropriations or issue bonds without the approval of the governing bodies which established it. 68-83
Legislation is necessary to allow the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District to borrow up to the limits of its separate indebtedness authorized under Wis. Const. art. XI, sec. 3. (Unpub.). 27-1979
Brown County
In counties with a population of less than 500,000 having a county executive, a solid waste management board established by the county board pursuant to section 59.07(135), Stats., is restricted to performing advisory, policy-making or legislative functions, and the county executive is responsible for the administrative functions set forth in the statute. 77-98
Counties
In counties with a population of less than 500,000 having a county executive, a solid waste management board established by the county board pursuant to section 59.07(135), Stats., is restricted to performing advisory, policy-making or legislative functions, and the county executive is responsible for the administrative functions set forth in the statute. 77-98
May withhold or eliminate functions specified in sec. 59.07(135), Stats., which creates a solid waste system and board. 65-233
Section 59.07(135)(L), Stats., authorizes counties that are responsible units of government under section 159.09(1)(b) to levy taxes for capital and operating expenses incurred in connection with the operation of the county's recycling program only upon those local units of government which have not become responsible units of government pursuant to section 159.09(1)(c). Section 59.07(135)(L) now authorizes counties to levy taxes for both capital and operating expenses incurred in connection with any other form of solid waste management function only upon local units of government which participate with the county in that form of solid waste management activity. Where both recycling and other kinds of solid waste management functions are performed in a single county facility, the county must use accounting principles to apportion the costs of those activities before levying taxes upon local units of government within the
Towns, villages and cities in counties establishing a county-wide solid waste management system may be taxed for capital costs but not operating costs of system. 67-77
Under sec. 59.07(135), Stats., a county may contract with another municipality or private company to pay the costs of operating a solid waste disposal site, including one owned by a private collector, as long as the necessary approvals have been secured under ch. 144, Stats. Costs of operation of such sites are to be borne by the users while capital costs are to be borne by the general county property tax. 72-27
Green Bay Metropolitan Sewerage Commission
The Oneida Tribe is not a "municipality" within the meaning of sections 66.20 to 66.26, Stats. The Green Bay Metro Sewerage District may enter into an enforceable contract with the Tribe if certain conditions are met. 76-189
Groundwater pollution
To accomplish public health protection as well as prevention of groundwater pollution, a county health commission, where such activity is undertaken with the consent of the property owner, can authorize its staff to enter private property for the purpose of determining the location of an existing private sewage disposal system. If consent of the property owner to such activity on his premises is not obtained, it can only be undertaken by county health commission staff pursuant to special inspection warrant obtained under sec. 66.122, Stats. 63-337
Indians
Chapter 147, Stats., relating to water pollution control, did not authorize DNR to regulate Indian reservations and lands since the Legislature, in adopting provisions fashioned after federal law, intentionally omitted Indian tribal organizations from the scope of coverage while charged with knowledge that the state generally lacks power to regulate within sovereign Indian territory. (Unpub.). 51-1978
