2023 - 2024 LEGISLATURE
July 13, 2023 - Introduced by Senators Pfaff, Ballweg, Cabral-Guevara,
Carpenter, Hesselbein, Larson, Roys and Spreitzer, cosponsored by
Representatives Snodgrass, Considine, C. Anderson, J. Anderson, Andraca,
Cabrera, Baldeh, Behnke, Conley, Emerson, Haywood, Joers, Jacobson,
Moore Omokunde, Ohnstad, Ortiz-Velez, Palmeri, Ratcliff, Shankland,
Shelton, Sinicki, Stubbs and Subeck. Referred to Committee on
Transportation and Local Government.
SB361,1,4 1An Act to amend 20.370 (1) (fs), 25.29 (1) (f), 341.14 (6r) (c), 341.14 (6r) (e) and
2341.14 (6r) (fm) 7.; and to create 25.40 (1) (a) 38., 341.14 (6r) (b) 23. and 341.14
3(6r) (f) 70. of the statutes; relating to: special registration plates to support
4protecting pollinators and making an appropriation.
Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau
Under current law, members of certain designated special groups may obtain
from the Department of Transportation special registration plates for certain
vehicles 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.
This bill establishes a special group for persons to express support for
protecting pollinators. The bill requires that plates issued to members of the special
group have a design that covers the entire plate and includes the words “Protect
Pollinators.”
The bill provides that, in addition to the required fees, special group members
are required to make a voluntary payment of $25 to be issued the special plates.
Under the bill, DOT retains $23,700, or the actual initial costs of production,
whichever is less, from the voluntary payment moneys for the initial costs of
production of the special plates. The remainder of the voluntary payment amounts
are deposited in the conservation fund to be used by the Department of Natural
Resources for the purposes of the endangered resources program.

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:
SB361,1 1Section 1. 20.370 (1) (fs) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB361,2,142 20.370 (1) (fs) Endangered resources — voluntary payments; sales, leases, and
3fees.
As a continuing appropriation, from moneys received as amounts designated
4under ss. 71.10 (5) (b) and 71.30 (10) (b), the net amounts certified under ss. 71.10
5(5) (h) 4. and 71.30 (10) (h) 3., all moneys received from the sale or lease of resources
6derived from the land in the state natural areas system, and all moneys received from
7fees collected under ss. 29.319 (2), 29.563 (10) (a), and 341.14 (6r) (b) 5. and, 12., and
823.,
for the purposes of the endangered resources program, as defined under ss. 71.10
9(5) (a) 2. and 71.30 (10) (a) 2. Three percent of the moneys certified under ss. 71.10
10(5) (h) 4. and 71.30 (10) (h) 3. in each fiscal year and 3 percent of the fees received
11under s. 341.14 (6r) (b) 5. and, 12., and 23. in each fiscal year shall be allocated for
12wildlife damage control and payment of claims for damage associated with
13endangered or threatened species, except that this combined allocation may not
14exceed $100,000 per fiscal year.
SB361,2 15Section 2. 25.29 (1) (f) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB361,2,1616 25.29 (1) (f) Moneys received under s. 341.14 (6r) (b) 5., 7., and 12., and 23.
SB361,3 17Section 3. 25.40 (1) (a) 38. of the statutes is created to read:
SB361,2,1918 25.40 (1) (a) 38. Moneys received under s. 341.14 (6r) (b) 23. that are deposited
19into the conservation fund.
SB361,4 20Section 4. 341.14 (6r) (b) 23. of the statutes is created to read:
SB361,3,15
1341.14 (6r) (b) 23. In addition to the fee under subd. 2., a voluntary payment
2of $25 shall be collected in connection with the issuance or renewal of a plate issued
3on an annual basis for the special group specified under par. (f) 70. In addition to the
4fee under subd. 2., a voluntary payment of $50 shall be collected in connection with
5the issuance or renewal of a plate issued on a biennial basis for the special group
6specified under par. (f) 70. if the plate is issued or renewed during the first year of
7the biennial registration period or $25 for the issuance or renewal if the plate is
8issued or renewed during the 2nd year of the biennial registration period. No plate
9may be issued for the special group specified under par. (f) 70. unless the voluntary
10payment under this subdivision is collected. All moneys received under this
11subdivision, in excess of $23,700 or the actual initial costs of production for the
12special group plates under par. (f) 70., whichever is less, shall be deposited in the
13conservation fund and credited to the appropriation under s. 20.370 (1) (fs). To the
14extent permitted under ch. 71, the voluntary payment under this subdivision is
15deductible as a charitable contribution for purposes of the taxes under ch. 71.
SB361,5 16Section 5. 341.14 (6r) (c) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB361,5,1917 341.14 (6r) (c) Special group plates shall display the word “Wisconsin", the
18name of the applicable authorized special group, a symbol representing the special
19group, not exceeding one position, and identifying letters or numbers or both, not
20exceeding 7 positions and not less than one position. Except as provided in this
21paragraph, the department shall specify the design for special group plates, but the
22department shall consult the president of the University of Wisconsin System before
23specifying the word or symbol used to identify the special groups under par. (f) 35.
24to 47., the secretary of natural resources before specifying the word or symbol used
25to identify the special groups under par. (f) 50. and , 59., and 70., the chief executive

1officer of the professional football team and an authorized representative of the
2league of professional football teams described in s. 229.823 to which that team
3belongs before specifying the design for the applicable special group plate under par.
4(f) 55., the chief trademark officer of Harley-Davidson Michigan, LLC before
5specifying the design for the applicable special group plate under par. (f) 61r., the
6department of veterans affairs before specifying the design for the special group
7plates under par. (f) 49d., 49h., and 49s., the department of tourism and chief
8executive officer of the organization specified in par. (f) 55m. before specifying the
9design and word or symbol used to identify the special group name for special group
10plates under par. (f) 55m., and the Three Harbors Council, Boy Scouts of America
11NESA License Committee before specifying the designs for the initial special group
12plate under par. (f) 66. Special group plates under par. (f) 50. shall be as similar as
13possible to regular registration plates in color and design. Special group plates
14issued under par. (f) 62. shall display the words “In God We Trust". The department
15shall make available 2 designs for the special group plates under par. (f) 60. The
16department may not specify any design for the special group plates under par. (f) 60.
17unless the design is approved by the executive vice president of the Milwaukee
18Brewers Baseball Club LP. The department may not specify any design for the
19special group plates under par. (f) 65. unless the design is approved by the president
20of the Milwaukee Bucks. The word or symbol used to identify the special group under
21par. (f) 59. shall be different from the word or symbol used to identify the special
22group under par. (f) 50., and the design shall cover the entire plate. Special group
23plates issued under par. (f) 70. shall display the words “Protect Pollinators,” and the
24design shall cover the entire plate.
Special group plates under par. (f) 61m. shall
25display a logo or image of the lion associated with the Lions Clubs International.

1Special group plates under par. (f) 61r. shall display a bar and shield logo associated
2with Harley-Davidson, Inc., on the left portion of the plates and the words “share the
3road" on the bottom portion of the plates. Special group plates under par. (f) 63. shall
4display the words “Trout Unlimited." Special group plates under par. (f) 65m. shall
5display the words “Help Cure Childhood Cancer" in purple lettering and a symbol
6comprised of a purple handprint superimposed upon a red heart superimposed upon
7a gold ribbon. Special group plates under par. (f) 66. shall display the words
8“Scouting Alumni" and, at the option of the vehicle owner, either a logo or symbol
9associated with the Boy Scouts of America or a logo or symbol associated with the
10Eagle Scouts. Special group plates under par. (f) 67. shall display a logo or symbol
11associated with Whitetails Unlimited. Special group plates under par. (f) 68. shall
12display a logo or symbol associated with the Wisconsin Rocky Mountain Elk
13Foundation. Special group plates under par. (f) 69. shall display the words “Nurses
14Change Lives" and an image of a heart partially encircled by a stethoscope.
15Notwithstanding par. (e), special group plates under par. (f) 33m. and 48m. shall be
16the same color and design that was specified by the department for special group
17plates under par. (f) 33. and 48., respectively, immediately prior to January 1, 2007.
18The design for special group plates under par. (f) 33. and 48. shall be different from
19the design of special group plates under par. (f) 33m. and 48m., respectively.
SB361,6 20Section 6. 341.14 (6r) (e) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB361,6,1121 341.14 (6r) (e) The department shall specify one combination of colors for
22special group plates for groups or organizations which are not military in nature and
23not special group plates under par. (f) 35. to 47., 50., and, 59., and 70., for each
24professional football team under par. (f) 55., for each professional baseball team
25under par. (f) 60., and for each professional basketball team under par. (f) 65. The

1department shall specify one combination of colors for special group plates under par.
2(f) 35. to 47. Subject to par. (c), the department shall specify the word or words
3comprising the special group name and the symbol to be displayed upon special group
4plates for a group or organization which is not military in nature after consultation
5with the chief executive officer in this state of the group or organization. The
6department shall require that the word or words and symbol for a university
7specified under par. (f) 35. to 47. be a registration decal or tag and affixed to the
8special group plate and be of the colors for a university specified under par. (f) 35. to
947. that the president of the University of Wisconsin System specifies. The
10department shall consult the chief trademark officer of Harley-Davidson Michigan,
11LLC before specifying the colors for the special group plate under par. (f) 61r.
SB361,7 12Section 7. 341.14 (6r) (f) 70. of the statutes is created to read:
SB361,6,1413 341.14 (6r) (f) 70. Persons interested in supporting the protection of
14pollinators.
SB361,8 15Section 8. 341.14 (6r) (fm) 7. of the statutes is amended to read:
SB361,6,2216 341.14 (6r) (fm) 7. After October 1, 1998, additional authorized special groups
17may only be special groups designated by the department under this paragraph. The
18authorized special groups enumerated in par. (f) shall be limited solely to those
19special groups specified under par. (f) on October 1, 1998. This subdivision does not
20apply to the special groups specified under par. (f) 3m., 6m., 9g., 9m., 12g., 12m.,
2115m., 15n., 15o., 15p., 15q., 19m., 33m., 48m., 49d., 49h., 49s., 54., 55., 55m., 56., 57.,
2258., 59., 60., 61., 61m., 61r., 62., 63., 64., 65., 65m., 66., 67., 68., and 69., and 70.
SB361,9 23Section 9. Fiscal changes.
SB361,7,224 (1) In the schedule under s. 20.005 (3) for the appropriation to the department
25of transportation under s. 20.395 (5) (cq), the dollar amount for fiscal year 2023-24

1is increased by $23,700 for the initial costs of production of the special group plates
2under s. 341.14 (6r) (f) 70.
SB361,10 3Section 10. Effective date.
SB361,7,54 (1) This act takes effect on the first day of the 10th month beginning after
5publication.
SB361,7,66 (End)
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