Governmental Affairs
2009-10 Legislative Session Summary
WRA Priority Bills
• SB 9 (Seller Misrepresentation) -- Reverses the Below v. Norton decision by providing that, in addition to any other remedies that are available, a purchaser in a residential real estate transaction may maintain an action in tort against a seller for intentional misrepresentation.
Status: Passed
• SB 587 (Commercial Real Estate Liens) -- Makes Wisconsin’s Commercial Lien Law more effective by (a) removing the “30-day notice of intent to file a lien” requirement for transactions involving the purchase/sale of real estate, (b) authorizing brokers to place a lien on the property involved in the transaction after closing similar to contractor’s lien law, and (c) making other necessary clarifications.
Status: Passed
• SB 601 (Comprehensive Planning) -- Modifies Wisconsin’s Comprehensive Planning Law by defining “consistency, clarifying what must be consistent with the comprehensive plan, delaying the consistency requirement for some local communities, and other clarifications related to the law.
Status: Passed
• AB 638 (Access to Property Tax Records (WIREdata)) -- Addresses two open records issues related to obtaining property tax records, which were highlighted in the recent Wisconsin Supreme Court case WIREdata, Inc. v. Village of Sussex, et al. Specifically, the bill clarifies (1) what contractors hired by municipalities can charge for producing the requested public record, and (2) the format in which the municipalities must provide land information data.
Status: Passed
• SB 605 (Electronic Delivery of Condominium Disclosure Materials) -- Modifies Wisconsin’s condominium law to allow condominium disclosure materials to be delivered electronically.
Status: Passed
• SB 576 (Delay of Farmland Preservation Conversion Fee) -- Delays the effective date of the farmland preservation conversion fee until after each county updates its farmland preservation plan
Status: Did Not Pass
• AB 863 (Repeal of Farmland Preservation Conversion Fee) -- Repeals the Farmland Preservation Conversion Fee.
Status: Did Not Pass
• SB 626 (Subdivision Platting Requirements) -- Modifies Wisconsin’s Subdivision Law (Wis. Stat.Ch. 236) by grandfathering plats from changes in regulations from the time preliminary plats are submitted, extends time line for when final plats must be submitted after preliminary plats are approved (from 24 months to 36 months); authorizes a subdivider to submit a final plat that is only a portion of the preliminary plat if the preliminary plat identified phases of the development without obtaining permission from the local government.
Status: Passed
• SB 291(Distressed Tax Increment Finance Districts) -- Extends the life of distressed TIF districts to up to 40 years, allows contributions from donor TIF districts, and requires Joint Review Board approval of a distressed TID designation.
Status: Passed
Bills Successfully Amended By WRA
• SB 185 (Regulation of Wind Farms) -- Creates a uniform framework for regulating wind farms at the local level. Creates a wind siting council to develop the local regulations and designates two REALTORS® to serve on the commission.
Status: Passed
• AB 472 (Appraiser License/Certification for CMAs) -- Requires anyone who provides an opinion about the value of real estate to be a licensed/certified appraiser, with limited exceptions.
Status: Did Not Pass
• SB 507 (Document Recording Fees) -- Changes the fee structure for recording documents from a per-page fee to a per-document fee ($25/document); adds an additional $5/document fee for redacting social security numbers from existing documents, which will sunset in 3 years; requires greater accountability to public (state and local); prioritizes funding for on-line property tax records; requires zoning information to be made available on line.
Status: Passed
• AB 400 (Change Locks To Protect Tenant’s Safety) -- Requires the landlord to change the locks if the tenant provides the landlord with proper documentation that tenant faces imminent threat of serious physical harm if tenant remains in premises.
Status: Passed
• SB 172 (Legal Challenges to Direct Annexations by Unanimous Consent) -- Requires all direct annexations by unanimous consent to be contiguous to existing city/village limits (keeps prohibition on towns challenging these annexations).
Status: Passed
• AB 580 (Managed Forest Law Disclosure) -- Makes various changes to the Managed Forest Law (MFL) program including a requirement that property owners in MFL provide a written disclosure to a prospective buyer informing the buyer that the property is enrolled in the MFL and some additional information about the MFL program.
Status: Passed
• SB 415 (Carbon Monoxide Detectors in One and Two Family Homes) -- Requires all one and two-family dwellings to have carbon monoxide detectors on each floor level.
Status: Passed
• AB 670 (Shoreland Zoning Disclosure) -- Adds a provision to the real estate condition report requiring sellers of residential property to disclose whether the property is subject to a shoreland zoning mitigation plan.
Status: Passed
• SB 624 (Energy Efficiency/Renew. Energy Loan Program) -- Expands existing energy-efficiency loan program to all types of property.
Status: Passed
• AB 136 (Property Tax Assessors/Trespass) -- Creates an exception to trespass laws for a tax assessor or the tax assessor’s staff in order to make an assessment on behalf of the state or a political subdivision.
Status: Passed
• SB 557 (Wetland Identification) -- Requires the DNR to provide 3 types of services relating to wetlands to persons who own or lease land: wetland map reviews, on-site wetland identifications, and wetland confirmations. Also, requires local communities to provide property owners an information brochure about wetlands when applying for a building permit.
Status: Passed
Bills WRA Opposed
• SB 40 (Public Financing for Supreme Court Campaigns) -- Provides public financing to eligible supreme court candidates in the amount of $100,000 for a primary election campaign and $300,000 for a general election campaign. To be eligible, a candidate may not accept private contributions, more than $25 from any contributor or accept cash from all sources in a total amount greater than 0.1% of the public financing benefit or $500, whichever is greater.
Status: Passed
• SB 43 (Campaign Finance Reform – Disclosure) -- Requires anyone engaging in communication for a political purpose through the media within 60 days of an election to report to the Elections Board.
Status: Did Not Pass
• AB 138 (Appointment of DNR Secretary) -- Requires the DNR Secretary to be appointed by the Natural Resources Board, rather than the Governor.
Status: Not Passed
• SB 218 (Telemarketing Penalties) -- Increases penalties for violating the “no call” law from $100 to not less than $1,000 nor more than $10,000. Creates a private cause of action for people who suffer damages as a result of a violation and authorizes them to seek injunctive relief and actual damages, or $500 per violation, whichever is greater. Also, adds “text messaging” to definition of “telephone solicitation.”
Status: Did Not Pass
• AB 729 (Mortgage Modification (“Cram Down”) -- Allows a “mortgage negotiator” (lender or loan servicing company) to modify the homeowner’s existing loan if the homeowner is unable to make current payments.
Status: Did Not Pass
• SB 450 (Clean Energy Jobs Act (Global Warming)) -- Makes various regulatory changes including modifying the comprehensive planning grant criteria to prioritize grant funding for traditional neighborhood developments, allowing local communities to exceed levy limits to pay for energy efficiency measures and renewable energy products; adopts new building code requirements; and prioritizes state funding for economic development grant programs based upon whether the proposed project will reduce travel, energy use, or emissions of greenhouse gases.
Status: Did Not Pass
• SB 540 (Corporate Campaign Contributions) -- Requires corporations to obtain approval from shareholders prior to making disbursements or incurring obligations for the purpose of influencing elections.
Status: Did Not Pass
• AB 844 (Groundwater Management Regulations) -- Establishes standards and a process for designating areas in the state as groundwater management areas; requires a local groundwater management council to be appointed and develop a groundwater management plan for the groundwater management area; and further limits approval of high capacity wells.
Status: Did Not Pass
Bills WRA Supported
• AB 260 (Extraterritorial Plat Approval) -- Overturns Wood v. City of Madison by prohibiting a city or village from denying approval of a plat or certified survey map on the basis of the proposed use of land within the extraterritorial plat approval jurisdiction of the municipality unless the plan or regulations meets the requirements for cooperative efforts between the city/village on the town.
Status: Passed
• SB 294 (Municipal Quotas for Liquor Licenses) -- Exempts full-service restaurants from municipal quota limits for liquor licenses.
Status: Did Not Pass
• AB 407 (Mortgage Loan Defaults/Alternative Dispute Resolution) -- Requires mortgage banker to provider borrower with default notice w/in 45 days after the due date for the second payment period. Allows either party in a foreclosure action to request an alternative dispute resolution method.
Status: Did Not Pass
• AB 852 (Wetland Restoration Permits) -- Authorizes the DNR to issue a general permit for wetland restoration activities. A permit is automatically approved if the DNR does not act within 15 days after the application is submitted.
Status: Did Not Pass
