About The Wisconsin Statutes And Annotations

The statute files available on this website contain the general statutes of Wisconsin, 2007-08, as updated through 2009 Wisconsin Act 100 and December 30, 2009, except as noted below.

Statutory changes effective on or prior to January 2, 2010 are printed as if currently in effect. Statutory changes effective after January 2, 2010 are designated by NOTES.

There are two separate statute databases at this website that are produced using two different computer formats, NXT Site Director and PDF, each of which has its own advantages and disadvantages. See About NXT and PDF documents on this site.

The statutes, reproduced at this website contain annotations continuing those published in the Wisconsin Annotations 1970.

See also: About the Statutes Index, About The Sections Affected Tables, About Repealed and Renumbered Statutes, About Cross References in the Statutes, and About NXT and PDF Documents.

The NXT versions of the Wisconsin Constitution and the Statutes and Annotations contain links from annotations to cited 1995 and newer Wisconsin Supreme Court and Court of Appeals opinions on the Wisconsin Court System website.

Click on the underscored docket number following the case citation to open a link to the case, in PDF format, to the Wisconsin Court System website, e.g. Eternalist Foundation, Inc. v. City of Platteville, 225 Wis. 2d 759, 593 N.W.2d 84 (Ct. App. 1999), 98-1944.

*(Wisconsin Bar Bulletin was renamed Wisconsin Lawyer in January, 1989)

About This Infobase

The Wisconsin Statutes and Annotations reproduced on this website are derived from the computer files used by the Legislative Reference Bureau to produce the official Wisconsin Statutes and Annotations and are updated  approximately every 3 months to reflect the changes made by legislation enacted during the legislative session and to editorial notes and annotations .

As is the case with all electronic versions of the statutes, the statutes on this web site cannot be certified under s. 35.18, Wis. Stats. Only the printed Wisconsin Statutes and Annotations can be certified. Certain tables and maps that are a part of the printed Wisconsin Statutes and Annotations are not included in the statute files reproduced on this website. Statute files updated after the passage of the 2007-08 biennial budget will not include the updated tables at s. 20.005. Please consult the 2007 Acts for updated tables.

The following material, reproduced here for the convenience of the user, is based on the Preface contained in the printed Wisconsin Statutes and Annotations 2005-06. While the following material contains references to the printed statute volumes, the documents referred to are available on this website and the principles discussed are applicable to the use of these electronic statutes in the same way they apply to the printed statutes.

Wisconsin Statutes and Annotations 2007-08 consists of the Statutes of 1898 with the additions and amendments and less the repeals made by the legislature and supreme court thereafter and annotations updated under s. 35.23.

Section 35.18 directs that the Wisconsin Statutes be prepared after the end of each regular session of the legislature, and that they contain "all the general statutes in force." According to Legislative Joint Rule 53(1), when an act or part of an act creates a statute section number, that action indicates a legislative intent to make the section a part of the Wisconsin Statutes. Conversely, when an act is not given a statute section number by the legislature, the act is usually not printed in the Statutes, even though it is a general law. For example, some general statutes relating to Milwaukee county and city are omitted from the statutes.

The omission of a general statute from the Wisconsin Statutes has no effect upon its validity. General statutes which are not printed, and special, private and local laws are found in the volumes of the Wisconsin Session Laws for the year of enactment. Acts of the legislature are effective on passage, approval and publication under s. 35.095 (3) unless otherwise specified in the act.

The Wisconsin Statutes and Annotations may be purchased from the Wisconsin Department of Administration, Document Sales and Distribution Section, 202 South Thornton Ave., Madison, Wisconsin 53707-3037. Or telephone (608)266-3358.

WisLaw^®, an electronic version of the Statutes and Annotations and other Wisconsin law on CD-ROM, may be licensed from Document Sales at the location listed above.

ANNOTATIONS

Wisconsin Statutes are annotated under authority of s. 35.23. Section histories, interpretative notes, and notes relating to court decisions, attorney general's opinions, and published articles are printed following each affected section of the statutes. A table showing the coverage of the annotations contained in these volumes, as well as notes regarding errors and omissions and notes to decisions compiled after affected sections went to press, may be found in the Addenda and Errata located at the end of Volume 5.

Prior to the publication of the 1971-72 statutes, annotations were printed in a separate book entitled Wisconsin Annotations, the last edition of which is Wisconsin Annotations 1970. Annotations created since the 1970 edition of the Wisconsin Annotations are not printed in a separate volume. Wisconsin Annotations 1970 may be purchased from the Document Sales and Distribution Section at the location noted above.

WISCONSIN REVISION SYSTEM

The Wisconsin system of statutory revision is based on the continuous revision and biennial publication of the statutes. The first four official editions of the statutes (1849, 1858, 1878, 1898) were complete (bulk) revisions. In 1911, the first of the biennial volumes was published by the Revisor of Statutes under the present statute revision system. In 2008, the Revisor of Statutes was eliminated and responsibility for revision of statutes was transferred to the Legislative Reference Bureau.

Under the current revision system, the general acts of the legislature for any biennial legislative session, together with rules promulgated by the supreme court and included in the statutes under the authority of s. 751.12, are incorporated into the previously existing body of the statutes, and the statutes are republished in their entirety.

Section 13.92 (1) (bm) 1. directs the Legislative Reference Bureau "to formulate and prepare a definite plan for the order, classification, arrangement, printing and binding of the statutes, and prepare and at each session of the legislature present bills to the law revision committee of the joint legislative council containing such consolidation, revision and other matter relating to the statutes as time permits." When errors or omissions are discovered in legislation or existing statutes, correction bills are prepared and submitted to the legislature.

From time to time, changes in drafting style are implemented. Beginning in the 2001-02 biennial legislative session, the serial comma began to be used in new legislation, e.g., "city, village, or town" rather than "city, village or town." As a result, statutes affected after the style change include the serial comma and unaffected statutes do not. No substantive effect is intended by the use or non-use of the serial comma.

When errors or omissions are discovered that cannot be corrected by enacting a correction bill before publication of the next edition of the Wisconsin Statutes and Annotations, the Legislative Reference Bureau may print the correct language within square brackets, [ ], followed by an explanatory note. The bracketed language is merely an editorial comment to assist the reader; it is not the enacted law. Conversely, language that is erroneously enacted, e.g., a phrase that is mistakenly repeated, may also appear in brackets, followed by a note. When a statutory enactment contains both errors that require language to be inserted and language to be removed, both square brackets and curly brackets, { }, may be used to indicate the prospective changes to the affected statute unit.

How to Use the Printed Volume:

1. The numbering system.
2. Using the table of contents.
3. Using the index.
4. Section histories.
5. Notes.
6. Implied amendments and repeals.
7. Finding annotations for renumbered sections.
8. Conversion tables of revised chapters.
9. Finding present number of old sections.

1. THE NUMBERING SYSTEM

The principal unit of the statutes is the statute section. Related statute sections are organized into chapters numbered between 1 and 995. Each statute section is given a mixed decimal section number consisting of a whole number that is the chapter number and a decimal number that indicates the section's location within the chapter. The decimal number consists of at least two digits and may contain as many as five digits. In a decimal system, 48.10 is the same as 48.100 and 48.100 follows 48.09, not 48.99. The decimal system allows the insertion of new sections in any location. If it is necessary to add a new section between 48.10 and 48.11, the new section can be numbered 48.105.

Statute sections may be subdivided into subsections, which may be further subdivided. Subsections are indicated by numbers within parentheses: (1), (2), (3). Subsections are subdivided into paragraphs, which are indicated by letters within parentheses: (a), (b), (c). Subdivisions of paragraphs are indicated by digits without parentheses followed by a period. These subdivisions can be divided into paragraphs indicated by letters without parentheses followed by a period. If it is necessary to insert a new statute subunit between two consecutively numbered subunits, it is done by introducing a letter suffix, as (1e), (am), 1p., or as. Note the distinction between (3) (m), which is paragraph (m) of subsection (3), and (3m), which is subsection (3m), and which may, in turn, be subdivided into lettered paragraphs including (3m) (m). Sections 60.61 and 66.0113 illustrate the use of subdivisions and the further division of subdivisions into lettered paragraphs.

2. USING THE TABLE OF CONTENTS

The index is located at the back of the final volume of the Wisconsin Statutes. The references in the index are to articles and sections of the Wisconsin Constitution, to sections and chapters of the Wisconsin Statutes, and to entries in the Appendix.

3. USING THE INDEX

The index is located at the back of the final volume of the Wisconsin Statutes. The references in the index are to articles and sections of the Wisconsin Constitution, to sections and chapters of the Wisconsin Statutes, and to entries in the Appendix.

The index to the Wisconsin Statutes is based on the index contained in prior publications of the Wisconsin Statutes, as updated and revised by the staff of the Revisor of Statutes Bureau. The revision and reorganization of the index is an ongoing process intended to modernize terminology, simplify use, and eliminate inconsistencies and fragmented treatment of certain subjects.

The index consists of the following elements:

Subject heads. Words or phrases that appear in bold capital letters in the Index followed in some cases by a list of subdivisions (subheads) and in all cases by lines of text directing the user to specific statutory units (entries and subentries). The subject heads are the main organizational unit of the Index. The subject heads are terms that have been selected to identify the major categories of information that appears in the Wisconsin Statutes and under which related material is grouped in the Index to provide user access.

Entry terms. Words or phrases that appear in bold capital letters that are followed only by one or more cross-references to subject heads.

Subheads. Words or phrases that appear in the index in bold initial capital letters. Subheads are used to divide large subject heads that are made up of two or more distinct groups of related information. A list of all subheads under a subject head immediately follows the subject head.

Entries. Lines of text that appear in plain text under subject heads or subheads. Entries summarize the main idea(s) of a statutory unit and direct the user to the specific statutory unit that contains that information. An entry may be followed by a list of subentries.

Subentries. Lines of text that appear in plain text indented under an entry. Subentries are used when there are distinct subparts to the information summarized by an entry that appears in more than one statute section. If necessary, subentries of subentries (two indents) are sometimes used. Further subdivision of entries are not used.

Cross-references. Italicized "see" or "see also" followed by a reference to a subject head, subject head and subhead or an entry under the same subject head. The cross-reference directs the user from a location where certain information does not appear in the Index to where it does appear. Cross-references appear directly following subject heads, subheads and entry terms and in text following entries.

Scope notes. A sentence or group of sentences appearing in italics following a subject head or subhead preceded by "Note:". A scope note explains the extent of the coverage of the subject head or subhead.

The index includes the following aids that may be of special help to the user:

Table of Subject Heads. The Table of Subject Heads preceding the index contains an alphabetical list of all subject heads under which entries may be found. Entry terms under which only cross-references are listed are not included in this table.

Table of Words and Phrases. The Table of Words and Phrases contains an alphabetical list of terms defined in the statutes together with citations to the statute unit containing those definitions.

Popular Names Laws subject head. If you are looking for a law that is known by a popular name, e.g., Bridefare, refer to the list under the subject head Popular Name Laws.

Constitution Index. A subject matter index for the Wisconsin Constitution is contained in the general index under the subject head Constitution, Wisconsin.

References to the constitution are also found throughout the remainder of the index according to the subject matter of the particular provision.

4. SECTION HISTORIES

The legislative history of every section affected by legislative or Supreme Court action after 1970 appears in a note following the section. For example, "History: 1971 c. 46; 1983 a. 36, 386". This note shows that the sample section was affected by Chapter 46 of the Laws of 1971 and by 1983 Acts 36 and 386. Commencing with the 1983-84 legislative session, legislative enactments are entitled "acts" and are shown in the history as "a." Prior to the 1983-84 session, legislative enactments were entitled "chapters" and are shown in the history as "ch." Sections that have not been affected after the 1969 session have no history note. The history of legislation affecting statute sections before 1971 may be found in Wisconsin Annotations 1970.

History notes do not indicate the specific treatment of the statute section by the act noted, such as whether the section was amended or created. This can be determined by referring to the chapter or act in the Laws of Wisconsin or by consulting the table of sections affected in that volume.

Section 13.92 (1) (bm) 2. authorizes the Legislative Reference Bureau to renumber statute sections and to correct references to the renumbered section. The legislature occasionally creates two statutes with the same statute number. For example, in the 2007-08 session, the legislature created two sections numbered 84.1024. The Legislative Reference Bureau renumbered the section created by Act 161 to be 84.1018. When the Legislative Reference Bureau renumbers a provision under authority of s. 13.92 (1) (bm) 2., the renumbering takes effect immediately, but the change is submitted to the legislature for validation in the next correction bill submitted to the legislature by the Legislative Reference Bureau. A note explaining the renumbering is inserted by the Legislative Reference Bureau following the affected statute unit, and the history note for the renumbered statute will initially include a reference to s. 13.92 (1) (bm) 2. When the correction bill validating the renumbering is enacted, the explanatory note is removed and the reference to s. 13.92 (1) (bm) 2. in the history note is replaced by the act number of the correction bill.

Section 13.92 (1) (bm) 3. authorizes the Legislative Reference Bureau to substitute an actual date for a phrase such as "after the effective date of this act." These changes are not cited in the history notes.

Section 751.12 authorizes the supreme court to make rules modifying or suspending statutes relating to pleading, practice, and procedure. The legislative history for an affected section contains a reference to the rule in the following form: "Sup. Ct. Order No. 00-02, 2001 WI 39, 240 Wis. 2d vi." The order number (00-02) indicates the sequential order and year of issuance of the order, the public domain citation number (2001 WI 39) is a number assigned by the court when the order is issued by which the order can be officially cited, and the final number (240 Wis. 2d vi) indicates the volume and page of the Wisconsin Reports in which the order is published. Histories published prior to the publication of the order in the Wisconsin Reports will show the effective date and publication date of the order, which is replaced with the Wisconsin Reports citation when it becomes available.

Nonstatutory Supreme Court Rules are published in Volume 5 of the Wisconsin Statutes and Annotations. Citations to these rules in the Statutes are to the SCR number as shown in s. 990.08. See the reference to 40.15 in s. 19.01 (1).

5. NOTES

Statutory changes that are not effective at the time of publication are indicated by notes that follow the affected statute provision.

Notes prepared by the Judicial Council or the Joint Legislative Council that are published as a part of Wisconsin Acts, or comments or notes included in Supreme Court Orders that aid in the construction and interpretation of affected statutes, are published in full in the Wisconsin Statutes and Annotations or are referred to in notes following the affected statute section directing the user to see the original act or order. These notes follow the history note and precede other annotations.

Notes indicating cross-references to sections of the Wisconsin administrative code that are authorized by or interpret the statute are included in many statute sections.

6. IMPLIED AMENDMENTS AND REPEALS

If the legislature during any session passes two acts dealing with the same provision of the statutes, and the second act fails to indicate a legislative awareness of the treatment by the first act, it is necessary to consider how the first is affected.

(a) If the first action is a repeal and the second is an amendment, the general rule is that the repeal stands and the Legislative Reference Bureau prints nothing unless the amendment can stand alone as a statement of policy.

(b) If the amending act is first, and the repeal second, the intent to repeal is usually clear and again the Legislative Reference Bureau prints nothing.

(c) If the same provision is amended by separate acts, and the amendments are not inconsistent, both amendments stand; see State v. Stillman, 81 Wis. 124; Svennes v. West Salem, 114 Wis. 650. If it appears clear that there is no conflict between the amending acts, the Legislative Reference Bureau incorporates both acts and includes a note stating that the provision is printed as amended by both acts and merged by the Legislative Reference Bureau under s. 13.92 (2) (i). The Legislative Reference Bureau subsequently inserts in a correction bill a reconciling provision that will validate the incorporation of the several acts into the affected provision.

(d) If the same provision is amended by separate acts, and the amendments are inconsistent, the last governs; see Application of Bentine, 181 Wis. 579. If there is doubt, or if it would be impossible to incorporate both without rewriting the text, the Legislative Reference Bureau prints the statute as amended by the last enacted act and calls attention to the prior amendment by a note after the provision. Section 35.095 (1) (a) defines "date of enactment" as "the day on which a bill becomes an act through approval by the governor, passage over the governor's veto or failure of the governor to act on it or the day on which a portion of the bill that has been vetoed in part is enacted over the governor's partial veto."

7. FINDING ANNOTATIONS FOR RENUMBERED SECTIONS

In order to find the legislative history or other annotations for a statute section that has been renumbered, it may be necessary to find the annotations under a former section. Section 29.974 provides an example. The history note to that section includes the following notations: "1975 c. 365 s. 46; Stats. 1975 s. 29.995" and "1997 a. 248 s. 723; Stats. 1997 s. 29.974." These notations indicate that the section was renumbered to s. 29.995 by ch. 365, section 46, Laws of 1975 and to s. 29.974 by 1997 Act 248, section 723. (When an act renumbers a statute section, the history note includes the act section number, the new statute section number, and the biennial edition of the Wisconsin Statutes and Annotations in which the new number first appears.) The number for the section prior to its renumbering by 1975 c. 365 can be found in section 46 of Chapter 365 in the 1975 Laws of Wisconsin or by finding s. 29.995 in the table of sections affected, found in the back of that volume. Both sources show that s. 29.995 was renumbered from s. 29.635. Annotations for section 29.635 created prior to the 1970-71 legislative session are found in Wisconsin Annotations 1970.

A citation to a whole statute section number that does not appear in this edition of the Wisconsin Statutes and Annotations may appear in the table of "Decimal-numbered Sections Renumbered or Repealed" showing that the section was renumbered or repealed. This table is printed in the Appendix contained in Volume 5. A part of a statute section (subsection, paragraph, etc.) that does not appear as a part of that statute section, may also have been renumbered or repealed, which may be determined by consulting the entries for the statute section number in the table of sections affected printed in the Laws of Wisconsin for the legislative session during which the affected statute part was removed from the statutes.

8. CONVERSION TABLES OF REVISED CHAPTERS

Legislative drafters have at times prepared conversion tables showing the relationship of current and former section numbers. For revisions made prior to the 1971-72 legislative session, these tables can be found in Wisconsin Annotations 1970 and for subsequent revisions, conversion tables are printed in these volumes, following the revised chapter. For example, see the conversion table following chapter 551.

9. FINDING PRESENT NUMBER OF OLD SECTIONS

Prior to adopting the present decimal numbering system in the early 1900s, statute sections were numbered using consecutive whole numbers. A comparative table of whole section numbers and decimal section numbers is contained in the Wisconsin Annotations 1970, pages 2423 to 2453. This table was continued in the Appendix contained in editions of the Wisconsin Statutes and Annotations published prior to the 2007-08 edition, but the table has not been modified since 1977 and has been removed from the Wisconsin Statutes and Annotations 2007-08 due to page constraints.

We would appreciate hearing from any user of this website, the Statutes on the WisLaw^® CD-ROM or the printed statutes in regard to any errors or any suggestions for improvement. Legislative Reference Bureau, Suite 200, 1 East Main Street, Madison, WI 53703-3233. (Telephone (608) 266-0341 Fax (608) 264-6948) Email: Send Email to the Legislative Reference Bureau regarding statutes

Bruce Hoesly: Revising Attorney