Amendment ASA1-AB150

CORRECTED COPY

LRBs0028/1

MPG:amn

2019 - 2020 LEGISLATURE

ASSEMBLY SUBSTITUTE AMENDMENT 1, TO ASSEMBLY BILL 150

May 6, 2019 - Offered by Representative Kulp.

AB150-ASA1,1,3 An Act to amend 45.85 (1) and 45.85 (2); and to create 20.485 (2) (cm) and 45.85 (2m) of the statutes; relating to: care of the graves of veterans and making an appropriation.

Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau

This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs to reimburse cities, villages, and towns for costs incurred in the care of veterans' graves, subject to the following limitations:

1. A city, village, or town may receive reimbursement only for amounts in excess of any amount paid by the applicable county. Under current law, counties must reimburse cities, villages, and towns for amounts expended for the care of veterans' graves.

2. A city, village, or town may not receive more than $5 per grave per fiscal year.

3. All cities, villages, and towns located in the same county may not receive more than a total of $10,000 under the bill per fiscal year.

The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do enact as follows:

AB150-ASA1,1 Section 1. 20.005 (3) (schedule) of the statutes: at the appropriate place, insert the following amounts for the purposes indicated: - See PDF for table

AB150-ASA1,2 Section 2 . 20.485 (2) (cm) of the statutes is created to read:

AB150-ASA1,2,6 20.485 (2) (cm) Care of graves; local assistance. The amounts in the schedule for the purpose of making reimbursement payments to municipalities under s. 45.85 (2m) for expenses incurred in caring for veterans' graves.

AB150-ASA1,3 Section 3 . 45.85 (1) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB150-ASA1,2,20 45.85 (1) Every town board, village board, or and common council of every city shall at all times see that the graves and tombstones of all veterans, including women's auxiliary organizations created by act of Congress, who shall at any time have served in any branch of the armed forces of the United States, and of the spouses or surviving spouses of all those veterans, receive proper and decent care, and may employ all necessary assistance to carry out this section. The Subject to reimbursement under subs. (2m) and (3), the expense of the care of the graves and tombstones shall be borne by the county where the graves are located, except where suitable care is otherwise provided by a veterans organization. The amount of expense charged the county for the care may not exceed the charge made for the care of other graves in the same cemetery. Care is not proper and decent under this subsection unless it includes keeping headstones free of mildew, clean, upright, and level, with grass mowed below the level of the engravings if the headstone is upright.

AB150-ASA1,4 Section 4. 45.85 (2) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB150-ASA1,3,9 45.85 (2) The governing body specified in sub. (1) Each city, village, or town shall report to the county clerk of its county, on or before September 1 of each year, the locations of the graves cared for by the governing body under sub. (1), including the name and location of the cemetery, together with the names of the deceased and the amount claimed expended for care of the graves for the fiscal year from the previous July 1 to June 30. The report shall certify that all graves cared for by the city, village, or town for which reimbursement is sought have received care that is proper and decent, as required under sub. (1).

AB150-ASA1,5 Section 5. 45.85 (2m) of the statutes is created to read:

AB150-ASA1,3,13 45.85 (2m) (ag) In addition to any reimbursement amount paid under sub. (3), each city, village, or town may submit an application for reimbursement under this subsection. The application shall include all of the following:

AB150-ASA1,3,14 1. All information required in the report under sub. (2).

AB150-ASA1,3,17 2. A certification that all graves cared for by the city, village, or town for which reimbursement is sought have received care that is proper and decent, as required under sub. (1).

AB150-ASA1,3,19 3. A statement of all amounts the city, village, or town received from the county under sub. (3) for the relevant fiscal year.

AB150-ASA1,3,23 (ar) From the appropriation under s. 20.485 (2) (cm) and subject to the limitations under par. (b), the department shall reimburse each city, village, or town for the expenditure amounts shown in its application for reimbursement under par. (ag) that exceed the amounts received under sub. (3) for the relevant fiscal year.

AB150-ASA1,4,4 (b) 1. All cities, villages, and towns located in the same county may not receive more than $10,000 under par. (ar) in the aggregate for any fiscal year. If the aggregate amount of expenditures shown in all applications for reimbursement submitted under par. (ag) by cities, villages, and towns located in the same county exceeds $10,000 for a fiscal year, the department shall prorate the amounts paid under par. (ar) among those cities, villages, and towns.

AB150-ASA1,4,6 2. No city, village, or town may receive a reimbursement under par. (ar) for any fiscal year that exceeds $5 per grave cared for under sub. (1).

AB150-ASA1,6 Section 6 . Effective date.

AB150-ASA1,4,9 (1) This act takes effect on the day after publication, or on the 2nd day after publication of the 2019 biennial budget act, whichever is later.

AB150-ASA1,4,10 (End)