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LRB-2160/1
TD/SW/ES/EW:cjs
2019 - 2020 LEGISLATURE
July 16, 2019 - Introduced by Representatives Spreitzer, Zamarripa, Novak,
Cabrera, Anderson, Billings, Bowen, Brostoff, Considine, Crowley, Doyle,
Emerson, Fields, Goyke, Gruszynski, Haywood, Hebl, Hesselbein, Hintz,
Kitchens, Kolste, McGuire, B. Meyers, Milroy, L. Myers, Neubauer,
Ohnstad, Pope, Riemer, Sargent, Shankland, Sinicki, Stubbs, Stuck,
Subeck, C. Taylor, Vining and Vruwink, cosponsored by Senators Carpenter,
Bewley, Erpenbach, Hansen, Johnson, Larson, Miller, Ringhand, Risser,
Schachtner, Shilling, Smith, L. Taylor and Wirch. Referred to Committee
on Family Law.
AB337,3,2 1An Act to repeal 49.141 (1) (j) 2., 102.51 (1) (a) 2., 115.76 (12) (a) 2., 115.76 (12)
2(a) 3. and 769.401 (2) (g); to renumber and amend 891.40 (1) and 891.41 (1)
3(b); to amend 29.219 (4), 29.228 (5), 29.228 (6), 29.229 (2) (i), 29.2295 (2) (i),
429.563 (3) (a) 3., 29.607 (3), 45.01 (6) (c), 45.51 (3) (c) 2., 45.51 (5) (a) 1. b., 45.51
5(5) (a) 1. c., 45.55, 46.10 (2), 48.02 (13), 48.025 (title), 48.025 (2) (b), 48.025 (3)
6(c), 48.27 (3) (b) 1. a., 48.27 (3) (b) 1. b., 48.27 (5), 48.299 (6) (intro.), 48.299 (6)
7(e) 1., 48.299 (6) (e) 2., 48.299 (6) (e) 3., 48.299 (6) (e) 4., 48.299 (7), 48.355 (4g)
8(a) 1., 48.396 (2) (dm), 48.42 (1g) (a) 4., 48.42 (1g) (b), 48.42 (1g) (c), 48.42 (2) (b)
91., 48.42 (2) (b) 2., 48.42 (2) (bm) 1., 48.422 (6) (a), 48.422 (7) (bm), 48.422 (7) (br),
1048.423 (2) (d), 48.432 (1) (am) 2. b., 48.63 (3) (b) 4., 48.63 (3) (b) 5., 48.82 (1) (a),
1148.837 (1r) (d), 48.837 (1r) (e), 48.837 (6) (b), 48.837 (6) (br), 48.913 (1) (a),
1248.913 (1) (b), 48.913 (1) (h), 48.913 (2) (intro.), 48.913 (2) (b), 48.913 (2) (c)
13(intro.), 48.913 (3), 48.913 (4), 48.913 (7), 49.141 (1) (j) 1., 49.155 (1m) (c) 1g.,
1449.155 (1m) (c) 1h., 49.163 (2) (am) 2., 49.19 (1) (a) 2. a., 49.19 (4) (d) (intro.),

149.19 (4) (d) 1., 49.19 (4) (d) 2., 49.19 (4) (d) 3., 49.19 (4) (d) 4., 49.19 (4) (d) 5.,
249.345 (2), 49.43 (12), 49.471 (1) (b) 2., 49.90 (4), 54.01 (36) (a), 54.960 (1), 69.03
3(15), 69.11 (4) (b), 69.12 (5), 69.13 (2) (b) 4., 69.14 (1) (c) 4., 69.14 (1) (e) (title)
4and 1., 69.14 (1) (f) 1., 69.14 (1) (g), 69.14 (2) (b) 2. d., 69.15 (1), 69.15 (3) (title),
5(a) (intro.), 1., 2. and 3. and (b) 1., 2., 3. and 4. (intro), a. and b., 69.15 (3) (d),
669.15 (3m) (title), (a) (intro.) and 3. and (b), 71.03 (2) (d) (title), 71.03 (2) (d) 1.,
771.03 (2) (d) 2., 71.03 (2) (d) 3., 71.03 (2) (g), 71.03 (2) (m) 2., 71.03 (4) (a), 71.05
8(22) (a) (title), 71.07 (5m) (a) 3., 71.07 (9e) (b), 71.09 (13) (a) 2., 71.52 (4), 71.83
9(1) (a) 8., 71.83 (1) (b) 5., 77.25 (8m), 77.54 (7) (b) 1., 101.91 (5m), 102.07 (5) (b),
10102.07 (5) (c), 102.51 (1) (a) 1., 103.10 (1) (h), 103.165 (3) (a) 3., 111.32 (12),
11115.76 (12) (a) 1., 115.76 (13), 146.34 (1) (f), 157.05, 182.004 (6), 250.04 (3) (a),
12301.12 (2), 301.50 (1), 700.19 (2), 705.01 (4), 705.01 (4m), 706.09 (1) (e), 765.001
13(2), 765.01, 765.03 (1), 765.16 (1m) (intro.), 765.16 (1m) (c), 765.23, 765.24,
14765.30 (3) (a), 766.587 (7) (form) 9., 766.588 (9) (form) 13., 766.589 (10) (form)
1514., 767.215 (2) (b), 767.215 (5) (a) 2., 767.323, 767.80 (1) (intro.), 767.80 (1) (c),
16767.80 (2), 767.803, 767.805 (1), (1m), (2), (3) (title) and (a), (4) (intro.) and (d),
17(5) and (6) (a) (intro.), 767.855, 767.863 (1m), 767.87 (1m) (intro.), 767.87 (8),
18767.87 (9), 767.883 (1), 769.316 (9), 769.401 (2) (a), 815.20 (1), 822.40 (4), 851.30
19(2) (a), 852.01 (1) (f) 1., 852.01 (1) (f) 2., 852.01 (1) (f) 3., 854.03 (3), 891.39 (title),
20891.39 (1) (a), 891.39 (1) (b), 891.39 (3), 891.40 (2), 891.405, 891.41 (title), 891.41
21(1) (intro.), 891.41 (1) (a), 891.41 (2), 905.05 (title), 938.02 (13), 938.396 (2g) (g),
22943.20 (2) (c), 943.201 (1) (b) 8. and 943.205 (2) (b); and to create 69.15 (3) (b)
233m., 765.02 (3), 891.40 (1) (b), 891.40 (3), 891.41 (3), 990.01 (22m), 990.01 (39)

1and 990.01 (40m) of the statutes; relating to: marriage between persons of the
2same sex and extending parentage rights to married couples of the same sex.
Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau
Summary
This bill recognizes same-sex marriage by making references in the statutes
to spouses gender neutral, with the intent of harmonizing the Wisconsin statutes
with the holding of the U.S. Supreme Court in Obergefell v. Hodges, 135 S. Ct. 2584,
192 L.Ed.2d 609 (2015), which recognizes that same-sex couples have a fundamental
constitutional right to marriage. The bill also recognizes legal parentage for
same-sex couples under certain circumstances and adopts gender neutral parentage
terminology.
Same-sex marriage
This bill provides that marriage may be contracted between persons of the same
sex and confers the same rights and responsibilities on married persons of the same
sex that married persons of different sexes have under current law. The bill defines
“spouse" as a person who is legally married to another person of the same sex or a
different sex and replaces every reference to “husband" or “wife" in current law with
“spouse." The bill makes applicable to married persons of the same sex all provisions
under current law that apply to married persons of different sexes. These provisions
relate to such diverse areas of the law as income tax, marital property, inheritance
rights, divorce, child and spousal support, insurance coverage, family and spousal
recreational licenses, consent to conduct an autopsy, domestic abuse, and eligibility
for various types of benefits, such as retirement or death benefits and medical
assistance.
Parentage
In addition to making statutory references to spouses gender neutral, the bill
specifies ways in which married couples of the same sex may be the legal parents of
a child and, with some exceptions, makes current references in the statutes to
“mother" and “father," and related terms, gender neutral.
Under current law, all of the following may adopt a child: a husband and wife
jointly, a husband or wife whose spouse is the parent of the child, and an unmarried
adult. Because the bill makes references in the statutes to spouses gender neutral,
same-sex spouses jointly may adopt a child and become the legal parents of the child,
and a same-sex spouse of a person who is the parent of a minor child may adopt the
child and become the legal parent of his or her spouse's child.
Under current law, if a woman is artificially inseminated under the supervision
of a physician with semen donated by a man who is not her husband and the husband
consents in writing to the artificial insemination of his wife, the husband is the
natural father of any child conceived. Under this bill, one spouse may also consent
to the artificial insemination of his or her spouse and is the natural parent of the child
conceived. The artificial insemination is not required to take place under the

supervision of a physician, but, if it does not, the semen used for the insemination
must have been obtained from a sperm bank.
Under current law, there is a paternity presumption whereby a man is
presumed to be the father of a child if he and the child's natural mother 1) were
married to each other when the child was conceived or born or 2) married each other
after the child was born but had a relationship with each other when the child was
conceived and no other man has been adjudicated to be the father or is presumed to
be the father because the man was married to the mother when the child was
conceived or born. The paternity presumption may be rebutted in a legal action or
proceeding by the results of a genetic test showing that the statistical probability of
another man's parentage is 99.0 percent or higher. The bill expands this
presumption into a parentage presumption, so that a person is presumed to be the
natural parent of a child if he or she 1) was married to the child's established natural
parent when the child was conceived or born or 2) married the child's established
natural parent after the child was born but had a relationship with the established
natural parent when the child was conceived and no person has been adjudicated to
be the father and no other person is presumed to be the child's parent because he or
she was married to the mother when the child was conceived or born. The parentage
presumption may still be rebutted by the results of a genetic test showing that the
statistical probability of another person's parentage is 99.0 percent or higher.
Expanding on current law, the bill allows for a paternity action to be brought for the
purpose of rebutting the parentage presumption, regardless of whether that
presumption applies to a male or female spouse.
Under current law, a mother and a man may sign a statement acknowledging
paternity and file it with the state registrar. If the state registrar has received such
a statement, the man is presumed to be the father of the child. Under current law,
either person who has signed a statement acknowledging paternity may rescind the
statement before an order is filed in an action affecting the family concerning the
child, or within 60 days after the statement is filed, whichever occurs first. Under
current law, a man who has filed a statement acknowledging paternity that is not
rescinded within the time period is conclusively determined to be the father of the
child. This bill provides that two people may sign a statement acknowledging
parentage and file it with the state registrar. If the state registrar has received such
a statement, the people who have signed the statement are presumed to be the
parents of the child. Under the bill, a statement acknowledging parentage that is
not rescinded conclusively establishes parentage with regard to the person who did
not give birth to the child and who signed the statement.
The bill defines “natural parent" as a parent of a child who is not an adoptive
parent, whether the parent is biologically related to the child or not. Thus, a person
who is a biological parent, a parent by consenting to the artificial insemination of his
or her spouse, or a parent under the parentage presumption is a natural parent of
a child. The definition applies throughout the statutes wherever the term “natural
parent" is used. In addition, the bill expands some references in the statutes to
“biological parent" by changing the reference to “natural parent."

Birth certificates
Generally, the bill substitutes the term “spouse" for “husband" in the birth
certificate statutes and enters the spouse, instead of the husband, of the person who
has given birth on the birth certificate at times when a husband would currently be
entered on a birth certificate. The name of the person who has given birth is entered
on a birth certificate when the person gives birth to a child and current law specifies
when another name should be entered on the birth certificate. Current law requires
that if a birth mother is married at any time from the conception to the birth of a
child, then her husband's name is entered on the birth certificate as the legal father
of the child. Under the bill, if a person who gives birth is married at any time from
the conception to the birth of the child, then that person's spouse's name is entered
as a legal parent of the child. The bill also specifies that, in the instance that a second
parent's name is initially omitted from the birth certificate, if the state registrar
receives a signed acknowledgement of parentage by people presumed to be parents
because the two people married after the birth of the child, the two people had a
relationship during the time the child was conceived, no person is adjudicated to be
the father, and no other person is presumed to be the parent, then the state registrar
must enter the name of the spouse of the person who gave birth as a parent on the
birth certificate.
This bill will be referred to the joint survey committee on tax exemptions for a
detailed analysis, which will be printed as an appendix to this bill.
For further information see the state and local 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:
AB337,1 1Section 1. 29.219 (4) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB337,5,52 29.219 (4) Husband and wife Spouses resident licenses. A combined husband
3and wife
spouses resident fishing license shall be issued subject to s. 29.024 by the
4department to residents applying for this license. This license confers upon both
5husband and wife spouses the privileges of resident fishing licenses.
AB337,2 6Section 2. 29.228 (5) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB337,6,27 29.228 (5) Annual family fishing license. The department shall issue a
8nonresident annual family fishing license, subject to s. 29.024, to any nonresident

1who applies for this license. This license entitles the husband, wife spouses and any
2minor children to fish under this license.
AB337,3 3Section 3. 29.228 (6) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB337,6,74 29.228 (6) Fifteen-day family fishing license. The department shall issue a
5nonresident 15-day family fishing license, subject to s. 29.024, to any nonresident
6who applies for this license. This license entitles the husband, wife spouses and any
7minor children to fish under this license.
AB337,4 8Section 4. 29.229 (2) (i) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB337,6,99 29.229 (2) (i) Husband and wife Spouses fishing licenses.
AB337,5 10Section 5. 29.2295 (2) (i) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB337,6,1111 29.2295 (2) (i) Husband and wife Spouses fishing licenses.
AB337,6 12Section 6. 29.563 (3) (a) 3. of the statutes is amended to read:
AB337,6,1313 29.563 (3) (a) 3. Husband and wife Spouses: $30.25.
AB337,7 14Section 7. 29.607 (3) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB337,6,2415 29.607 (3) License required; exceptions; wild rice identification card. Every
16person over the age of 16 and under the age of 65 shall obtain the appropriate wild
17rice license to harvest or deal in wild rice but no license to harvest is required of the
18members of the immediate family of a licensee or of a recipient of old-age assistance
19or members of their immediate families. The department, subject to s. 29.024 (2g)
20and (2r), shall issue a wild rice identification card to each member of a licensee's
21immediate family, to a recipient of old-age assistance and to each member of the
22recipient's family. The term “immediate family" includes husband and wife spouses
23and minor children having their abode and domicile with the parent or legal
24guardian.
AB337,8 25Section 8 . 45.01 (6) (c) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB337,7,3
145.01 (6) (c) The biological natural or adoptive parent or a person who acts in
2the place of a parent and who has so acted for not less than 12 months prior to the
3veteran's entrance into active service.
AB337,9 4Section 9. 45.51 (3) (c) 2. of the statutes is amended to read:
AB337,7,65 45.51 (3) (c) 2. The department may deviate from this sequence upon order of
6the board to prevent the separation of a husband and wife spouses.
AB337,10 7Section 10. 45.51 (5) (a) 1. b. of the statutes is amended to read:
AB337,7,118 45.51 (5) (a) 1. b. Was married to the person under sub. (2) (a) 1. or 2. at the time
9the person entered the service and who became a widow or widower surviving spouse
10by the death of the person while in the service or as a result of physical disability of
11the person incurred during the service.
AB337,11 12Section 11. 45.51 (5) (a) 1. c. of the statutes is amended to read:
AB337,7,1613 45.51 (5) (a) 1. c. The period during which the surviving spouse was married
14to and lived with the deceased person under sub. (2) (a) 1. or 2. plus the period of
15widowhood or widowerhood
after the death of the deceased person is 6 months or
16more.
AB337,12 17Section 12. 45.55 of the statutes is amended to read:
AB337,8,7 1845.55 Notes and mortgages of minor veterans. Notwithstanding any
19provision of this chapter or any other law to the contrary, any minor who served in
20the active armed forces of the United States at any time after August 27, 1940, and
21the husband or wife spouse of such a minor may execute, in his or her own right, notes
22or mortgages, as defined in s. 851.15, the payment of which is guaranteed or insured
23by the U.S. department of veterans affairs or the federal housing administrator
24under the servicemen's readjustment act of 1944, the national housing act, or any
25acts supplementing or amending these acts. In connection with these transactions,

1the minors may sell, release, or convey the mortgaged property and litigate or settle
2controversies arising therefrom, including the execution of releases, deeds, and other
3necessary papers or instruments. The notes, mortgages, releases, deeds, and other
4necessary papers or instruments when so executed are not subject to avoidance by
5the minor or the husband or wife spouse of the minor upon either or both of them
6attaining the age of 18 because of the minority of either or both of them at the time
7of the execution thereof.
AB337,13 8Section 13. 46.10 (2) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB337,9,129 46.10 (2) Except as provided in subs. (2m) and (14) (b) and (c), any person,
10including but not limited to a person admitted, committed, protected, or placed under
11s. 975.01, 1977 stats., s. 975.02, 1977 stats., s. 975.17, 1977 stats., s. 55.05 (5), 2003
12stats., and s. 55.06, 2003 stats., and ss. 51.10, 51.13, 51.15, 51.20, 51.35 (3), 51.37 (5),
1351.45 (10), (11), (12) and (13), 55.05, 55.055, 55.12, 55.13, 55.135, 971.14 (2) and (5),
14971.17 (1), 975.06 and 980.06, receiving care, maintenance, services , and supplies
15provided by any institution in this state including University of Wisconsin Hospitals
16and Clinics, in which the state is chargeable with all or part of the person's care,
17maintenance, services, and supplies, any person receiving care and services from a
18county department established under s. 51.42 or 51.437 or from a facility established
19under s. 49.73, and any person receiving treatment and services from a public or
20private agency under s. 980.06 (2) (c), 1997 stats., s. 980.08 (5), 2003 stats., or s.
21971.17 (3) (d) or (4) (e) or 980.08 (4) (g) and the person's property and estate, including
22the homestead, and the spouse of the person, and the spouse's property and estate,
23including the homestead, and, in the case of a minor child, the parents of the person,
24and their property and estates, including their homestead, and, in the case of a
25foreign child described in s. 48.839 (1) who became dependent on public funds for his

1or her primary support before an order granting his or her adoption, the resident of
2this state appointed guardian of the child by a foreign court who brought the child
3into this state for the purpose of adoption, and his or her property and estate,
4including his or her homestead, shall be liable for the cost of the care, maintenance,
5services, and supplies in accordance with the fee schedule established by the
6department under s. 46.03 (18). If a spouse, widow surviving spouse, or minor, or an
7incapacitated person may be lawfully dependent upon the property for their support,
8the court shall release all or such part of the property and estate from the charges
9that may be necessary to provide for those persons. The department shall make
10every reasonable effort to notify the liable persons as soon as possible after the
11beginning of the maintenance, but the notice or the receipt thereof is not a condition
12of liability.
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