Chapter 14

14.015(1) (1) Disability board. There is created a disability board which is attached to the office of the governor under s. 15.03. Where not in conflict with s. 17.025, s. 15.07 applies to the disability board. The disability board shall consist of the governor, the chief justice of the supreme court, the speaker of the assembly, the president of the senate, the minority leader of the assembly, the minority leader of the senate, and the dean of the University of Wisconsin Medical School. In case of the absence or disability of any of the members to serve for a particular meeting of the board, the lieutenant governor, a justice of the supreme court designated by the chief justice, the deputy speaker of the assembly, the majority leader of the senate, the assistant minority leader of the assembly, the assistant minority leader of the senate, or an associate dean of the University of Wisconsin Medical School designated by the dean shall serve, respectively, in place of the officers.

14.015 History History: 1977 c. 9; 1977 c. 29 s. 1649; 1977 c. 203; 1979 c. 34, 110, 221, 361; 1981 c. 256; 1983 a. 27; 1985 a. 29; 1991 a. 269; 1995 a. 27 s. 209s; 1995 a. 216; 1997 a. 27; 1999 a. 186.

14.017 14.017 Same; councils.

14.017(2) (2) State council on alcohol and other drug abuse. There is created in the office of the governor a state council on alcohol and other drug abuse consisting of the governor, the attorney general, the state superintendent of public instruction, the secretary of health services, the commissioner of insurance, the secretary of corrections, the secretary of transportation and the chairperson of the pharmacy examining board, or their designees; a representative of the controlled substances board; a representative of any governor’s committee or commission created under this subchapter to study law enforcement issues; 6 members, one of whom is a consumer representing the public at large, with demonstrated professional, research or personal interest in alcohol and other drug abuse problems, appointed for 4-year terms; a representative of an organization or agency which is a direct provider of services to alcoholics and other drug abusers; a member of the Wisconsin County Human Service Association, Inc., who is nominated by that association; and 2 members of each house of the legislature, representing the majority party and the minority party in each house, chosen as are the members of standing committees in their respective houses. Section 15.09 applies to the council.

14.017(4) (4) Council on military and state relations. There is created in the office of the governor a council on military and state relations. The council shall assist the governor by working with the state’s military installations, commands and communities, state agencies, and economic development professionals to develop and implement strategies designed to enhance those military installations. The council shall advise and assist the governor on issues related to the location of military installations in this state. The council shall assist and cooperate with state agencies to determine how those agencies can better serve military communities and military families. The council shall assist the efforts of military families and their support groups regarding quality-of-life issues for service men and women, their spouses, and their dependents. The chairperson of the council shall be elected by the members of the council. The council shall consist of the following:

14.017(4)(a) (a) A representative of the department of military affairs.

14.017(4)(b) (b) A representative of Fort McCoy, Monroe County.

14.017(4)(c) (c) Two members of each house of the legislature, representing the majority party and minority party in each house, chosen as are members of the standing committees of that house.

14.017(4)(d) (d) A representative of the office of the governor.

14.017(6) (6) Council on veterans employment.

14.017(6)(a) (a) There is created in the office of the governor a council on veterans employment consisting of all of the following:

14.017(6)(a)1. 1. The secretary of administration or his or her designee, who shall serve as chairperson of the council.

14.017(6)(a)2. 2. The administrator of the division of personnel management in the department of administration or his or her designee.

14.017(6)(a)3. 3. The secretary of veterans affairs or his or her designee.

14.017(6)(a)4. 4. The secretary of workforce development or his or her designee.

14.017(6)(a)5. 5. The president of the University of Wisconsin System or his or her designee.

14.017(6)(b) (b) The council shall advise and assist the governor and state agencies with the recruitment and employment of veterans, including specifically veterans with a service-connected disability rating, so as to increase veteran employment in state government. To this end, the council shall do all of the following:

14.017(6)(b)1. 1. Identify program areas of state government in which the employment of veterans can be increased.

14.017(6)(b)2. 2. Identify state agency positions that have duties especially suitable to the skills and work experiences of veterans.

14.017(6)(b)3. 3. Ensure that state agencies develop training programs to assist veterans in acquiring the skills necessary to hold state agency positions.

14.017(6)(b)4. 4. Ensure that state agencies develop training and counseling programs for veterans to assist in their transition from military service to state government employment.

14.017(6)(b)5. 5. Ensure that the division of personnel management in the department of administration develops training programs for human resources staff to increase the recruitment and employment of veterans in state agencies.

14.017(6)(b)6. 6. Prepare a model strategy for state agencies to increase the employment of qualified veterans, which includes recommendations to streamline the process of employing qualified veterans with a service-connected disability rating.

14.017(6)(b)7. 7. Promote state government employment as a viable post-military career opportunity for veterans.

14.017(6)(b)8. 8. Identify and promote to state agencies the valuable and transferable skills of veterans.

14.017(6)(c) (c)

14.017(6)(c)1. 1. The department of workforce development shall provide staff support to the council.

14.017(6)(c)2. 2. The department of workforce development shall make the determinations under s. 230.042 (3) (a) and (4) (a) and shall assist the council in making its determinations under s. 230.042 (3) (b) and (4) (b).

14.017(6)(c)3. 3. The council may establish separate goals that are applicable to a state agency for the hiring of qualified veterans or veterans with a service-connected disability rating that are in lieu of the goals specified under s. 230.042 (3) and (4).

14.017(6)(d) (d) Annually, on or before September 1, the secretary of administration shall submit a report to the governor on the activities of the council in assisting state agencies with the recruitment and employment of veterans. The report shall include current information on the number of veterans holding permanent state government positions and the council’s recommendations for increasing veteran employment in state government.

14.017 History History: 1971 c. 219 s. 4; 1973 c. 90; 1975 c. 39, 370; 1977 c. 29 s. 1649; 1977 c. 325, 418; 1979 c. 34 s. 16; 1979 c. 221; 1983 a. 27; 1987 a. 339, 399; 1987 a. 403 s. 256; 1991 a. 211; 1993 a. 210; 1995 a. 27 ss. 48, 9116 (5); 1997 a. 27, 252; 2005 a. 26; 2007 a. 20 s. 9121 (6) (a); 2011 a. 166; 2015 a. 55, 386; 2021 a. 239 s. 74; 2021 a. 240 s. 30.

14.019 14.019 Governor’s nonstatutory committees.

14.019(1) (1) Creation; tenure; abolition. Under the general powers of the office of the governor the governor may, by executive order, create nonstatutory committees in such number and with such membership as desired, to conduct such studies and to advise the governor in such matters as directed.

14.019(1)(a) (a) Persons appointed to a nonstatutory committee may be removed or replaced, or the committee may be abolished, by the governor at pleasure.

14.019(1)(b) (b) Any nonstatutory committee shall expire on the 4th Monday of January of the year in which a new gubernatorial term of office begins unless the new governor, by executive order, provides for its continued existence and in that case persons then serving on such committee remain members until they resign or until they are removed or replaced by action of the new governor.

14.019(2) (2) Effect of appropriation. Subsection (1) continues to apply to any nonstatutory committee created by the governor even if a part of its expenses is later defrayed from state funds, whether under the general appropriation of s. 20.505 (1) (ka) or under an appropriation enacted specifically for the purposes of such committee.

14.019(3) (3) Coordination. The governor shall designate an employee of the office of the governor or of the department of administration to serve as coordinator for the activities of the nonstatutory committees created by the governor. The coordinator shall keep a record of all appointments to, or resignations or removals from, such committees. The coordinator shall also provide for the retention and preservation of the records and reports of such committees and shall, when appropriate, cause the duplication of such reports for public distribution.

14.019(4) (4) Program fees. The governor may authorize any committee created under this section to charge a fee for materials and services provided by it in the course of carrying out its responsibilities. The fee may not exceed the actual cost of the materials or services provided. All fees shall be credited to the appropriation account under s. 20.505 (4) (h).

14.019(5) (5) Final report; deposit. Any nonstatutory committee created by the governor and in existence at the time of the general election for a new gubernatorial term shall prepare a final written report on its activities to be submitted to the governor and, if the incumbent governor is not reelected, to the governor-elect prior to the first Monday of January of the year in which the new gubernatorial term begins. The number of copies prepared of such final reports shall be determined by the coordinator under sub. (3). The governor shall deposit sufficient copies of every final report required under this subsection with the resources for libraries and lifelong learning service under s. 43.05 (11) for distribution under s. 35.83 (3).

14.019 History History: 1977 c. 29 s. 1649; 1977 c. 273; 1979 c. 34; 1981 c. 20 s. 2202 (1) (b); 1991 a. 285, 316; 1993 a. 335; 2001 a. 16; 2005 a. 25; 2011 a. 158.

14.02 14.02 Governor may appoint employees. The governor may appoint and fix the compensation of such employees as he or she deems necessary for the execution of the functions of the office of the governor and for the domestic service of the executive residence. The governor may remove any of the appointees appointed under this section at pleasure.

14.02 History History: 1977 c. 29 s. 1649; 1977 c. 273; 1979 c. 221; 1995 a. 216; 2015 a. 196.

14.03 14.03 Governor to coordinate state services. The governor is directed to coordinate and insure the provision of services required by more than one state agency, including without limitation because of enumeration, the use of state communication facilities, business equipment and related personnel so as to permit more efficient and economical operation of state agencies. The cost of such services shall be charged according to s. 20.904.

14.035 14.035 Governor may enter into Indian gaming compacts. The governor may, on behalf of this state, enter into any compact that has been negotiated under 25 USC 2710 (d).

14.035 History History: 1989 a. 196.

14.035 Cross-reference Cross-reference: See also ch. Game 3, Wis. adm. code.

14.035 Annotation Committing the state to policy choices negotiated in compacts constitutes a legislative function. Because the purpose of this section is ascertainable, and in most situations there are safeguards available to alter the policy choices made by the governor, the delegation of power to the governor is not an unconstitutional violation of the separation of powers doctrine. However, the legislature did not delegate to the governor the authority to agree to a compact of indefinite duration, which circumvents the procedural safeguards that sustain the legislature’s ability to delegate that power in the first place: the power to curtail or reclaim the delegated power by future legislative action. Panzer v. Doyle, 2004 WI 52, 271 Wis. 2d 295, 680 N.W.2d 666, 03-0910.

14.035 Annotation The governor acted contrary to the public policy embodied in state law and therefore acted without authority by agreeing to a compact allowing the conduct of games prohibited by article IV, section 24, of the Wisconsin Constitution and criminal statutes. Panzer v. Doyle, 2004 WI 52, 271 Wis. 2d 295, 680 N.W.2d 666, 03-0910.

14.035 Annotation The governor exceeded the governor’s authority by agreeing in a compact to waive the state’s sovereign immunity, an act that the governor had no inherent or delegated power to undertake. Panzer v. Doyle, 2004 WI 52, 271 Wis. 2d 295, 680 N.W.2d 666, 03-0910.

14.035 Annotation Panzer v. Doyle: Wisconsin Constitutional Law Deals the Governor a New Hand. Wawrzyn. 89 MLR 221 (2005).

14.04 14.04 Reports to legislature. At the commencement of each regular session of the legislature, the governor shall communicate to the chief clerk of each house of the legislature, for distribution to the legislature under s. 13.172 (2), the reports of all state officers, commissions, boards, and departments required by law to report to the governor, including the reports of state officers whose terms of office have expired covering the transactions in their respective offices from June 30 in the last year of their terms, and, at the time of communicating said reports, shall render to the chief clerk of each house of the legislature, for distribution to the legislature under s. 13.172 (2), a statement of all expenditures made by the governor out of any contingent fund appropriated for the contingent expenses of the office of the governor. Biennially, the governor shall submit to the chief clerk of each house of the legislature, for distribution to the legislature under s. 13.172 (2), a report on the condition of each of the public institutions of this state which are supported in whole or in part by appropriations by the state with such recommendations as deemed proper.

14.04 History History: 1977 c. 29 s. 1649; 1977 c. 273; 1987 a. 186.

14.05 14.05 Inspection and investigation of institutions. The governor may visit and inspect at any time any public institution of this state which is supported in whole or in part by appropriations by the state; and, in the case of state institutions, the governor may also cause an investigation to be made of any thereof, or of any matter connected with or of any employee in any such institution, and may appoint a suitable person therefor, and shall require a written report thereof. Such investigator shall be paid not to exceed $6.50 a day for each day actually and necessarily required in performing the duties imposed, and shall be reimbursed all actual expenses thereby incurred. The cost of any such investigation shall be charged to the appropriation for the state institution under investigation.

14.05 History History: 1991 a. 316.

14.06 14.06 Gifts, grants and bequests. The governor may accept gifts, grants and bequests, and may expend the proceeds to carry out the purposes for which received.

14.06 History History: 1999 a. 9.

14.07 14.07 Records and documents; executive privy seal.

14.07(1) (1) The private secretary to the governor, for purposes of authentication, is custodian of the public records and documents in the office of the governor.

14.07(2) (2) The executive privy seal, a written description of which is deposited in the office of the secretary of state, is the seal of the private secretary to the governor, with which all the private secretary’s official certificates shall be authenticated.

14.07 History History: 1977 c. 29 s. 1649; 1991 a. 316.

14.08 14.08 Deposit of acts; notice. The governor shall deposit each legislative act enacted by the governor’s approval in the office of the secretary of state under s. 35.095 (2) (b), and shall so inform the house of origin.

14.08 History History: 1981 c. 372.

14.09 14.09 Executive orders. The governor shall cause all executive orders issued to be deposited in the office of the secretary of state.

14.09 History History: 1975 c. 252, 421.

14.09 Annotation Executive Orders of the Wisconsin Governor. King. 1980 WLR 333.

14.11 14.11 Legal actions and proceedings.

14.11(1) (1) State property; legal protection of. The governor, whenever in the governor’s opinion the rights, interests or property of the state have been or are liable to be injuriously affected, may require the attorney general to institute and prosecute any proper action or proceeding for the redress or prevention thereof; and whenever the governor receives notice of any action or proceeding between other parties by which the rights, interests or property of the state are liable to be injuriously affected, the governor shall inform the attorney general thereof and require the attorney general to take such steps as may be necessary to protect such rights, interests, or property.

14.11(2) (2) Employment of special counsel.

14.11(2)(a) (a) The governor, if in the governor’s opinion the public interest requires such action, may employ special counsel in the following cases:

14.11(2)(a)1. 1. To assist the attorney general in any action or proceeding;

14.11(2)(a)2. 2. To act instead of the attorney general in any action or proceeding, if the attorney general is in any way interested adversely to the state;

14.11(2)(a)3. 3. To defend any action instituted by the attorney general against any officer of the state;

14.11(2)(a)4. 4. To institute and prosecute an action or proceeding which the attorney general, by reason of the attorney general’s opinion as to the validity of any law, or for any other reason, deems it the duty of the attorney general to defend rather than prosecute.

14.11(2)(b) (b) When special counsel is employed, a contract in writing shall be entered into between the state and such counsel, in which shall be fixed the compensation to be paid such counsel by the state. If the compensation is being determined on a contingent fee basis, the contract is subject to s. 20.9305. The contract shall be executed in behalf of the state by the governor, and shall be filed in the office of the secretary of state. Such compensation shall be charged to the special counsel appropriation in s. 20.505 (1) (d).

14.11(2)(c) (c) Upon employment of special counsel, the governor shall certify the maximum amount provided in the employment contract to the secretary of administration, and direct the department to pay special counsel bills related to that case within the certified figure.

14.11 History History: 1971 c. 164; 1981 c. 20 s. 2202 (17) (a); 1985 a. 332 s. 253; 1991 a. 316; 2013 a. 20, 105, 151.

14.12 14.12 Execution of releases and satisfactions. Unless otherwise provided by law, the governor and attorney general may release or satisfy any lien or other obligation in favor of the state, upon payment by the obligor of the full amount due thereon or of the amount provided in any compromise settlement duly entered into and approved as provided by law. When such release or satisfaction is required to be under seal, the secretary of state shall affix the great seal of the state and authenticate the signatures of said officers.

14.13 14.13 Land claims against United States; receipt of payment. The governor may receive from the U.S. treasury department, from time to time, as the governor sees fit to draw for the same, the 5 percent of the net proceeds of sales of the public lands to which this state is or shall be entitled, pursuant to the act of congress approved August 6, 1846, and execute the proper vouchers therefor. When received the governor shall pay the same into the state treasury to the credit of the school fund.

14.13 History History: 1991 a. 316.

14.14 14.14 Patents to railroad lands. Whenever the governor shall have executed and delivered to any railway or other corporation a patent from this state of any land inuring to such corporation under or through any grant from the United States and the laws of this state, and subsequent to the delivery of any such patent the United States shall patent or certify said land or any part thereof to this state as inuring under such grant, the governor may in the governor’s discretion execute and deliver to such corporation a new patent of said land by way of further assurance of title to the same, reciting the fact of the execution and delivery of said prior patent and the subsequent issue by the United States of a patent or certified list of the said land, and that the said new patent is made by virtue of this section and for the purposes aforesaid; and the additional patent shall be entitled to the same force and effect as a conveyance and as evidence as other state patents have by law.

14.14 History History: 1991 a. 316.

14.15 14.15 Rewards. Whenever any person convicted of or charged with any felony escapes, or whenever any heinous crime has been committed, the governor may offer a reward of not to exceed $500 for the apprehension and delivery of such person or the conviction of the perpetrator of such crime. If such reward is claimed, whether by one or more persons, the governor shall finally determine to whom the same shall be paid, and, if to more than one person what portion to each, and shall certify the determination to the secretary of state. No such offer of a reward by the governor shall impose any actionable liability on the state.

14.15 History History: 1991 a. 316.

14.16 14.16 Holiday proclamations.

14.16(1) (1) Arbor and Bird Day. The governor, by proclamation, may set apart one day each year to be designated as Arbor and Bird Day, and may request its observance by all schools, colleges and other institutions by the planting of trees, the adornment of school and public grounds and by suitable exercises having for their object the advancement of the study of arboriculture, the promotion of a spirit of protection to birds and trees and the cultivation of an appreciative sentiment concerning them.

14.16(2) (2) Citizenship Day. The governor may also set aside, by proclamation, the 3rd Sunday in May in each year to be designated as Citizenship Day, and shall request its observance by all circuit court judges, county boards, municipalities, colleges and other institutions, by suitable exercises for all those persons who have recently become enfranchised either by naturalization or by reaching their majority on the necessity of exercising responsible, vigilant and intelligent citizenship to safeguard and maintain our inalienable American liberties, freedom of person, stability, strength, endurance of our democratic institutions, ideals and leadership.

14.16(3) (3) Labor Day. The governor may also set apart, by proclamation, one day in each year to be observed as Labor Day.

14.16(4) (4) Armistice Day. The governor shall annually issue a proclamation calling attention to the fact that November 11 is the anniversary of Armistice Day, and requesting the people throughout the state to observe by appropriate exercises the hour at which the armistice following World War I was concluded.

14.16(5) (5) Mother’s Day. The governor may annually proclaim the 2nd Sunday in May as Mother’s Day and urge the people and organizations to display the American flag as a public expression of love and reverence for the mothers of our state and as a symbol of a united effort to inspire better homes and closer union between the state, its homes and its sons and daughters.