Chapter 16

16.54(13)(b) (b) If the state is required to pay any interest payments to the federal government relating to the timing of transfers of federal grant funds for programs that are funded with moneys from the general fund and that are covered in an agreement between the federal department of the treasury and the state under the federal Cash Management Improvement Act of 1990, as amended, the secretary shall notify the cochairpersons of the joint committee on finance, in writing, that the state is required to pay an interest payment. The notice shall contain an accounting of the amount of interest that the state is required to pay.

16.54 History History: 1973 c. 333; 1975 c. 39 ss. 69, 732 (1); 1975 c. 224; 1977 c. 418; 1979 c. 34; 1981 c. 27; 1983 a. 27, 208, 470; 1985 a. 29; 1987 a. 4, 27, 186, 399, 403; 1989 a. 31; 1991 a. 39, 316; 1995 a. 27 ss. 303 to 307, 9126 (19); 1995 a. 132, 225; 1999 a. 9, 74; 2001 a. 16; 2003 a. 33; 2005 a. 25, 74, 335; 2007 a. 20 ss. 92b, 95, 98, 9121 (6) (a); 2007 a. 97; 2009 a. 28, 332; 2011 a. 7, 10, 32; 2013 a. 20.

16.54 Cross-reference Cross-reference: See also s. NR 55.01, Wis. adm. code.

16.54 Annotation Wisconsin may enter into an agreement with the federal government for the development, administration, and enforcement, at the state level, of occupational safety and health laws meeting federal standards. 61 Atty. Gen. 353.

16.54 Annotation Counties do not have the power to form consortiums for purposes of a federal act when the governor has not designated them as participating units of government under sub. (6). 63 Atty. Gen. 453.

16.54 Annotation The governor may authorize counties to channel CETA funds through private nonprofit agencies. 66 Atty. Gen. 15.

16.544 16.544 Federal aid disallowances.

16.544(1) (1) Each agency that is informed by a federal agency that any liability of $10,000 or more incurred by the agency that has been or was anticipated to be assumed by the federal government from federal moneys received by the agency will not be an allowable use of the federal moneys shall notify the department and the joint committee on finance in writing of the disallowance. The notice shall include a statement of the method proposed by the agency to settle the disallowance.

16.544(2) (2) Each agency having given notice under sub. (1) shall make a quarterly report to the department, or at such other times as the secretary may require, concerning the status of efforts to resolve the audit disallowance. The format of the report shall be determined by the secretary.

16.544(3) (3) Prior to taking final action to remove any liability related to a disallowance of the use of federal moneys, an agency shall submit to the department a statement of the action proposed to remove the liability. The department may approve, disapprove or approve with modifications each such proposed action. The secretary shall forward a copy of each statement of proposed action approved by the department to the joint committee on finance. This subsection does not apply to an action taken by the board of regents of the University of Wisconsin System, within the statutory authority of the board, to remove a liability of less than $5,000.

16.544(4) (4) In this section, “agency” has the meaning given under s. 16.52 (7).

16.544 History History: 1983 a. 27; 1987 a. 27.

16.545 16.545 Federal aid management service. A federal aids management service shall be established in the department of administration:

16.545(1) (1) To fully inform the governor, the legislature, state agencies and the public of available federal aid programs.

16.545(2) (2) To fully inform the governor and the legislature of pending federal aid legislation.

16.545(3) (3) To advise the governor and the legislature of alternative and recommended methods of administering federal aid programs.

16.545(4) (4) To study and interpret the effect of federal aid programs on the administration of state government and the pattern of state government finances.

16.545(5) (5) To assist in the coordination of broad federal aid programs which are administered by more than one state agency.

16.545(6) (6) To maintain an information center on federal aid programs.

16.545(7) (7) To analyze and advise on proposed federal aid budgets submitted to the governor and the joint committee on finance under s. 16.54 (5).

16.545(8) (8) To serve as the state central information reception center for the receipt and dissemination of such federal grant-in-aid information as provided by federal agencies pursuant to section 201 of the federal intergovernmental cooperation act of 1968. The department shall report all such information to the governor and to the joint committee on finance.

16.545(9) (9) To initiate contacts with the federal government for the purpose of facilitating participation by agencies, as defined in s. 16.70 (1e), in federal aid programs, to assist those agencies in applying for such aid, and to facilitate influencing the federal government to make policy changes that will be beneficial to this state. The department may assess an agency to which it provides services under this subsection a fee for the expenses incurred by the department in providing those services.

16.545 History History: 1975 c. 39; 1983 a. 192 s. 303 (3); 1983 a. 308, 538; 1995 a. 27; 2001 a. 16; 2003 a. 33.

16.548 16.548 Federal-state relations office; report.

16.548(1) (1) The department may maintain a federal-state relations office in Washington, D.C., for the purpose of promoting federal-state cooperation, headed by a director. The director and a staff assistant for the office shall be appointed by the governor outside the classified service, subject to the concurrence of the joint committee on legislative organization. The director and staff assistant shall serve at the pleasure of the governor.

16.548(2) (2) If the department maintains a federal-state relations office, it shall submit a report from the office to the chief clerk of each house of the legislature, for distribution to the legislature under s. 13.172 (2), within 30 days after the close of each calendar quarter detailing the activities of the office during the quarter and reporting the status of federal legislation of concern to the legislature and other state agencies.

16.548(3) (3) The department may arrange for the federal-state relations office to share office facilities with a similar office serving another state.

16.548 History History: 1979 c. 34; 1983 a. 27, 192; 1987 a. 186.

16.55 16.55 Frauds and uncollectible shortages. The head of each agency shall immediately provide to the secretary any information within his or her knowledge or evidence in his or her possession concerning any suspected fraudulent use of appropriations or embezzlement of moneys in the custody of the agency or any officer or employee thereof. The attorney general shall investigate and, on or before March 1 of each odd-numbered year, notify the department of the sums of money embezzled from the several state accounts during the prior 2 years indicating the amounts uncollected and uncollectible. The department shall cause a bill to be prepared appropriating from the several state funds the amounts necessary to liquidate the uncollectible shortages in state accounts caused by such embezzlement, and submit such bill to the joint committee on finance for introduction.

16.55 History History: 1981 c. 20.

16.56 16.56 Grain inspection funding. On June 30 of each fiscal year, the department shall determine whether the accumulated expenses for the inspection and certification of grain under s. 93.06 (1m) have exceeded the accumulated revenues from conducting that inspection and certification as of that date. If so, immediately before the end of the fiscal year, the department shall transfer the unencumbered balances in the appropriation accounts under s. 20.115 (1) (a), (2) (a), (3) (a), (7) (a), and (8) (a), up to the amount of the excess, to the appropriation account under s. 20.115 (1) (h).

16.56 History History: 2005 a. 25.

16.58 16.58 Services to units of local government.

16.58(1) (1) The department shall provide management and personnel consultative and technical assistance to units of government other than the state and may charge for those services.

16.58(2) (2) The department may request technical and staff assistance from other state agencies in providing management and personnel consultative services to those units of government.

16.58(3) (3) The department may provide financial consulting services to a local exposition district created under subch. II of ch. 229 or a local professional baseball park district created under subch. III of ch. 229.

16.58 History History: 1979 c. 361; 2015 a. 60; 2023 a. 40.

16.60 16.60 Services to nonprofit corporations.

16.60(1) (1) The department of administration may provide, on a reimbursable basis, financial and management services for nonprofit corporations with which the state or its agencies has entered into leases and subleases for the construction and leasing of projects. Services provided under this section shall be in accordance with the request of the building commission as to the type and scope of service requested, the civil service range of the employee or employees assigned to them and the total reimbursement to be charged by the department of administration to the nonprofit corporations.

16.60(2) (2) The department or the legislature or any person delegated by the legislature may inspect and examine or cause an inspection and examination of all records relating to the construction of projects that are, or are to be, financed by a nonprofit corporation and leased or subleased by any state agency.

16.60(3) (3) The secretary or the secretary’s designated representative shall serve in an advisory capacity to and be a nonvoting member of any nonprofit corporation with which the state or its agencies has entered into leases and subleases for the construction and leasing of projects.

16.60 History History: 1983 a. 36 s. 96 (4); 1991 a. 316.

16.61 16.61 Records of state offices and other public records.

16.61(1) (1) Public records board. The public records board shall preserve for permanent use important state records, prescribe policies and standards that provide an orderly method for the disposition of other state records and rationalize and make more cost-effective the management of records by state agencies.

16.61(2) (2) Definitions. As used in this section:

16.61(2)(a) (a) “Board” means the public records board.

16.61(2)(af) (af) “Form” has the meaning specified in s. 16.97 (5p).

16.61(2)(am) (am) “Microfilm reproduction” means any manner by which an image is reduced in size and reproduced on fine-grain, high resolution film.

16.61(2)(an) (an) “Personally identifiable information” has the meaning specified in s. 19.62 (5).

16.61(2)(b) (b) “Public records” means all books, papers, maps, photographs, films, recordings, optical discs, electronically formatted documents, or other documentary materials, regardless of physical form or characteristics, made or received by any state agency or its officers or employees in connection with the transaction of public business, and documents of any insurer that is liquidated or in the process of liquidation under ch. 645. “Public records” does not include:

16.61(2)(b)1. 1. Records and correspondence of any member of the legislature.

16.61(2)(b)1m. 1m. Any state document received by a state document depository library.

16.61(2)(b)2. 2. Duplicate copies of materials the original copies of which are in the custody of the same state agency and which are maintained only for convenience or reference and for no other substantive purpose.

16.61(2)(b)3. 3. Materials in the possession of a library or museum made or acquired solely for reference or exhibition purposes.

16.61(2)(b)4. 4. Notices or invitations received by a state agency that were not solicited by the agency and that are not related to any official action taken, proposed or considered by the agency.

16.61(2)(b)5. 5. Drafts, notes, preliminary computations and like materials prepared for the originator’s personal use or prepared by the originator in the name of a person for whom the originator is working.

16.61(2)(b)6. 6. Routing slips and envelopes.

16.61(2)(bm) (bm) “Records and forms officer” means a person designated by a state agency to comply with all records and forms management laws and rules under s. 15.04 (1) (j) and to act as a liaison between that state agency and the board.

16.61(2)(c) (c) “Records series” means public records that are arranged under a manual or automated filing system, or are kept together as a unit, because they relate to a particular subject, result from the same activity, or have a particular form.

16.61(2)(cm) (cm) “Retention schedule” means instructions as to the length of time, the location and the form in which records series are to be kept and the method of filing records series.

16.61(2)(d) (d) “State agency” means any officer, commission, board, department or bureau of state government.

16.61(3) (3) Powers and duties of the board. The board:

16.61(3)(a) (a) Shall safeguard the legal, financial and historical interests of the state in public records.

16.61(3)(b) (b) Upon the request of any state agency, county, town, city, village, or school district, may order upon such terms as the board finds necessary to safeguard the legal, financial, and historical interests of the state in public records, the destruction, reproduction by microfilm or other process, optical disc or electronic storage or the temporary or permanent retention or other disposition of public records.

16.61(3)(c) (c) May promulgate rules to carry out the purposes of this section.

16.61(3)(d) (d) Shall establish a system for the protection and preservation of essential public records that are necessary to the continuity of governmental functions in the event of a disaster, as defined in s. 323.02 (6), or the imminent threat of a disaster, and in establishing the system shall do all of the following:

16.61(3)(d)1. 1. Determine what records are essential for operation during a state of emergency and thereafter through consultation with all state departments and independent agencies and the administrator, establish the manner in which such records shall be preserved, and provide for their preservation.

16.61(3)(d)2. 2. Require every state department and independent agency to establish and maintain a preservation program for essential state public records.

16.61(3)(d)3. 3. Provide for security storage of essential state records.

16.61(3)(d)4. 4. Furnish state departments and independent agencies with copies of the final plan for preservation of essential public records.

16.61(3)(d)5. 5. Advise all political subdivisions of this state on preservation of essential public records.

16.61(3)(e) (e) May establish the minimum period of time for retention before destruction of any county, city, town, village, metropolitan sewerage district or school district record.

16.61(3)(f) (f) Shall cooperate with and advise records and forms officers.

16.61(3)(j) (j) Shall establish a records management program for this state.

16.61(3)(L) (L) Shall receive and investigate complaints about forms, except as provided in sub. (3n).

16.61(3)(o) (o) May delegate any of the duties under this subsection to other state agencies.

16.61(3)(r) (r) Shall consider recommendations and advice offered by records and forms officers.

16.61(3)(s) (s) Shall recommend to the department procedures for the transfer of public records and records of the University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics Authority to optical disc format, including procedures to ensure the authenticity, accuracy, and reliability of any public records or records of the University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics Authority so transferred and procedures to ensure that such records are protected from unauthorized destruction. The board shall also recommend to the department qualitative standards for optical discs and copies of documents generated from optical discs used to store public records and records of the University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics Authority.

16.61(3)(t) (t) Shall recommend to the department qualitative standards for optical discs and for copies of documents generated from optical discs used to store materials filed with local governmental units.

16.61(3)(tm) (tm) Shall recommend to the department qualitative standards for storage of records in electronic format and for copies of documents generated from electronically stored records filed with local governmental units.

16.61(3)(u) (u)

16.61(3)(u)1. 1. Shall create a registry, in a format that may be accessed by computer terminal, describing the records series maintained by state agencies that contain personally identifiable information by using, to the maximum extent feasible, information submitted to the board in retention schedules under sub. (4) (b). The board may require state agencies to provide additional information necessary to create the registry. The board may not require a state agency to modify any records series described in the registry.

16.61(3)(u)2. 2. The registry shall not include any of the following:

16.61(3)(u)2.a. a. Any records series that contains the results of a matching program, as defined in s. 19.62 (3), if the state agency using the records series destroys the records series within one year after the records series was created.

16.61(3)(u)2.b. b. Mailing lists.

16.61(3)(u)2.c. c. Telephone directories.

16.61(3)(u)2.d. d. Records series pertaining exclusively to employees of a state agency.

16.61(3)(u)2.e. e. Records series specified by the board that contain personally identifiable information incidental to the primary purpose for which the records series was created, such as the name of a salesperson or a vendor in a records series of purchase orders.

16.61(3)(u)2.f. f. Records series relating to procurement or budgeting by a state agency.