XX15 Elections board.

XX16 Employee trust funds.

XX17 Employment relations commission.

XX18 Employment relations department.

XX19 Ethics board.

XX20 Financial institutions.

XX21 Governor.

XX22 Health and Educational Facilities Authority.

XX23 Health and family services.

XX24 Higher educational aids board.

XX25 Historical society.

XX26 Housing and Economic Development Authority.

XX27 Insurance.

XX28 Investment board.

XX29 Joint committee on finance.

XX30 Judicial commission.

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XX31 Justice.

XX32 Legislature.

XX33 Lieutenant governor.

XX34 Lower Wisconsin state riverway board.

XX35 Medical College of Wisconsin.

XX36 Military affairs.

XX37 Natural resources.

XX38 Personnel commission.

XX39 Public defender board.

XX40 Public instruction.

XX41 Public lands, board of commissioners of.

XX42 Public service commission.

XX43 Regulation and licensing.

XX44 Revenue.

XX45 Secretary of state.

XX46 State fair park board.

XX47 Supreme Court.

XX48 Technical college system.

XX49 Technology for educational achievement in Wisconsin board.

XX50 Tobacco control board.

XX51 Tourism.

XX52 Transportation.

XX53 Treasurer.

XX54 University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics Authority.

XX55 University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics Board.

XX56 University of Wisconsin System.

XX57 Veterans affairs.

XX58 Workforce development.

XX59 Other.

For example, for general nonstatutory provisions relating to the historical
society, see Section 9125. For any agency that is not assigned a two-digit
identification number and that is attached to another agency, see the number of the
latter agency. For any other agency not assigned a two-digit identification number
or any provision that does not relate to the functions of a particular agency, see
number "59" (other) within each type of provision.

In order to facilitate amendment drafting and the enrolling process, separate
section numbers and headings appear for each type of provision and for each state
agency, even if there are no provisions included in that section number and heading.
Section numbers and headings for which there are no provisions will be deleted in
enrolling and will not appear in the published act.
Following is a list of the most commonly used acronyms appearing in the analysis.

DATCPDepartment of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection

DEGDepartment of Electronic Government

DERDepartment of Employment Relations

DETFDepartment of Employee Trust Funds

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DFIDepartment of Financial Institutions

DHFSDepartment of Health and Family Services

DMADepartment of Military Affairs

DNRDepartment of Natural Resources

DOADepartment of Administration

DOCDepartment of Corrections

DOJDepartment of Justice

DORDepartment of Revenue

DOTDepartment of Transportation

DPIDepartment of Public Instruction

DRLDepartment of Regulation and Licensing

DVADepartment of Veterans Affairs

DWDDepartment of Workforce Development

JCFJoint Committee on Finance

OCIOffice of the Commissioner of Insurance

PSCPublic Service Commission

UWUniversity of Wisconsin

WHEDAWisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority

WHEFAWisconsin Health and Educational Facilities Authority

_____________________________________________________________

Current law authorizes DATCP to grant $240,000 in each fiscal year to Dane
County to assist in paying the costs of operating an exposition center and of hosting
the World Dairy Expo at the exposition center. This bill eliminates the authority and
the funding for those grants.

This bill requires the department of commerce to establish a grants
management office to identify public and private sources of grants, act as a
clearinghouse for those sources of grants, and offer to governmental agencies,
nonprofit organizations, school boards, charter schools, and private schools training
and assistance in pursuing grants.

Under the Business Development Initiative Program, the department of
commerce provides technical assistance and grants to individuals, small businesses,
and nonprofit organizations for developing and planning the start-up or expansion
of a business that is expected to provide job opportunities for persons with severe
disabilities. This bill eliminates the Business Development Initiative Program.

Currently, various state and federal laws govern the use of electronic
documents and signatures, the most significant one being the federal Electronic
Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act, or "E-sign." E-sign generally
preempts inconsistent state laws.

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This bill enacts a version of the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (UETA),
which was approved and recommended for enactment by the National Conference
of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws in 1999. Although enactments of this
approved version of UETA are not preempted by E-sign, because this bill makes
certain substantive changes to the approved version of UETA that render the bill
inconsistent with the approved version, it is difficult to determine whether a court
would consider the bill preempted by E-sign. Because some of the unchanged UETA
provisions are ambiguous, this analysis does not cover all potential legal effects of
these ambiguous provisions.

Like E-sign, the bill primarily affects the use of electronic documents and
electronic signatures in transactions. Under the bill's broad definitions, such things
as information stored on a computer disk or a voice mail recording would likely
qualify for use as an electronic document. However, like E-sign, this bill does not
apply to the execution of wills, to testamentary trusts, or to a transaction governed
by any chapter of this state's version of the Uniform Commercial Code other than the
chapter dealing with sales of goods. Unlike current law under E-sign and the version
of UETA recommended for enactment in all of the states, the bill also specifically
exempts deeds and cancellation notices for local telecommunications services.

Like E-sign, this bill specifies that a document or signature may not be denied
legal effect or enforceability solely because it is in electronic form. Unlike E-sign,
this bill provides that an electronic document satisfies any law requiring a document
to be in writing and that an electronic signature satisfies any law requiring a
signature. The bill does not require the use of electronic documents or electronic
signatures. Rather, the bill applies only to transactions between parties each of
which has agreed to conduct transactions by electronic means. However, unlike
current law under E-sign, this bill does not contain any protections that specifically
apply only to consumer transactions. The consumer protections currently in effect
under E-sign would arguably have no effect in this state upon the enactment of this
bill.

Under this bill, a person may use an electronic document in a transaction to
satisfy any law requiring the person to provide, send, or deliver information in
writing to another person, if the electronic document satisfies certain conditions.
Although the bill also states that a document relating to a transaction may not be
denied legal effect solely because it is in electronic form, the bill likely permits a
person to deny the legal effect of an electronic document that does not satisfy these
conditions. The bill also appears to require the parties to a transaction to comply
with any legal requirement relating to the provision of information other than a
requirement that the information be provided on paper.

The bill establishes the time and location of the sending and receipt of an
electronic document, although the parties to a transaction may agree to alter the
effect of these provisions. The bill also permits a sender to expressly provide in an
electronic document that the document is deemed to be sent from a different location.
The bill also establishes the legal effects of any change or error in an electronic
document that occurs in a transmission between the parties to a transaction. These
effects depend in part upon whether the parties have consented to the use of a

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security procedure and whether the transaction is an automated transaction
involving an individual.

This bill generally permits the use of an electronic document to satisfy any law
that requires document retention. An electronic document retained in compliance
with these provisions has the same legal status as the original document and need
not contain any information the sole purpose of which is to enable the document to
be sent, communicated, or received. Under current law, this ancillary information
is normally required to be retained if the document to which it is attached is required
to be retained.

The bill does not apply to any new laws enacted by this state, after enactment
of this bill, that prohibit a person from using an electronic document to satisfy any
requirement that the person retain a document for evidentiary, audit, or like
purposes.

In addition, the bill does not preclude a governmental unit of this state from
imposing additional requirements for the retention of any document on another
governmental unit subject to its jurisdiction. It is unclear how this provision relates
to other provisions of the bill which provide that an electronic document satisfies any
retention requirement as long as specified requirements relating to accuracy and
accessibility are also satisfied. This provision is narrower than the corresponding
provision included in the version of UETA recommended for enactment in all the
states in that the corresponding provision is not specifically limited in its application
to documents of governmental units.

Like E-sign, this bill also permits electronic notarization, acknowledgement,
or verification of a signature or document relating to a transaction, as long as the
electronic signature of the person performing the notarization, acknowledgement, or
verification is accompanied by all other information required by law. Unlike current
law under E-sign and the version of UETA recommended for enactment in all the
states, an electronic notarization under this bill must also comply with rules
promulgated by DEG and the secretary of state. In addition, unlike the version of
UETA recommended for enactment in all the states, this bill provides that public
records retention requirement currently in effect in this state continue to apply. The
bill also permits the public records board to promulgate rules prescribing additional
records retention standards and DEG to promulgate rules with regard to the use of
electronic documents and signatures by governmental units.