LRB-1936/1
RCT:bjk:md
2009 - 2010 LEGISLATURE
March 19, 2009 - Introduced by Representatives Brooks, Pasch, Lothian, Mursau,
LeMahieu, A. Ott, Murtha
and Nerison, cosponsored by Senators Schultz
and Olsen. Referred to Committee on Agriculture.
AB161,1,5 1An Act to repeal 174.12 (6); to renumber and amend 174.12 (2); to amend
2174.05 (3), 174.09 (1), 174.09 (2), 174.09 (3), 174.11 (1), 174.11 (2) (b), 174.11 (3)
3and 174.12 (1); and to create 174.09 (1m) of the statutes; relating to:
4reimbursement for damages caused by dogs and the use of funds derived from
5the licensing of dogs.
Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau
Under current law, the owner of a farm animal, dog, or cat that was injured or
killed by another person's dog may, within three days of becoming aware of the
incident, file a claim with the city, village, or town in which the incident occurred.
The city, village, or town is required to investigate the claim and provide a report on
the investigation to the county clerk. The county clerk submits the claim and the
report to the county board and the county board decides whether to make a payment
to the owner as compensation for the injury or death of the animal. If there is no
money in the dog license fund, described below, the county is not required to make
any payment. If the county makes a payment, it may sue the owner of the dog for
the amount of damages that the dog caused.
Under this bill the owner of a farm animal, dog, or cat that was injured or killed
by another person's dog may make a claim for the damage if the owner files the claim
within five business days, rather than three days, of becoming aware of the incident.
Current law requires a person who owns a dog to have the dog licensed. The
statutes establish a minimum fee for a dog license but authorize higher fees to be

charged by municipalities and counties. The dog license fees are collected by
municipalities. A municipality keeps any amount of the fee that it imposes above the
minimum and pays the rest to the county. The law requires the county to pay 5
percent of the minimum dog license fee to the state and to keep the remainder of the
fee in a separate dog license fund. The county may use the dog license fund for
administering the dog license law and for the expenses of a pound for dogs run by the
county or a humane society. The law also authorizes a county to use any remaining
money in the dog license fund to pay claims for damages caused by dogs to farm
animals, dogs, or cats.
This bill requires a county to place into a separate dog damage reimbursement
fund 25 percent of the dog license fees that remain after making the required 5
percent payment to the state. This fund may be used only to pay claims by persons
whose farm animals, dogs, or cats are injured by dogs, except that on March 1 any
funds from fees paid for dog licenses for the previous year that have not been used
to pay dog damage claims may be returned to the dog license fund and used for the
purposes allowed under current law.
The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do
enact as follows:
AB161, s. 1 1Section 1. 174.05 (3) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB161,2,122 174.05 (3) Additional tax. The governing body of any county may by a majority
3vote of the members present at any regular meeting raise the minimum dog license
4tax on dogs within its jurisdiction and the governing body of any town, village or city
5may by resolution raise the minimum dog license tax on dogs within its jurisdiction.
6If the governing body of any county, town, village or city increases the minimum tax,
7it shall provide that the tax for unneutered male dogs and unspayed female dogs is
8greater than the tax for neutered male dogs and spayed female dogs. The additional
9tax may not exceed the total cost of all dog licensing, regulating and impounding
10activities for the previous year, less any refunds which may be received under s.
11174.09 (2)
, and shall be levied and collected in the same manner as other dog license
12taxes.
AB161, s. 2 13Section 2. 174.09 (1) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB161,3,12
1174.09 (1) Except as provided in sub. (3), the The dog license taxes so paid to
2the county treasurer or intergovernmental commission under s. 174.08 shall be kept
3placed in a separate account and shall to be known as the "dog license fund" and shall
4be appropriated and disbursed for the purposes and in the manner following: Within
530 days after receipt of the same, the
provided in this section. The county treasurer
6or intergovernmental commission shall pay into the state treasury 5% 5 percent of
7the minimum tax as provided for under s. 174.05 (2) of all dog license taxes which
8shall have been
that are received by the county treasurer or intergovernmental
9commission, within 30 days after their receipt. The county treasurer or
10intergovernmental commission shall place 25 percent of the remainder of the dog
11license taxes into a separate account to be known as the dog damage reimbursement
12fund
.
AB161, s. 3 13Section 3. 174.09 (1m) of the statutes is created to read:
AB161,3,2014 174.09 (1m) A county or an intergovernmental commission may use the dog
15damage reimbursement fund only to pay claims allowed by the county or
16intergovernmental commission under s. 174.11 to the owners of domestic animals
17because of damages done by dogs, except that on March 1 of the year following the
18license year for which dog license taxes were paid, the county or intergovernmental
19commission may transfer any amount remaining in the dog damage reimbursement
20fund from that license year to the dog license fund.
AB161, s. 4 21Section 4. 174.09 (2) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB161,4,1222 174.09 (2) Except as provided in sub. (3), expenses necessarily incurred by the
23county in purchasing and providing books, forms, and other supplies required in
24administering the dog license law, expenses incurred by the county under s. 95.21 (4)
25(b) and (8) and expenses incurred by the county pound or by a humane society or other

1organization designated to provide a pound for collecting, caring for, and disposing
2of dogs may be paid out of the dog license fund. The amount remaining in the fund
3after deducting these expenses shall be available for and may be used as far as
4necessary
for paying claims allowed by the county to the owners of domestic animals
5because of damages done by dogs during the license year for which the taxes were
6paid. Any surplus in excess of $1,000 which may remain from the dog license taxes
7of any license year shall on March 1 of the succeeding year be paid by the county
8treasurer to the county humane society or other organization designated by the
9county board to provide a pound. If there is no humane society or other organization
10designated to provide a pound, these funds shall be paid to the towns, villages, and
11cities of the county for their use in the proportion in which the towns, villages, and
12cities contributed to the fund out of which the surplus arises
.
AB161, s. 5 13Section 5. 174.09 (3) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB161,4,2414 174.09 (3) In a county in which an agreement under s. 174.10 (2) is in effect,
15the intergovernmental commission shall maintain the dog license fund , consisting
16of the dog license taxes
. The intergovernmental commission shall pay 5% of the
17minimum dog license tax provided for under s. 174.05 (2) to the department and shall

18expend the remainder of the dog license fund for the purposes of administering the
19dog license law, providing a pound for dogs, and paying claims allowed under s.
20174.11. If on March 1 there is remaining in the dog license fund a surplus from the
21dog license taxes of the previous license year that exceeds 5% of the dog license taxes
22collected in that license year, the intergovernmental commission shall return the
23excess to the towns, villages, and cities of the county in the proportion in which the
24towns, villages, and cities contributed to the fund in that license year.
AB161, s. 6 25Section 6. 174.11 (1) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB161,5,17
1174.11 (1) The owner of any domestic animal, including a ranch mink, when
2it is proven that a dog forcibly entered an enclosure in which the mink was kept,
3which is attacked, chased, injured, or killed by a dog may, within 3 5 business days
4after the owner has knowledge or notice thereof, file a written claim for damages with
5the clerk of the town, village, or city in which the damage occurred or, if it occurred
6in a town or village, with the chairperson of such the town or the president of such
7the village. The form of the claim may be prescribed by the department of
8agriculture, trade and consumer protection. Upon presentation of a claim the
9supervisors of the town, the board of trustees of the village, or the common council
10of the city, or a committee appointed for that purpose by the supervisors, the board
11of trustees, or the common council shall promptly investigate the claim and may
12subpoena witnesses, administer oaths, and take testimony relative to the claim and
13shall within 30 days after the filing of the claim make, certify, and return to the
14county clerk or, in a county in which an agreement under s. 174.10 (2) is in effect, to
15the intergovernmental commission the claim, a report of the investigation, the
16testimony taken, and the amount of damages suffered by the owner of the domestic
17animal.
AB161, s. 7 18Section 7. 174.11 (2) (b) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB161,6,419 174.11 (2) (b) Except as provided in par. (c), the county clerk shall submit to the
20county board at its first meeting, following the receipt of any such claim under sub.
21(1)
, all claims filed and reported, and the claims shall be acted upon and determined
22by the county board as other claims are determined and acted upon. Except as
23provided in par. (c), the amount of damages filed and reported to the county clerk
24shall be prima facie proof of the actual damages sustained, but evidence may be
25taken before the county board relative to the claims as in other cases, and appeals

1from the action of the county board shall lie as in other cases. A county or an
2intergovernmental commission may not allow any claim on account of damages done
3by a dog, unless the claimant furnishes satisfactory proof that the damage was not
4done in whole or in part by any dog owned, kept, or harbored by the claimant.
AB161, s. 8 5Section 8. 174.11 (3) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB161,6,86 174.11 (3) The claims shall be solely against the dog damage reimbursement
7fund and the
dog license fund and shall create no other liability on the part of the
8county.
AB161, s. 9 9Section 9. 174.12 (1) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB161,7,210 174.12 (1) The allowance by a county of any claim for damages done by dogs
11constitutes an assignment to the county of the cause of the action of the claimant for
12which the claim is filed, and the county may sue and recover from the owner of the
13dog or dogs doing the damages the full amount thereof and which shall not be limited
14to the sum paid the claimant by the county. The allowance under s. 174.11 (2) (c) by
15an intergovernmental commission of any claim for damages done by dogs constitutes
16an assignment to the intergovernmental commission of the cause of the action of the
17claimant for which the claim is filed, and the intergovernmental commission may sue
18and recover from the owner of the dog or dogs doing the damages the full amount
19thereof and which shall not be limited to the sum paid the claimant by the
20intergovernmental commission. Before any claim shall be allowed by a county or an
21intergovernmental commission on account of damages done by dogs, the claimant
22shall furnish satisfactory proof that the damage was not done in whole or in part by
23any dog owned, kept, or harbored by the claimant
A county or an intergovernmental
24commission that recovers money from the owner of a dog under this subsection shall

1place the amount recovered, up to the amount paid the claimant, into the dog damage
2reimbursement fund
.
AB161, s. 10 3Section 10. 174.12 (2) of the statutes is renumbered 174.11 (3m) and amended
4to read:
AB161,7,105 174.11 (3m) No claim shall be allowed by Except as provided under sub. (5),
6a county board or an intergovernmental commission may not allow a claim under this
7section
at less than the amount so certified and reported under sub. (1), unless the
8claimant shall is first be notified that such action is contemplated and shall have
9been
is given a reasonable opportunity to be heard and to offer further evidence in
10support of the claimant's claim.
AB161, s. 11 11Section 11. 174.12 (6) of the statutes is repealed.
AB161, s. 12 12Section 12. Effective date.
AB161,7,1413 (1) This act takes effect on January 1 of the first year beginning after
14publication.
AB161,7,1515 (End)
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