13.92(1)(bm)
(bm)
Revision of statutes. The legislative reference bureau shall prepare copy for the biennial Wisconsin statutes, and for this purpose it:
13.92(1)(bm)1.
1. Shall formulate and prepare a definite plan for the order, classification, arrangement, printing and binding of the statutes, and prepare and at each session of the legislature present bills to the law revision committee of the joint legislative council containing such consolidation, revision and other matter relating to the statutes as time permits.
13.92(1)(bm)2.
2. May renumber any chapter or section of the statutes for the purpose of revision, and shall change reference numbers to agree with any renumbered chapter or section. Where the term "preceding section" or similar expressions are used in the statutes the bureau may change the same by inserting the proper section or chapter reference.
13.92(1)(bm)3.
3. May, where the application or effect of a statute, by its terms, depends on the time when the act creating the statute took effect, substitute the actual effective date for the various forms of expression which mean that date, such as "when this act (or chapter, or section) takes effect", or "after (or before) the effective date of this act (or chapter, or section)", in preparing copy for the biennial printing of the Wisconsin statutes.
13.92(1)(bm)4.
4. May delete useless words such as "of the statutes", "of this section", "hereof", "immediately above", "inclusive" and the like, where such words appear immediately after a chapter, section or subsection reference.
13.92(1)(bm)5.
5. May delete useless words in statutory references such as "any of the provisions of" or "any of the requirements of" and the like when they appear immediately before a reference to a chapter, section, subsection or paragraph of the statutes.
13.92(1)(bm)6.
6. May delete the word "hereby" wherever used in connection with the verbs "consents", "grants", "gives" or "declares" or other verbs.
13.92(1)(bm)7.
7. May substitute the word "deems" for the words "may deem".
13.92(1)(bm)8.
8. May substitute the word "may" for the phrase "is hereby authorized to" or similar phrases.
13.92(1)(bm)9.
9. May substitute "this state" for the phrase "the state of Wisconsin".
13.92(1)(bm)10.
10. May change an incorrect form of a pronoun to the correct form.
13.92(1)(bm)12.
12. May delete surplus words and modernize language in penalty provisions to correspond to current drafting style. No such change shall have the effect of increasing or decreasing any penalty.
13.92(1)(bm)13.
13. Shall, whenever any statute is affected by any act of the legislature, and may, at the bureau's discretion, ensure that the statutory language does not discriminate on the basis of sex by making the following corrections, which shall have no substantive effect:
13.92(1)(bm)13.a.
a. Delete any masculine or feminine pronoun or adjective, except where the statute clearly applies to one sex only, and replace it, if necessary, with terminology which does not discriminate on the basis of sex.
13.92(1)(bm)13.b.
b. Replace words of male or female gender, such as man, wife and widow, with terms such as person, spouse and surviving spouse, except where the statute clearly applies to one sex only.
13.92(1)(bm)13.c.
c. Make other corrections to remove from the statutes or to replace terminology which discriminates on the basis of sex.
13.92(1)(bm)14.
14. Shall prepare for introduction in the legislature legislation substituting English terms for Latin terms in the statutes.
13.92(1)(bm)15.
15. Shall identify for deletion by the legislature provisions that have no legal effect.
13.92(1)(bm)16.
16. Shall include an index of statutes of limitation and statutes establishing procedures for assertion of claims against governmental units or their employees in
ch. 893 of each biennial edition of the Wisconsin statutes.
13.92(1)(c)
(c)
Drafting records; when confidential. While the legislature remains in session the drafting section shall maintain the files for all drafting requests received during such session, but after final adjournment the drafting records to legislation introduced shall be turned over to the reference section under
par. (a) 3. Records of drafting requests which did not result in legislation introduced shall remain confidential at all times and may be maintained by the drafting section in such form as will facilitate its operations.
13.92(1)(e)
(e)
Legislative documents. Payments for the following costs shall be administered by the legislative reference bureau:
13.92(1)(e)1.
1. Providing printing and duplicating services to the legislature and its service agencies.
13.92(1)(e)2.
2. Printing of legislative proposals or amendments and, when so ordered by either house, engrossed or enrolled proposals, under
s. 35.05.
13.92(1)(e)5.
5. Microfilming, optical imaging or electronic formatting of reference materials and legislative drafting records under
par. (a) 1. and
3.
13.92(1)(e)6.
6. Acquisition of materials and information for legislative service agency libraries and legislative document production.
13.92(2)
(2) Duties of the chief. The chief of the legislative reference bureau shall:
13.92(2)(a)
(a) Employ, supervise and train the personnel assigned to the chief.
13.92(2)(b)
(b) Supervise all expenditures of the legislative reference bureau.
13.92(2)(c)
(c) Serve as editor of the biennial Wisconsin Blue Book.
13.92(2)(d)
(d) Cooperate with the legislative service agencies of other states and foreign countries toward the better exchange of information.
13.92(2)(f)
(f) Attend, personally or through a professional employee under
sub. (1) (b) designated by the chief, all meetings of the commission on uniform state laws under
s. 13.55 and the midwest and national meetings in which the commission participates.
13.92(2)(h)
(h) Recommend to the joint committee on legislative organization prices for subscriptions to the legislative document distribution service under
s. 35.87, including any portion of the service provided separately.
13.92(2)(i)
(i) Serve as editor of the biennial Wisconsin statutes. In preparing each edition, if 2 or more acts of a legislative session affect the same statutory unit without taking cognizance of the effect thereon of the other acts and if the chief finds that there is no mutual inconsistency in the changes made by each such act, the chief shall incorporate the changes made by each act into the text of the statutory unit and document the incorporation in a note to the section. For each such incorporation, the chief shall include in a correction bill a provision formally validating the incorporation.
Section 990.07 is not affected by printing decisions made by the chief under this paragraph.
13.92(2)(j)
(j) Prior to August 1 of each even-numbered year, report to the law revision committee those reported opinions of the attorney general, and those reported decisions of any federal district court, or any state or federal appellate court, in which Wisconsin statutes or session laws are stated to be in conflict, ambiguous, anachronistic, unconstitutional or otherwise in need of revision.
13.92(2)(jm)
(jm) Attend all scheduled meetings and serve as the nonvoting secretary of the committee for review of administrative rules under
s. 13.56. The chief of the legislative reference bureau may designate an employee to perform the duties under this paragraph.
13.92(2)(k)
(k) Approve specifications and scheduling for computer databases containing the Wisconsin statutes and for the printing of the Wisconsin statutes as prescribed in
ss. 16.971 (6) and
35.56 (5).
13.92(2)(L)
(L) In cooperation with the law revision committee, systematically examine and identify for revision by the legislature the statutes and session laws to eliminate defects, anachronisms, conflicts, ambiguities, and unconstitutional or obsolete provisions. The chief shall prepare and, at each session of the legislature, present to the law revision committee bills that eliminate identified defects, anachronisms, conflicts, ambiguities, and unconstitutional or obsolete provisions. These bills may include minor substantive changes in the statutes and session laws necessary to accomplish the purposes of this paragraph. The chief may resubmit to the law revision committee in subsequent sessions of the legislature any bill prepared under this paragraph that was not enacted.
13.92(2m)
(2m) Printing costs. Payments for the following costs shall be administered by the legislative reference bureau:
13.92(3)
(3) Treatment of certain legislative reference bureau employees. 13.92(3)(a)(a) Notwithstanding
s. 230.08 (2) (fc), those employees holding positions in the classified service at the legislative reference bureau on June 16, 1998, who have achieved permanent status in class before that date, shall retain, while serving in the unclassified service at the legislative reference bureau, those protections afforded employees in the classified service under
ss. 230.34 (1) (a) and
230.44 (1) (c) relating to demotion, suspension, discharge, layoff or reduction in base pay. Such employees shall also have reinstatement privileges to the classified service as provided under
s. 230.33 (1). Those employees of the legislative reference bureau holding positions in the classified service on June 16, 1998, who have not achieved permanent status in class in any position at the legislative reference bureau on that date are eligible to receive the protections, privileges and rights preserved under this subsection if they successfully complete service equivalent to the probationary period required in the classified service for the position which they hold on that date.
13.92(3)(b)
(b) Notwithstanding
s. 230.08 (2) (fc), those employees holding positions in the classified service at the revisor of statutes bureau on October 27, 2007, who have achieved permanent status in class before that date, if they become employed by the legislative reference bureau under
2007 Wisconsin Act 20, section 9130 (1f) (d) 1. or 2., shall retain, while serving in the unclassified service at the legislative reference bureau, those protections afforded employees in the classified service under
ss. 230.34 (1) (a) and
230.44 (1) (c) relating to demotion, suspension, discharge, layoff, or reduction in base pay. Each such employee shall also have reinstatement privileges to the classified service as provided under
s. 230.31 (1) and any other reinstatement privileges or restoration rights provided under an applicable collective bargaining agreement under
subch. V of ch. 111 covering the employee on October 27, 2007.
13.92(4)
(4) Wisconsin administrative code. 13.92(4)(a)(a) The legislative reference bureau shall prepare copy for publication in the Wisconsin administrative code.
13.92(4)(b)
(b) The legislative reference bureau may do any of the following:
13.92(4)(b)1.
1. Renumber any provision of the Wisconsin administrative code and, if it does so, shall change cross-references to agree with the renumbered provision.
13.92(4)(b)3.
3. Insert the proper cross-reference wherever "preceding section" or a similar term is used in the code.
13.92(4)(b)4.
4. Delete surplus words such as "of this rule", "of this code", "of the statutes", "hereof" and "immediately above".
13.92(4)(b)5.
5. Delete any masculine or feminine pronoun or adjective, except where the rule clearly applies to only one sex, and, if necessary, replace it with sex-neutral terminology.
13.92(4)(b)7.
7. Change any incorrect cross-reference to a federal or state statute, rule or regulation.
13.92(4)(b)8.
8. Delete "hereby" when it is used in connection with a verb such as "consents", "grants", "gives" or "declares".
13.92(4)(b)10.
10. Substitute "may" for a phrase such as "is hereby authorized to".
13.92(4)(b)11.
11. Substitute "this state" for "the state of Wisconsin".
13.92(4)(b)12.
12. Change any incorrect form of a word to the correct form.
13.92(4)(b)13.
13. Insert the U.S. code citation for the citation to a federal act.
13.92(4)(b)14.
14. If the application or effect of a rule, by its terms, depends on the time when the rule takes effect, substitute the actual effective date for a phrase which means that date, such as "when this rule takes effect", "on the effective date of this rule" or "after the effective date of this rule".
13.92(4)(b)15.
15. Delete obsolete rules promulgated by an agency that no longer exists.
13.92(4)(c)
(c) The legislative reference bureau may insert in the Wisconsin administrative code a note explaining any change made under
par. (b).
13.92(4)(e)
(e) The legislative reference bureau shall prepare and keep on file a record of each change made under
par. (b).
13.92(4)(f)
(f) The legislative reference bureau shall notify the agency involved of each change made under
par. (b).
13.92 History
History: 1971 c. 270 s.
104;
1973 c. 90,
333;
1975 c. 41 s.
52;
1975 c. 199,
266;
1977 c. 29;
1977 c. 196 s.
131;
1979 c. 110,
204;
1981 c. 372;
1983 a. 27,
29,
308;
1987 a. 27;
1989 a. 31;
1991 a. 39,
316;
1995 a. 27;
1997 a. 27,
237;
2001 a. 46;
2003 a. 33;
2007 a. 20 ss.
17dr to
17fm,
17he,
17Lr to
17nr,
17re,
17te,
17ve to
17xr.
13.92 Cross-reference
Cross-reference: For construction of a revised statute, see s.
990.001 (7) and cases cited under s.
990.001.
13.92 Annotation
Reports or comments of nonlegislative committees incorporated in the LRB analysis under sub. (1) (b) 2. are valid aids in interpreting a statute that originated from the committee. In re Estate of Haese,
80 Wis. 2d 285,
259 N.W.2d 54 (1977).
13.92 Annotation
The duties under s. 13.93 (2) [now s. 13.92 (2) (j) to (L)] are mainly ministerial and editorial; the revisor [now LRB] rarely proposes any substantive changes in the law, and if it does, the changes are very minor. Lornson v. Siddiqui, 2007 WI 92,
302 Wis. 2d 519,
735 N.W.2d 55,
05-2315.
13.92 Annotation
The following factors all evidenced that no substantive change was intended by a correction bill amendment: 1) the bill was a correction bill; 2) the bill contained a relating clause mirroring the revisor's [now LRB] duties under this s. 13.93 [now s. 13.92]; 3) the section of the bill in question contained a note explaining its purpose was remedial; 4) the bill was passed without amendment; and 5) the bill contained no amendment of or reference to the statute section whose meaning was claimed to be changed. Lornson v. Siddiqui, 2007 WI 92,
302 Wis. 2d 519,
735 N.W.2d 55,
05-2315.
13.94
13.94
Legislative audit bureau. There is created a bureau to be known as the "Legislative Audit Bureau", headed by a chief known as the "State Auditor". The bureau shall be strictly nonpartisan and shall at all times observe the confidential nature of any audit currently being performed. Subject to
s. 230.35 (4) (a) and
(f), the state auditor or designated employees shall at all times with or without notice have access to all departments and to any books, records or other documents maintained by the departments and relating to their expenditures, revenues, operations and structure except as provided in
sub. (4) and except that access to documents of counties, cities, villages, towns or school districts is limited to work performed in connection with audits authorized under
sub. (1) (m). In the discharge of any duty imposed by law, the state auditor may subpoena witnesses, administer oaths and take testimony and cause the deposition of witnesses to be taken as prescribed for taking depositions in civil actions in circuit courts.
13.94(1)
(1) Duties of the bureau. The legislative audit bureau shall be responsible for conducting postaudits of the accounts and other financial records of departments to assure that all financial transactions have been made in a legal and proper manner. In connection with such postaudits, the legislative audit bureau shall review the performance and program accomplishments of the department during the fiscal period for which the audit is being conducted to determine whether the department carried out the policy of the legislature and the governor during the period for which the appropriations were made. In performing postaudits under this subsection, the legislative audit bureau shall not examine issues related to academic freedom within the University of Wisconsin System. A postaudit shall not examine into or comment upon the content of the various academic programs, including degree requirements, majors, curriculum or courses within the University of Wisconsin System, nor shall any such postaudit examine into the manner in which individual faculty members or groups of faculty members conduct their instructional, research or public service activities. This subsection does not preclude the bureau from reviewing the procedures by which decisions are made and priorities set in the University of Wisconsin System, or the manner in which such decisions and priorities are implemented within the University of Wisconsin System, insofar as such review is not inconsistent with
s. 36.09. The legislative audit bureau shall audit the fiscal concerns of the state as required by law. To this end, it shall:
13.94(1)(a)
(a) Audit the moneys on hand in the treasury and all bonds and securities belonging to all public funds on deposit in the treasury or properly accounted for by the secretary of administration, at least every 2 years; and report the result of such examination in writing to the governor and the joint committee on finance, specifying therein particularly the amount and kind of funds and of all such bonds and securities. The bureau shall transmit a certified copy of such report to the successor secretary of administration.
13.94(1)(b)
(b) Audit the records of every state department, board, commission, independent agency or authority at least once each 5 years and audit the records of other departments as defined in
sub. (4) when the state auditor deems it advisable or when he or she is so directed and, in conjunction therewith, reconcile the records of the department audited with those of the department of administration. Audits of the records of a county, city, village, town or school district may be performed only as provided in
par. (m). Within 30 days after completion of any such audit, the bureau shall file with the chief clerk of each house of the legislature, the governor, the department of administration, the legislative reference bureau, the joint committee on finance, the legislative fiscal bureau and the department audited, a detailed report thereof, including its recommendations for improvement and efficiency and including specific instances, if any, of illegal or improper expenditures. The chief clerks shall distribute the report to the joint legislative audit committee, the appropriate standing committees of the legislature and the joint committee on legislative organization.
13.94(1)(br)1.1. Maintain a toll-free telephone number with voice mail at the bureau's office to receive reports of fraud, waste, and mismanagement in state government. Except as provided in
subd. 2., the bureau shall relay these reports to the appropriate bureau employee for investigation. If the bureau has a bureau employee investigate the report, the employee may consult with any state department, board, commission, or independent agency for any purpose related to the investigation. The bureau shall publicize the toll-free telephone number on the bureau's Web site. The bureau shall maintain records that permit the release of information provided by informants while protecting the identity of the informant. Any records maintained by the bureau that relate to the identity of informants shall be only for the confidential use of the bureau in the administration of this section, unless the informant expressly agrees to release the records. Appearance in court as a witness shall not be considered consent by an informant to release confidential records maintained by the bureau.
13.94(1)(br)2.
2. In lieu of requiring a bureau employee to conduct an investigation of a report received under
subd. 1., the bureau may refer a report to a state department, board, commission, or independent agency for investigation. The state department, board, commission, or independent agency shall conduct the investigation and deliver the results of the investigation to the bureau in a timely manner.
13.94(1)(c)
(c) Audit the central accounting records of the department of administration at least once every 2 years. A detailed report of such audit shall be filed as provided by
par. (b), and copies shall be provided to each member or member-elect of the legislature and shall be available in limited number to the public. The bureau shall also prepare a summary of such audit report, for distribution in the same manner as the Wisconsin Blue Book under
s. 35.84.
13.94(1)(d)1.1. At least once every 2 years, and at such other times as the governor or legislature directs, examine and see that all the money appearing by the books of the department of administration as belonging to the several funds is in the vaults of the treasury or in the several state depositories.
13.94(1)(d)2.
2. If the governor directs that such an examination be conducted, the order from the governor shall provide for reimbursement of the legislative audit bureau's costs in making the examination from the appropriation under
s. 20.525 (1) (a). No order from the governor for an examination under this paragraph may take precedence over any examination already scheduled by the legislative audit bureau without approval of the joint legislative audit committee. If a deficiency is discovered pursuant to an examination under this paragraph, the governor shall require the secretary of administration to make up the deficiency immediately; and if the secretary of administration refuses or neglects for 10 days thereafter to have the full sum belonging to said funds in the treasury the attorney general shall institute proceedings to recover the deficiency.
13.94(1)(dc)
(dc) At least once every 5 years, contract for the performance of an actuarial audit of the Wisconsin retirement system. The legislative audit bureau shall file a copy of each audit report under this paragraph with the distributees specified in
par. (b).
