May 9, 2022
To: Certified Assessors, Assessor List, Municipal Clerks and Treasurers, County Clerks and Treasurers, Real Property Listers and Registers of Deeds
The Wisconsin Department of Revenue (DOR) would like to inform you of local government bills recently signed into
law. Listed below is each act, the state laws impacted along with a summary of the change, the effective date and contact information for questions.
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2021 Wisconsin Act
162 – interest on claims of excessive assessment and for recovery of unlawful property taxes
- Secs.
74.35(4) and
74.41(4), Wis. Stats.
- Summary:
- Changes the amount of interest a taxation district pays to a taxpayer who successfully files a claim to recover an unlawful property tax – from 0.8% per month to the average annual discount rate determined by the last auction of six-month U.S. Treasury bills. This matches the interest rate paid under current law by a taxation district on a successful claim for an excessive assessment.
- Allows a taxation district, after it has paid interest on either a recovery of an unlawful property tax or a successful claim for an excessive assessment, to collect from each underlying taxation district its proportionate share of the interest paid
- Effective date – January 1, 2023
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2021 Wisconsin Act
175 – loans and repayment assistance by a political subdivision for certain improvements to properties and collection of the debt by special charge
- Sec.
66.0627, Wis. Stats.
- Summary:
- Expands the projects types eligible for property assessed clean energy (PACE) financing
- Changes the requirements for accessing that financing
- Changes the timing of when a lien attaches to the property
- Effective date – this act first applies to an application made to a political subdivision for a loan or an agreement regarding loan repayment to a third party on March 13, 2022
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2021 Wisconsin Act
196 – housing authorities
- Secs.
66.1201 and
66.1205, Wis. Stats.
- Summary:
- Authorizes a housing authority created by a first-class city (presently, the city of Milwaukee) to prepare, carry out, acquire, lease, and operate mixed developments, and to provide for the construction, reconstruction, improvement, alteration, or repair of any mixed development or any part of a mixed development. However, the authority for mixed development extends only to property wholly or partially owned by such a housing authority before October 1, 2021.
- Effective date – (1) the treatment of sec. 66.1201 (10) (i) first applies to a tenant displaced on the effective date of this subsection. (2) the treatment of sec. 66.1201 (24) (a) first applies to a contract entered into on March 20, 2022.
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2021 Wisconsin Act
198 – local land use restrictions
- Various sections
- Statutes amended – secs.
30.745(2)(c),
32.03(6)(b),
62.23(2),
62.23(7a)(a),
62.23(7a)(b),
66.0415(1),
236.10(1)(b)(intro.),
236.10(2),
254.57, Wis. Stats.
- Summary:
- Changes certain restrictions on local land use, including limiting annexations and boundary agreements by newly incorporated cities and villages; allowing annexation of town territory across county lines; limiting municipal extraterritorial land division and zoning powers; prohibiting municipalities from using condemnation to acquire certain blighted properties for the purpose of transferring the property to third-party developers; and modifying requirements relating to interim ordinances to freeze extraterritorial zoning.
- Effective date:
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Extraterritorial land division and zoning power limitations – the treatment of secs. 30.745(2)(c), 62.23(2) and (7a)(a) and (am), 66.0415 (1), 236.10 (1)(b)(intro.) and (2), and 254.57 first applies to extraterritorial zoning, land division, or navigation ordinances that are in effect on March 20, 2022
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Interim zoning – the treatment of sec. 62.23(7a)(b) first applies to an interim zoning ordinance that is in effect on the effective date of this subsection, except that the change in the permitted duration of an interim zoning ordinance under sec. 62.23 (7a)(b) to 18 months, before any extension, first applies to an interim zoning ordinance that is adopted on the effective date of this subsection
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Limitations on newly created incorporated village or city – the treatment of sec. 66.02165 first applies to the incorporation of a city or village by a petition filed with the circuit court under sec. 66.0203(2)(b) on January 1, 2022. For purposes of this subsection, a petition refiled with the circuit court within one year of dismissal due to deficiencies in formal signature requirements or failure to meet the minimum requirements under sec. 66.0205, or a new petition submitted within one year of a determination of the incorporation review board under sec. 66.0203(9)(e)3., shall be treated as having been filed with the circuit court on the date of filing of the original petition.
- Questions – contact the Wisconsin Department of Administration, Municipal Boundary Review at wimunicipalboundaryreview@wi.gov
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2021 Wisconsin Act
216 – distributing the proceeds from the sale of tax delinquent property to the former owner
- Sec.
75.36(3)(c), Wis. Stats.
- Summary:
- Entitles a former owner to receive the net proceeds from the sale of property regardless of whether the former owner used the property as a homestead
- Removes the requirement that a former owner request payment within 60 days of receiving notice, and removes the county's deduction of the penalty amounts described above (while retaining the deduction of county costs)
- Requires the county to use the net proceeds to pay off any lien placed on the property at the time of the sale. If the net proceeds cannot satisfy all liens, the county must pay lienholders in priority based upon the date of the lien. A former owner forfeits the right to any net proceeds if the county cannot locate the former owner within five years of providing notice that the former owner may be entitled to a share of the proceeds. If the net proceeds cannot satisfy all liens, the circuit court for the county in which the property is located determines the priority in which the county pays lienholders.
- Effective date – this act first applies to tax deeds acquired on April 2, 2022
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2021 Wisconsin Act
230 – managed forest land (MFL) program
- Secs.
77.82,
77.83 and
77.88, Wis. Stats.
- Summary:
- Retains the 20-acre minimum acreage requirement but allows the 20-acre parcel to be composed of two 10 contiguous acre portions, that are not contiguous to each other, if they are on a tract of land under the same ownership. This change applies to land designated as MFL by an order issued or renewed on or after April 16, 2016.
- Removes “accessory building" from the list of prohibited improvements. For orders issued or renewed on or after April 16, 2016, Act 230 creates an exception to that general prohibition for buildings used exclusively for storage.
- Removes the minimum three-acre requirement and allows a parcel of any size to be added if it is contiguous to MFL land under the same ownership. If the additional parcel is not contiguous, it must be at least 10 acres, and must meet the eligibility criteria from the original enrollment order.
- Effective date:
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Buildings on parcels – the treatment of sec. 77.82 (1) (bp) 1. a. and 4. first applies to land designated as managed forest land under an order issued or renewed on April 16, 2016
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Material change – the treatment of sec. 77.82 (11) first applies to a statutory change or a rule change that takes effect on the effective date of this subsection
- Questions – contact the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources,
Forest Tax Help Center
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2021 Wisconsin Act
233 – Tax Incremental District (TID) special exception for Town of Gibraltar, Door County
- Sec.
60.23(32)(b)1., Wis. Stats.
- Summary – allows the Town of Gibraltar, Door County, to create a TID in the same manner as a city or village
Questions – in addition to the Wisconsin state agencies listed above, contact:
- lgs@wisconsin.gov – for local government finance
- tif@wisconsin.gov – for tax incremental finance