Legislation in Wisconsin ~
WSBA is Your Advocate
2023 ACT
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WI Act 27, August 2023
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On August 4, Governor Evers Signed Assembly Bill 233 WI Act 26, into law which allows a school board member to serve as a volunteer school bus driver.
2019 ACT
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WI Act 27, November 2019
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November 20, Governor Evers Signed Assembly Bill 22, WI Act 27, into law which requires commercial motor vehicle driver education courses offered by technical colleges or licensed private driver schools must provide instruction in the recognition and prevention of human trafficking.
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No later than June 30, 2021, the department of justice in consultation with the technical college system board and the department of transportation shall identify and establish industry specific materials for use in the instruction required under ss. 38.04 (4) (e) 8. and 343.71 (5) (h).
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2018 ACTs
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WI ACT 224 – Changed Insurance Requirement for Intrastate Passenger Motor Carriers – non-school bus.
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Effective April 4, 2018, motor carriers of passengers that operate solely in intrastate commerce, the minimum policy limit is the following:
1. For a motor vehicle with a passenger-carrying capacity of 15 or fewer passengers, $500,000.
2. For a motor vehicle with a passenger-carrying capacity of 16 or more passengers, $1,000,000.
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WI ACT 287 – Created a Criminal Penalty for Taking, Driving, or Operating a CMV Without Consent
2017 ACT
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WI Act 49, August 2017
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Trans 300.13 – Act 49 Repeals the rule that prohibited the purchase of a school bus previously titled and registered in another state or jurisdiction if the bus was more than five years old and used in school transportation. 2017 SB 134.
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The Act expands DOT's authority over intrastate commerce. The Act can be read in the above title link.
Signed into law on February 4, by Governor Walker, and published on February 5 (effective date), Wisconsin Act 135 expands Wisconsin DOT's regulatory authority over intrastate commerce. It requires that the certificates and licenses required to operate as an interstate carrier are also required for intrastate carriers. The bill allows the State Patrol to conduct motor carrier enforcement of intrastate motor carriers using the same standards used for interstate carriers, which enables the reasonable and effective enforcement of traffic safety on Wisconsin roadways.
Changes in language:
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Fees and taxes provided in this chapter shall be assessed against operations in interstate commerce and intrastate commerce and collected from the carriers performing such operations, as partial compensation for the use of the highways and policing of the same.
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Certificates and licenses for carriers in interstate and intrastate commerce may be denied by the department if it finds that the record and experience of the applicant evinces a disposition to violate or evade the laws or regulations of the state applicable to the operations proposed by the applicant.
Various Miscellaneous Changes to Commercial Motor Vehicles
Signed into law on December 16, by Governor Walker, Wisconsin Act 123 makes a number of miscellaneous changes to the statutes related to commercial motor vehicles (CMVs), to include the following:
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Prohibits a person from driving a CMV while using a cellular telephone or other wireless telephone, except to report an emergency. This will be classified as a serious violation.
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Allows DOT to cancel a CDL or CDL endorsement is the licensee secures, or attempts to secure, a license or endorsement by hiring or permitting another to appear in the person's place to take an examination or otherwise gaining or attempting to gain a passing score in an examination by fraud. If cancelled for this reason, the person is disqualified from operating a CMV for one year.
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If DOT receives credible information that a person holding a CDL committed fraud related to the issuance of the CDL, DOT must require the person to submit to an examination.
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Additional standard restrictions that may be included on a CDL to prohibit a person from one of the following:
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Operating a CMV equipped with a manual transmission
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Operating certain large passenger vehicles
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Operating tractor-trailer CMVs
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Operating a CMV equipped with full air brakes, or
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Operating any CMV without a medical variance
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Incorporates certain federal regulations regarding the documentation necessary to receive, and restrictions on, a CDL and requires the labeling of certain CDLs as nondomiciled licenses.
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Modifies the standards for determining which vehicles are air brake equipped.
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Changes the period of an instruction permit to operate CMVs or school buses from 6 months to 180 days.
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Requires on-site inspections of third-party driver skills testers biennially rather than annually and permits scoring drivers along with the third-party tester during skills tests as an acceptable manner of evaluating the performance of these testers.
This act takes effect in 2016.