Wisconsin Code § 59.72

Land information
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(1) DEFINITIONS. In this section:
(a) “Land information” means any physical, legal, economic
or environmental information or characteristics concerning land,
water, groundwater, subsurface resources or air in this state.
“Land information” includes information relating to topography,
soil, soil erosion, geology, minerals, vegetation, land cover,
wildlife, associated natural resources, land ownership, land use,
land use controls and restriction, jurisdictional boundaries, tax
assessment, land value, land survey records and references, geodetic control networks, aerial photographs, maps, planimetric
data, remote sensing data, historic and prehistoric sites and economic projections.
(b) “Land records” means maps, documents, computer files
and any other storage medium in which land information is
recorded.
(c) “Local governmental unit” means a municipality, regional
planning commission, special purpose district or local governmental association, authority, board, commission, department,
independent agency, institution or office.
(2) DUTIES. (a) No later than June 30, 2017, the board shall
post on the Internet, in a searchable format determined by the department of administration, the following information related to
individual land parcels:
1. Property tax assessment data as provided to the county by
municipalities, including the assessed value of land, the assessed
value of improvements, the total assessed value, the class of property, as specified in s. 70.32 (2) (a) , the estimated fair market
value, and the total property tax.
2. Any zoning information maintained by the county.
3. Any property address information maintained by the
county.
4. Any acreage information maintained by the county.

(b) No later than June 30 following the end of any year in
which a county that accepts a grant under s. 16.967 (7) or retains
any fees under sub. (5) (b), the county land information office
shall submit to the department of administration a report describing the expenditures made with the moneys derived from those
grants or retained fees.
(3) LAND INFORMATION OFFICE. The board may establish a
county land information office or may direct that the functions
and duties of the office be performed by an existing department,
board, commission, agency, institution, authority, or office. If the
board establishes a county land information office, the office
shall:
(a) Coordinate land information projects within the county,
between the county and local governmental units, between the
state and local governmental units and among local governmental
units, the federal government and the private sector.
(b) Within 2 years after the land information office is established, develop and receive approval for a countywide plan for
land records modernization. For any county in which land
records are not accessible on the Internet, the plan shall include a
goal of providing access to public land records on the Internet.
The plan shall be submitted for approval to the department of administration under s. 16.967 (3) (e) . No later than January 1,
2014, and by January 1 every 3 years thereafter, the land information office shall update the plan and receive approval from the department of administration of the updated plan. A plan under this
paragraph shall comply with the standards developed by the department of administration under s. 16.967 (3) (cm).
(c) Review and recommend projects from local governmental
units for grants from the department of administration under s.
16.967 (7).
(3m) LAND INFORMATION COUNCIL. (a) If the board has established a land information office under sub. (3), the board shall
have a land information council consisting of not less than 8
members. The council shall consist of the register of deeds, the
treasurer, and, if one has been appointed, the real property lister
or their designees and the following members appointed by the
board for terms prescribed by the board:
1. A member of the board.
2. A representative of the land information office.
3. A realtor or a member of the Realtors Association employed within the county.
4. A public safety or emergency communications representative employed within the county.
4m. The county surveyor or a professional land surveyor employed within the county.
5. Any other members of the board or public that the board
designates.
(am) Notwithstanding par. (a), if no person is willing to serve
under par. (a) 3., 4., or 4m., the board may create or maintain the
council without the member designated under par. (a) 3., 4., or
4m.
(b) The land information council shall review the priorities,
needs, policies, and expenditures of a land information office established by the board under sub. (3) and advise the county on
matters affecting the land information office.
(4) AID TO COUNTIES. (a) A board that has established a land
information office under sub. (3) and a land information council
under sub. (3m) may apply to the department of administration
for a grant for a land information project under s. 16.967 (7).
(b) A board shall use any grant received by the county under
s. 16.967 (7) (a) and any fees retained under sub. (5) (b) to design,
develop, and implement a land information system under s.
16.967 (7) (a) 1. and to make public records in the system accessible on the Internet before using these funds for any other
purpose.
(5) LAND RECORD MODERNIZATION FUNDING. (a) Before the
16th day of each month a register of deeds shall submit to the department of administration $15 from the fee for recording or filing each instrument that is recorded or filed under s. 59.43 (2)
(ag) 1. or (e), less any amount retained by the county under par.
(b).
(b) Except as provided in s. 16.967 (7m), a county may retain
$8 of the portion of each fee submitted to the department of administration under par. (a) from the fee for recording or filing
each instrument that is recorded or filed under s. 59.43 (2) (ag) 1.
or (e) if all of the following conditions are met:
1. The county has established a land information office under sub. (3).
1m. The county has created a land information council under
sub. (3m).
2. A land information office has been established for less
than 2 years or has received approval for a countywide plan for
land records modernization under sub. (3) (b).
3. The county uses the fee retained under this paragraph to
satisfy the requirements of sub. (2) (a), or, if the county has satisfied the requirements of sub. (2) (a), to develop, implement, and
maintain the countywide plan for land records modernization on
the Internet.
(6) LAND RECORDS MODERNIZATION. With regard to land
records modernization as described in sub. (3) (b), if a register of
deeds transfers an instrument that was filed or recorded with the
register of deeds before April 1, 2006, to an electronic format, as
described in s. 59.43 (4), the register of deeds shall make a reasonable effort to make social security numbers from the transferred instrument’s electronic format not viewable or accessible
on the Internet.

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