Wis. Stat. § 59.72 — WI Code / Chapter 59 / Section 59.72
Land information.
Status: in_force

(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 each document that is recorded under s. 59.43 (2) (ag) , other than a transportation project plat under s. 84.095 , 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 a document under s. 59.43 (2) (ag) 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 a document that was 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 document’s electronic format not viewable or accessible on the Internet.

History: 1989 a. 31 , 339 ; 1995 a. 201 s. 457 ; Stats. 1995 s. 59.72; 1997 a. 27 ss. 2175aj to 2175c , 9456 (3m) ; 2001 a. 16 , 104 ; 2003 a. 33 s. 2811 ; 2003 a. 48 ss. 10 , 11 ; 2003 a. 206 ss. 8 to 9 , 23 , 24 ; 2005 a. 25 ss. 1236 to 1238 , 2493 ; 2009 a. 314 ; 2013 a. 20 , 358 ; 2025 a. 234 .