45.44 Veterans fee waiver program.

(1) Definitions. In this section:

(a) “License" means any of the following for which a fee is required:

1. A license under s. 13.63 (1) or registration of an interest under s. 13.67 (2).

2. A license or permit specified in s. 29.563 (15).

3. A license issued to a child welfare agency, group home, child care center, or shelter care facility, as required under s. 48.615 (1), 48.625 (2), 48.65 (3), or 938.22 (7).

4. A certification issued under s. 49.45 (42).

5. A license, certification, registration, or permit issued under s. 89.06, 89.072, 89.073, 94.10 (2), (3), or (3g), 94.50 (2), 94.704, 95.60, 97.17 (2), 97.175 (2), 97.22 (2), 98.145, 98.146, 98.18 (1) (a), or 168.23 (3).

6. An occupational license, as defined in s. 101.02 (1) (a) 2.

7. A license, certificate, or registration issued under s. 103.34, 103.91, 103.92, 105.06, or 105.07.

8. A license, permit, or certificate issued by the department of public instruction.

9. A license issued under s. 125.65.

10. A license specified in s. 169.31 (1m).

11. A permit issued under s. 170.12.

11m. A registration issued under s. 202.13 or 202.14.

12. A license provided for in s. 218.0114 (14) (e), (f), or (fm) or issued under s. 218.04, 218.11, or 343.62 or a buyer identification card issued under s. 218.51.

13. A license issued under s. 224.725.

14. A license, certification, certification card, or permit issued under ss. 97.33, 254.176, 254.178, 254.20, and 256.15.

15. A license, registration, or certification issued under s. 280.15 (2m) or (3g), 281.17 (3), 281.48 (3), 285.51 (2), 289.42 (1), 291.23, or 299.51 (3) (c).

16. A credential, as defined in s. 440.01 (2) (a).

17. A license issued under s. 551.614.

18. A license, certificate, or permit issued under chs. 601 to 655.

19. A license to practice law or admission to the state bar.

(b) “Licensing agency" means the department of agriculture, trade and consumer protection; the department of children and families; the department of financial institutions; the department of health services; the department of natural resources; the department of public instruction; the department of revenue; the department of safety and professional services and its examining boards and affiliated credentialing boards; the department of transportation; the department of workforce development; the board of commissioners of public lands; the ethics commission; or the office of the commissioner of insurance.

(2) Program. The department of veterans affairs shall establish and maintain a program under which the department shall verify whether an applicant is eligible for a fee waiver for the issuance of a license. Before approving a fee waiver, the licensing agency, or the supreme court, if the supreme court agrees, shall request the department of veterans affairs to verify whether the applicant for the license is a eligible for a fee waiver. If the department verifies that the applicant for a license is eligible for a fee waiver, the licensing agency or the supreme court shall waive the accompanying fee for the license.

(3) Eligibility. For the purpose of being eligible for a license fee waiver under the program established under sub. (2), an applicant shall be applying for an initial license, shall not have received a previous fee waiver under the program for any type of license, and shall be all of the following:

(a) An individual.

(b) A resident of this state.

(c) A veteran, as defined in s. 45.01 (12) (a) to (f), or one of the following:

1. A member of a reserve component of the U.S. armed forces or of the national guard, as defined in 32 USC 101 (3), who has served under honorable conditions for at least one year beginning on the member's date of enlistment in a reserve component of the U.S. armed forces or in the national guard.

2. A person who was discharged from a reserve component of the U.S. armed forces or from the national guard, as defined in 32 USC 101 (3), if that discharge was an honorable discharge or a general discharge under honorable conditions.

(3m) Reduced fee for certain licenses. An applicant who is applying for an initial license specified under sub. (1) (a) 16. and who has received a previous fee waiver under the program established under sub. (2), but who is otherwise eligible for a fee waiver under the program, shall pay a fee for the license that is equal to 10 percent of the standard fee for that license.

(4) Information on program. The department of veterans affairs shall establish an Internet website informing the public of the fee waiver program and shall include a list of the licenses and the licensing agencies to contact to receive each fee waiver. Each licensing agency shall also provide on their Internet website information regarding the fee waiver program and a list of the licenses that the licensing agency issues that are eligible for the fee waiver.

History: 2011 a. 209; 2013 a. 20; 2015 a. 55, 118, 179; 2015 a. 195 s. 83; 2017 a. 319, 331; 2017 a. 365 s. 112.