Assembly Bill 216 proposes significant changes to the real estate transfer fee structure and the administration of land information programs in Wisconsin. The bill reduces the real estate transfer fee from 30 cents to 20 cents for every $100 of property value, with the distribution of collected fees changing to allow counties to retain 50%, while 30% will go to the general fund and 20% to the land information fund. Additionally, the minimum grant amount for counties under the land information program is increased from $100,000 to $175,000, and the minimum training grant for county employees is raised from $1,000 to $5,000. The bill also mandates that counties establish a real property recording notification system to inform property owners of changes to their records, without charging any fees for this service.

Furthermore, the bill introduces a new grant system that requires the Department of Administration to distribute 46% of the real estate transfer fees deposited into the land information fund back to counties based on the fees they collected. This aims to enhance local land information systems and support county operations. The bill also includes provisions for the timely remittance of collected fees to the Department of Revenue and specifies that the changes will take effect 30 days after publication.

Statutes affected:
Bill Text: 16.967(7)(am)2, 16.967, 16.967(7)(b), 20.505(1)(uc), 20.505, 25.55, 77.22(1), 77.22