Senate Approves Four Hutton Bills

MADISON – Today, the State Senate passed four bills authored by Senator Rob Hutton (R-Brookfield):

Senate Bill 151: requests for information from employers about unemployment insurance claims.

Employers currently have seven days to respond to requests for information from the Department of Workforce Development regarding a new claim for Unemployment benefits. Those requests help DWD determine eligibility. However, employers frequently report that those letters arrive too late to respond, or even after the deadline, because of Postal Service delays. This bill extends the period employers have to respond from seven days to twelve business days.

“Improper payments cause unnecessary paperwork for the state and employer and create a sense of unfairness. This bill acknowledges the reality of growing Post Office delays by giving employers a few more days to reply to the government when they ask for details about a claim,” said Hutton.

Senate Bill 267: the fee for filing limited liability company articles of organization with the Department of Financial Institutions.

Current law waives the state’s $130 business startup fee for student entrepreneurs enrolled in college. This bipartisan bill expands the current law definition of “student entrepreneur” to include 18-year-olds enrolled in a public, private, or tribal high school and homeschooled students, waiving the limited liability company (LLC) filing fee for those students.

“This bipartisan reform will open doors for the next generation of Wisconsin business leaders. No matter in which fields a student finds a passion and an interest—from robotics to lawn care and everything in between—we should be removing barriers and supporting their pursuits,” Hutton said.

Senate Bill 300: eliminating the 13-week limit on the garnishment of earnings of certain debtors.

Under current law, a creditor seeking to collect debt must file a new garnishment action every 13 weeks until the debt is satisfied. This unnecessary re-filing requirement creates excessive paperwork and filing fees, which are ultimately paid by the person whose earnings are being garnished and can amount to hundreds of dollars on top of the debt owed. This bill eliminates the statutory 13-week paperwork re-filing requirement for wage garnishments in civil restitution cases.

“No one knows the original rationale for this requirement, but we do know that it creates unnecessary paperwork while making it harder for someone to repay debts a court has ordered them to pay. Streamlining this process makes sense for every party involved in a garnishment,” Hutton said.

Senate Bill 365: fleet registration of certain motor vehicles.

Current law allows the DMV to issue fleet plates en masse to fleets of vehicles like passenger cars. This bill expands that successful program to include larger vehicles like box trucks. As has been the case with the current program, this will save taxpayer money by streamlining a government function. It will also save time and money for fleet operators by eliminating the need to individually sticker each plate – especially challenging when these vehicles are spread out across the state or country.

“We should be finding successful reforms and expanding them. That’s what this bill does—it makes life a little easier for those keeping our economy rolling in the private sector and streamlines government,” Hutton said.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.