SB 643

Under current law, a town that has voted to construct or repair a bridge or

culvert on a highway maintained by the town may petition the county in which the

town is located for shared funding of the project. With certain exceptions, upon an

adequate petition, the county must pay one-half of the cost of construction or repair.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court in

Town of Madison v. County of Dane

, 311 Wis. 2d

402 (2008), determined that this requirement applies only to "highways in existence

at the time of a bridge's construction." Under this holding, counties are required to

share costs only for bridges or culverts that are either located on a town highway that

is currently in existence or will be connected to a town highway by the completion

of the construction. This bill clarifies the language of the statute to confirm the

holding of the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

For further information, see the

Notes

provided by the Law Revision

Committee of the Joint Legislative Council.