SB 1066

Employment at veterans homes

Under current law, the director of the Bureau of Merit Recruitment and

Selection in the Division of Personnel Management in the Department of

Administration administers the state civil service program and the competitive

selection procedures. Generally, applicants for positions in the classified service

must provide an application and resume, which are rated and determine whether an

applicant will be interviewed for a position. Applicants are then interviewed by a

panel of individuals. This bill eliminates those requirements for applicants for

nonsupervisory positions providing direct care to residents of veterans homes. The

bill also allows veterans homes to fill positions for nurses, nurse aides, medical

assistants, and dietitians without using the civil service procedure if the applicant

graduates from an institution of higher education in this state or completes an

approved instructional or training program in this state, the offer of employment is

made before the applicant graduates or completes the instructional or training

program, and the offer of employment is contingent upon graduation or successful

completion of the instructional training program and eligibility for licensure or

certification, where applicable.

Under current law, the director must certify a register for vacant positions in

the state civil service within 30 days after a state agency requests to have a position

vacancy announced. The bill reduces that period to seven days for vacant permanent

positions at a veterans home. Also, under current law, the general term of eligibility

on a register is six months, after which the register expires. The bill requires the

director to maintain the register of certified eligible applicants for vacant permanent

positions at veterans homes until notified by the Department of Veterans Affairs that

the agency no longer needs the register.

Under the bill, the provisions described above sunset on January 1, 2029.

Wisconsin veterans cemetery eligibility requirements

The bill changes an eligibility requirement for an individual to be buried in one

of the state veterans cemeteries. Under current law, an individual who was

discharged under other than dishonorable conditions must have been a Wisconsin

resident in order to be eligible for burial in one of the state veterans cemeteries. In

select cases, children and spouses of eligible veterans must also be Wisconsin

residents in order to be buried in a state veterans cemetery. The bill removes the

Wisconsin residency eligibility requirements in determining whether an individual

or his or her spouse or children may be buried in a state veterans cemetery. The bill

also directs from which appropriation account some eligible individuals' burial

expenses may be paid.

Sexual assault under the Wisconsin Code of Military Justice

Under article 120 of the Wisconsin Code of Military Justice, a person is guilty

of sexual assault if he or she commits a sexual act upon another person by doing any