Some of the legal highlights of the Wisconsin state budget.

• Author: Ziemer, David

Byline: David Ziemer

New prison

The state will buy a 1,600-bed private prison in Stanley, 30 miles east of Eau Claire, for $75 million.

Expanded prisons

About 3,000 more beds, including those at Stanley, will be added to the state prison system so that more than half of the Wisconsin inmates currently in out-of-state prisons can be returned here.

Supermax

No one younger than 18 will be held in the Supermax Correctional Institution in Boscobel.

Civil legal services

The state will continue to fund civil legal services for low-income individuals using federal welfare block grant money, as supported by the State Bar.

Fees for health records

McCallum vetoed a requirement that the Department of Health and Family Services develop rules regarding the fees that medical institutions can charge for providing copies of health care records.

Personal injury attorneys have complained that the fees are out of line.

McCallum said current law already provides the department with the authority to develop such rules and that the department should proceed to do so.

Health records as evidence

McCallum vetoed a provision that would have reduced, from 40 days to 20 days, the time period during which a party must either serve health care records or notify the other parties of the location where records can be inspected or photocopied in order for the health records to be admitted into evidence at trial without testimony by the custodian of the records.

Family court counseling fee

McCallum vetoed an increase in the family court counseling service fee for custody and physical placement studies from $300 to $500.

Court interpreters

McCallum increased the state reimbursement rate to counties for court interpreters but vetoed expansion of the court interpreter program.

Court commissioners

McCallum vetoed a requirement that court commissioners be charged a fee for the costs of their continuing legal education classes.

"This veto will maintain the current billing status, with the fee being assessed to the county where the court commissioner is employed," McCallum said.

Juries

McCallum vetoed a proposed Joint Legislative Council of how juries are selected, including what actions are needed to increase the participation of racial and ethnic minorities on juries so that juries reflect the racial and ethnic composition of the areas from which the juries were selected.

He said such a study could be conducted without being included in the budget bill.

Civil action for abuse

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