Publications

State law regulates various aspects of mobile and manufactured homes, including the manufacture and sales of mobile and manufactured homes and manufactured home communities. This publication summarizes the Department of Safety and Professional Services' regulation of mobile and manufactured homes, along with the regulation of manufactured home communities.

Wisconsin law requires a person to register as a sex offender in a variety of circumstances, including for committing a “sex offense.” A court may also order any person convicted of certain other crimes to register as a sex offender if the court determines that the person’s conduct was “sexually motivated” and that it would be in the interest of public protection to require the person to register. Generally, a person required to register must do so for 15 years, though in certain circumstances, a person must register for life.

This information memorandum provides an overview of the primary methods of tax collection in Wisconsin and how state and local governments administer those taxes.

Wisconsin provides numerous forms of financial aid for higher education, including scholarships, grant and loan programs, and tax benefits. Eligibility criteria for these financial aid programs are set by statute. The Higher Educational Aids Board (HEAB) has primary responsibility for administration of Wisconsin financial aid programs.

This information memorandum focuses on state-funded financial aid programs. Other financial aid may be available from the federal government, individual higher educational institutions, or private organizations.

The Wisconsin Department of Health Services is statutorily obligated to oversee a student immunization program as part of the state’s efforts to eliminate certain diseases. The program includes vaccination requirements for all students admitted to any elementary, middle, junior, or senior high school, including a private school, or into any child care center or nursery school.

A “short-term rental” (STR) is a residential dwelling intended to be rented for a shorter period of time than a traditional lease. Common examples of STRs include properties for rent on platforms such as Airbnb and Vrbo. By preempting certain regulations, Wisconsin statutes outline a framework within which local governments must operate in regulating STRs. This issue brief provides an overview of that framework, summarizes recent legal challenges, and describes the current state of the law related to preemption of local ordinances intended to regulate STRs.

In Wisconsin, meetings of state and local governmental bodies generally are required to be preceded by a public notice, held in places reasonably accessible to members of the public, and open to all citizens at all times. These openness requirements, and the processes for ensuring compliance with them, are commonly referred to as the state’s “Open Meetings Law.”

2011 Wisconsin Act 10 was a budget adjustment act that included significant changes to public employee collective bargaining rights. Various aspects of those provisions have been challenged in state and federal court, and, in July 2024, the Dane County Circuit Court held that the act’s distinction between general and public safety employees is unconstitutional. This issue brief provides background information on the prior court decisions and highlights key findings from the Dane County Circuit Court decisions.