A new Assembly Bill, introduced on April 23, 2025, proposes increasing grants to Wisconsin counties for land information activities, by allocating a portion of real estate transfer fees to the Wisconsin Land Information Program (WLIP).
Currently, the WLIP (housed at the Department of Administration, or DOA) distributes grants to counties using a portion of the $30 recording fee collected at county Register of Deeds (ROD) Offices (State Statutes s. 59.72 (5) (a)). In 2024, the WLIP distributed $3 million through Base Budget Grants (maximum of $100,000 per year), $720,000 through Strategic Initiative Grants and $72,000 through Training and Education Grants (maximum of $1,000 per year). An additional $6 million was retained by counties from the recording fees.
Assembly Bill 216 proposes allocating 20% of real estate transfer fees (currently set at 30 cents per $100 value, to be reduced to 20 cents per $100) to the WLIP, with 50% being retained by the counties and 30% going into the state’s general fund. Currently, 20% of all real estate transfer fees are retained by the county and the remainder is transmitted to the state (State Statutes s. 77.24 (2) (b)).
The bill would increase county Base Budget Grants to $175,000 and Training and Education Grants to $5,000.
The bill also directs the DOA to award additional grants to counties to fully distribute 46% of the amount of real estate transfer fees deposited into the WLIP fund each year, based on the relative proportion of fees collected in each county.
Under the new bill, the WLIP would receive funds from both the current ROD recording fee and the proposed transfer fee. That is, the fund designated for the WLIP (State Statutes s. 25.55) would consist of moneys received under ss. 59.72 (5) (a) and 77.24 (2) (b).
A state and local fiscal estimate of the impact of the Bill has not yet been published.