MADISON, WI… Three more bills authored by State Sen. André Jacque (R-De Pere) were signed into law today, including two initiatives designed to help military members meet their family responsibilities while serving our country.
“Those who serve our nation in uniform have enough on their minds just fulfilling their mission,” Sen. Jacque said. “These measures will hopefully provide some peace of mind and make it easier for them to take care of their families so they can perform their duties for us.”
A Uniform Deployed Parents Custody and Visitation Act (Senate Bill 108) – This bill creates a process and standards for temporary delegation of custodial responsibilities when a parent is deployed in military or national service. For a specific period of time, that parent may grant his or her custodial responsibilities or visitation to stepparents, grandparents, great-grandparents, or adults who have a parent-like relationship with the child.
“Temporary custody and placement arrangements are often challenging for military families during deployment,” Sen. Jacque said. “This legislation would help give these families a sense of certainty during a tour of duty.”
Stable Child Support (Senate Bill 104) – The Department of Children and Families (DCF) currently includes variable military housing costs when determining gross income for calculating a service member’s child support payments. However, when they are transferred to a state with a lower housing allowance, their child support payments are not altered to reflect their reduction in income, unless service members seek a modification in court. This bill requires DCF to include basic housing costs – not variable – when calculating child support.
“The current use of variable housing costs, rather than base housing costs, leads to an increased number of court actions for a revision of child support upon each military move,” Sen. Jacque said. “The use of base housing costs would create stability and better reflect the service member’s actual income.”
Another new law, The Ease of Easements Act (Senate Bill 682), creates the same exception to the 40-year recording requirement for access easements as currently applies to conservation easements, utilities and railroads easements.
“Property owners are generally unaware that the easements have expired, because that typically requires a title examination,” Sen. Jacque said. “For property owners, sellers and buyers, it is a shock for an owner to discover the easement providing access to the property has expired just as the property is going to be sold to a purchaser.”
Senator André Jacque represents Northeast Wisconsin’s First Senate District, consisting of Door and Kewaunee Counties and portions of Brown, Calumet, Manitowoc, and Outagamie counties.
