An Act to repeal 814.705 (2); to amend 59.32 (1), 814.60 (1), 814.61 (1) (a), 814.61 (1) (b), 814.61 (3), 814.61 (4), 814.61 (5) (am) (intro.), 814.61 (6), 814.61 (7) (a), 814.61 (7) (b), 814.61 (8) (am) 1. and 2., 814.61 (9), 814.61 (11), 814.61 (12) (a) 1., 814.61 (12) (c), 814.61 (13), 814.61 (13m), 814.61 (14), 814.615 (1) (a) 2., 814.615 (1) (a) 3., 814.62 (1), 814.62 (2), 814.62 (3) (a), 814.62 (4), 814.63 (1) (b), 814.63 (2), 814.65 (1), 814.66 (1) (a) 2., 814.66 (1) (b) 2., 814.66 (1) (c), 814.66 (1) (e), 814.66 (1) (f), 814.66 (1) (g), 814.66 (1) (i), 814.66 (1) (j), 814.66 (1) (k), 814.66 (1) (L), 814.66 (1) (n), 814.66 (1) (o), 814.66 (3), 814.67 (1) (a) 1., 814.67 (1) (a) 2., 814.67 (1) (am), 814.67 (1) (b) 1., 814.67 (1) (bg), 814.67 (1) (c) 1. (intro.), 814.68 (1) (a), 814.68 (2), 814.70 (1), 814.70 (2), 814.70 (3) (a), 814.70 (3) (b), 814.70 (4) (a), 814.70 (4) (b), 814.70 (7), 814.70 (8), 814.70 (9) (a) (intro.), 814.70 (9) (b), 814.70 (12), 814.72, 814.85 (1) (c), 814.85 (2), 814.86 (1) and 814.86 (2); to create 814.59, 814.595, 814.85 (3) and 814.86 (1s) of the statutes; Relating to: increasing certain court fees and surcharges and indexing those amounts for inflation. (FE)
AB320 is a court-fee and surcharge increase bill that raises a wide range of filing fees, service fees, witness and interpreter fees, sheriff fees, probate fees, and related court charges across civil, criminal, family, municipal, small claims, garnishment, estate, and appellate matters. It also creates a new framework for periodic inflation adjustments: beginning in 2030 and every five years thereafter, many of the listed fee amounts must be adjusted based on changes in the U.S. Consumer Price Index, with the Director of State Courts responsible for posting the updated amounts.
The bill also changes how the added revenue is distributed. In many instances, counties are allowed to retain the additional amounts generated by the higher fees, while specified base portions continue to be remitted to the state general fund or other state accounts. The bill ties certain mileage reimbursements to the federal IRS business standard mileage rate rather than fixed cents-per-mile amounts, and it repeals one existing fee provision in s. 814.705 (2). The act takes effect on the first day of the seventh month after publication.
AB320 would substantially amend Wisconsin’s court fee statutes in ch. 814 and related provisions, increasing the cost of initiating and litigating many types of cases and of using court-related services. It affects litigants, defendants, petitioners, municipalities, counties, sheriffs, clerks of circuit court, registers in probate, witnesses, interpreters, appraisers, and supplemental court commissioners, while also altering the flow of fee revenue between counties and the state. The bill’s inflation-indexing mechanism would make many court charges automatically rise over time, reducing the need for future legislative updates.
The main point of contention is likely the size and breadth of the fee increases, which are significant across many court functions and could raise costs for civil litigants, family-law parties, probate users, and people involved in enforcement or collection proceedings. Another likely issue is the shift in revenue distribution: counties keep more of the incremental revenue, but the state still receives designated portions, which may draw differing views from local governments and state fiscal interests. Because the bill raises fees in areas that can affect access to the courts, opponents may view it as a barrier to filing or defending cases, while supporters may frame it as a funding and inflation-adjustment measure for the court system.