May 14, 2013 – Governor Walker has proposed increasing the fee for recording or filing most legal instruments with a county Register of Deeds from $25 to $30 in the 2013-15 biennial budget.
The proposed fee increase is expected to generate an additional $2.5 million in revenue in 2014-15.
Here is a breakdown of the current $25 fee appropriations, provided by the Legislative Fiscal Bureau:
General Revenue (County): $15
Land Records Modernization (County, if program is established): $8
Land Information Program (DOA): $2
Total (Basic Fee): $25
Optional Social Security Number Redaction Fee: $5
Total (Including Redaction Fee): $30
Under the governor’s budget proposal, the additional $5 fee would be applied to the Department of Administration’s Land Information Program to aid in the establishment of an “implementation plan for a statewide digital parcel map.” This would integrate individual county parcel map information into one statewide map.
Katie Stenz is the public affairs coordinator with the State Bar of Wisconsin. She can be reached at kstenz@wisbar.org, or by phone at (608) 250-6145.
With the revised fee, counties would not be permitted to use the optional social security number redaction fee beginning Jan. 1, 2015.
The Joint Finance Committee will be discussing the proposed fee adjustment this week during its scheduled Wednesday meeting. This fee is classified as a DOA—General Agency Provision.
