Wisconsin Legislative Council
AMENDMENT MEMO
One Ea st Ma in Stre e t, Suite 401 • Ma dison, W I 53703 • (608) 266-1304 • le g.council@le gis.wisconsin.gov • http://www.le gis.wisconsin.gov/lc
Memo published: June 6, 2023 Contact: David Moore, Senior Staff Attorney
2023 Senate Bill 35
Senate
Amendment 1
2023 SENATE BILL 35
2023 Senate Bill 35 requires every application for original registration of a motor vehicle to include a
place for the applicant to provide emergency contact information, which must include the emergency
contact’s full name, date of birth, residential address, phone number, and relationship to the applicant.
The vehicle registration application must also include a statement that a form on which the applicant
may provide emergency contact information is available on the department’s internet site and at local
examining centers.
The bill also requires the Department of Transportation (DOT), as part of every application for an
original, duplicate, reinstated, reissued, or renewal driver’s license or endorsement, to inquire whether
the applicant wants to provide emergency contact information, as described above. It also requires DOT
to make available on its internet site and at each local examining center a form on which a vehicle
registrant or driver’s license applicant may voluntarily provide emergency contact information to the
department.
Under the bill, if an applicant provides emergency contact information, DOT must record that
information in its file for the person. DOT must also provide a method for a law enforcement agency
that reasonably identifies a person to electronically request and automatically receive the emergency
contact information recorded in the person’s file.
SENATE AMENDMENT 1
Senate Amendment 1 to Senate Bill 35 makes three changes to the bill. First, it limits the bill’s
provisions to driver’s license applicants; as such, it removes the requirement that every vehicle
registration application include a place for the applicant to provide emergency contact information.
Second, it prohibits DOT from disclosing the emergency contact of an individual who provides that
information, except to that individual or law enforcement. Finally, the amendment delays the date the
bill takes effect until the first day of the sixth month beginning after publication.
BILL HISTORY
Senator James offered Senate Amendment 1 to Senate Bill 35 on March 28, 2023. On May 10, 2023, the
Senate Committee on Transportation and Local Government voted unanimously to recommend
adoption of the amendment and passage of the bill, as amended.
For a full history of the bill, visit the Legislature’s bill history page.
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