The administration of the office of county sheriff and the appointment of county medical examiners, the official text

2025 - 2026 LEGISLATURE
LRB-5877/2
EVM:cjs&cdc

2025 ASSEMBLY BILL 866
January 16, 2026 - Introduced by Representatives Tusler, Behnke, Green, Knodl, Kurtz, Melotik, Novak, Penterman, Piwowarczyk, Wichgers and Brill, cosponsored by Senators Wanggaard, Testin and Feyen. Referred to Committee on Local Government.

An Act to repeal 59.34 (1) (b), 59.34 (1) (c), 59.34 (2) (b) 2. and 83.016; to renumber 59.34 (2) (b) 1.; to amend 20.505 (1) (ic), 48.06 (2) (a), 59.27 (9), 59.34 (1) (a), 59.38 (5), 59.40 (2) (o), 59.52 (8) (b) 7., 59.54 (5), 63.03 (3) (b), 63.08 (1) (a), 102.29 (11), 118.162 (1) (c), 118.162 (1) (d), 165.92 (4), 341.65 (2) (g), 342.40 (3) (c), 346.505 (1), 346.70 (1), 895.46 (1) (dm), 938.06 (2) (am) 1., 938.06 (2) (am) 2., 938.06 (2) (b) 1. and 969.07; to repeal and recreate 59.26; to create 59.23 (2) (sm) and 59.265 of the statutes; relating to: the administration of the office of county sheriff and the appointment of county medical examiners.

Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau
This bill makes various changes related to the administration of the county sheriff’s office. Among the changes, the bill does all of the following:
1. Provides a procedure for temporarily filling a vacancy in the office of sheriff when there is no undersheriff. Under the procedure, the presiding judge of the county’s circuit court makes the appointment subject to certain requirements. Under current law, such a vacancy would be filled by the coroner.
2. Provides procedural requirements related to the appointment of an undersheriff.
3. Specifies that the undersheriff performs the duties of the sheriff when the office of sheriff is vacant or upon incapacity of the sheriff.
4. Provides position protection for sheriff’s deputies appointed undersheriff in counties without civil service.
5. Provides that in order for a deputy sheriff accused of misconduct to receive a disciplinary hearing, the deputy sheriff must request such a hearing within two weeks of receiving notice of charges.
6. Removes the prohibition on a deputy sheriff being suspended or dismissed without pay or benefits until the matter that is the subject of the suspension or dismissal is finally resolved.
7. Requires that, if a deputy sheriff was subject to a suspension, demotion, or discharge prior to a final determination of disciplinary charges and the charges are not ultimately sustained or the charges are otherwise withdrawn, the deputy sheriff be reinstated and entitled to pay as though in continuous service.
8. Removes the authority of the county board to establish traffic officer positions outside of the office of the sheriff.
The bill also provides that when the sheriff is a party to an action, the county clerk is responsible for service of process and the performance of duties usually performed by the sheriff related to service of process. Under current law, these duties are performed by the coroner. Also under the bill, a medical examiner is appointed by the county executive or county administrator, if the county has either of these offices, or by the county board, if not. The bill also specifies that a medical examiner is removable at will by the appointing authority.
For further information see the local fiscal estimate, which will be printed as an appendix to this bill.

The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do enact as follows:

Section 1. 20.505 (1) (ic) of the statutes is amended to read:
20.505 (1) (ic) Services to nonstate governmental units. The amounts in the schedule for the purpose of funding personnel services to nonstate governmental units under s. 230.05 (8), including services provided under ss. 49.78 (5) and 59.26 (8) (a) 59.265 (2). All moneys received from the sale of these services shall be credited to this appropriation account.
Section 2. 48.06 (2) (a) of the statutes is amended to read:

48.06 (2) (a) In counties having less than 750,000 population, the county board of supervisors shall authorize the county department or court or both to provide intake services required by s. 48.067 and the staff needed to carry out the objectives and provisions of this chapter under s. 48.069. Intake services shall be provided by employees of the court or county department and may not be subcontracted to other individuals or agencies, except any county which had intake services subcontracted from the county sheriff’s department office on April 1, 1980, may continue to subcontract intake services from the county sheriff’s department office. Intake workers shall be governed in their intake work, including their responsibilities for recommending the filing of a petition and entering into an informal disposition, by general written policies which shall be formulated by the circuit judges for the county, subject to the approval of the chief judge of the judicial administrative district.
Section 3. 59.23 (2) (sm) of the statutes is created to read:
59.23 (2) (sm) Service of process when sheriff a party. When the sheriff is a party to an action or when the clerk of circuit court addresses process in any action to the county clerk as provided under s. 59.40 (2) (o), serve and execute process and perform duties of the sheriff related to service of process. The clerk and the clerk’s sureties are liable in the same manner and to the same extent on the clerk’s official bonds as sheriffs and their sureties are liable when exercising the same powers.
Section 4. 59.26 of the statutes is repealed and recreated to read:
59.26 Sheriff; undersheriff. (1) Appointment and removal. (a) No later than 10 days after taking office and no later than 10 days after the occurrence of a vacancy, the sheriff shall appoint an undersheriff. The undersheriff shall be a
resident of the county and a law enforcement officer or jail officer certified under s. 165.86.
(b) An undersheriff may be removed at the pleasure of the sheriff.
(c) The appointment or removal of an undersheriff shall be in writing and shall be filed and recorded with the county clerk.
(d) 1. In counties in which the sheriff’s office is under civil service, the sheriff and county shall place on leave of absence a deputy sheriff who is appointed by the sheriff to the position of undersheriff, upon the deputy’s acceptance of the appointment. A deputy sheriff in a county under civil service who is placed on leave of absence under this subdivision shall immediately be returned to the position of deputy sheriff without loss of any rights under the civil service law upon completion of the appointment unless the deputy sheriff is otherwise disciplined under s. 59.265.
2. a. Except as provided in subd. 2. b., in counties in which the sheriff’s office is not under civil service, a deputy sheriff who is appointed undersheriff shall upon completion of the appointive position be returned to the position of deputy sheriff. Upon the return to the position of deputy sheriff, the person shall be placed at a rank determined by the sheriff and paid the same salary and provided the same tenure and seniority the person would have received had the person not taken the undersheriff appointment.
b. A sheriff may grant a deputy sheriff who is appointed undersheriff a leave of absence from the position of deputy sheriff. Upon completion of the appointive position, a person granted a leave of absence under this subdivision 2. b. shall be
returned to the person’s former position without loss of any rights under the civil service law.
(2) Office and duties. (a) The undersheriff shall also be known as the chief deputy sheriff and shall have the same powers and duties as a deputy sheriff.
(b) 1. Upon a vacancy in the office of sheriff, the undersheriff shall act as sheriff until the vacancy is filled.
2. Upon incapacity of the sheriff, the undersheriff shall act as sheriff until the sheriff returns and is no longer incapacitated or the office of sheriff becomes vacant. Incapacity under this subdivision shall be determined by either the sheriff or by the chief judge of the judicial administrative district in which the county is located. A petition to request the chief judge to declare incapacity shall be initiated by two-thirds vote of all supervisors entitled to seats on the county board and the chief judge shall hold any hearing and accept any evidence the chief judge deems appropriate. Any incapacity declared by the chief judge may be lifted upon application of the county board or sheriff following presentation of evidence the chief judge deems appropriate.
3. If the office of sheriff becomes vacant and there is no undersheriff, the county clerk shall submit proof of the vacancy to the presiding judge of the county’s circuit court. The presiding judge shall determine if the office is vacant based on the submission and, if the office is determined to be vacant, shall appoint a resident of the county to act as sheriff until the vacancy is filled. The appointment shall be in writing and shall be filed and recorded in the office of the clerk. Upon receipt of the filing, the clerk shall notify the appointed person of the appointment. No later than 10 days after receiving notification of the appointment, the appointee shall
execute and file an official bond in the same amount and approved in the same manner provided for the sheriff. If the required bond is not executed and filed, the appointing judge shall appoint another person in the manner provided under this subdivision.
(c) If, on the effective date of this paragraph .... [LRB inserts date], the chief deputy sheriff is a defined position under an ordinance or a collective bargaining agreement, a deputy sheriff then serving as chief deputy sheriff shall continue at the same salary and shall have the same tenure and seniority as to other deputy sheriffs that the person would have had if the chief deputy sheriff position had continued to be a civil service position or subject to the protections of a collective bargaining agreement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, a sheriff in a county described in this paragraph is not required to appoint the chief deputy sheriff to the appointive position of undersheriff.
(3) Limitation on board authority. The board may not eliminate the office of undersheriff and may not assign the appointment of undersheriff to an authority other than the sheriff.
Section 5. 59.265 of the statutes is created to read:
59.265 Sheriff; deputies. (1) Appointment and tenure. (a) Not later than 10 days after taking office, subject to sub. (3), the sheriff shall appoint deputy sheriffs for the county as follows:
1. One for each city and village in the county that has 1,000 or more inhabitants.
2. One for each assembly district in the county, except the district in which the
undersheriff resides, that contains a village having less than 1,000 inhabitants and does not contain a city or village having more than 1,000 inhabitants.
(b) Subject to subs. (2) to (3), and s. 59.22 (2) (c) 1. b., the sheriff may appoint as many other deputy sheriffs as the sheriff considers proper.
(c) Subject to sub. (3), the sheriff may fill vacancies in the office of any appointee, and may appoint a person to take the place of any deputy sheriff who becomes incapable of executing the duties of that office.
(d) The sheriff or the undersheriff may also deputize in writing other persons to perform particular acts.
(e) Except as provided under sub. (3), a county ordinance, or the terms of an applicable collective bargaining agreement, a deputy sheriff may be removed at the pleasure of the sheriff.
(f) 1. In this paragraph, “external security check” means a security check of areas immediately adjacent to a military installation, or of critical concern to the installation’s commander as determined by the commander, for the sole purpose of protecting the installation’s state and federal personnel, assets, and equipment.
2. The sheriff or undersheriff may deputize in writing security officers employed by the department of military affairs, subject to the approval of the adjutant general or his or her designee, for the purpose of conducting routine external security checks around military installations in this state. The sheriff or undersheriff shall specify in writing the jurisdiction of an officer deputized under this paragraph.
3. Subsection (2) (c) does not apply to an individual deputized under subd. 2.
The sheriff or undersheriff may revoke the deputization of a security officer deputized under subd. 2. at any time in the sheriff or undersheriffs discretion.
4. A security officer deputized under subd. 2. is a state employee for all purposes.
(g) Appointments under pars. (a) to (c) and removals under par. (e) and (f) shall be in writing and be filed and recorded in the office of the clerk.
(2) Board authority. (a) In any county with a population of less than 750,000, the board may fix by ordinance the number of deputy sheriffs to be appointed in that county at not less than that number required by sub. (1) (a) and may set the salary of those deputies.
(b) 1. Subject to sub. (4), the board may provide by ordinance that deputy sheriff positions be filled by appointment by the sheriff from a list of all persons with the 3 highest scores for each position based on a competitive examination.
2. In an ordinance under subd. 1., the board shall designate that competitive examinations under subd. 1. be held by a county civil service commission under subd. 5. or the bureau of merit recruitment and selection in the department of administration under subd. 4.
3. If the board has enacted an ordinance under subd. 1. and the sheriff fills a deputy sheriff position by promotion, the sheriff shall, subject to sub. (4), make the appointment to the position from a list of 3 deputy sheriffs who receive the highest scores in a competitive examination held as designated under subd. 2., except that the list provided to the sheriff shall include only deputy sheriffs currently employed in the sheriff’s office.