Central Wisconsin News

State Sen. Robert Cowles and State Rep. Patrick Snyder recently celebrated the enactment of 2023 Wisconsin Acts 44 and 45, two new laws designed to address transportation concerns. These laws will provide permanent licenses to armed forces recruits and introduce electronic temporary plates for auto dealers. The legislation aims to ensure that members of the armed forces have valid IDs throughout their training period and also simplifies the process of plate issuance.

According to a press release from Cowles' office, both lawmakers jointly stated: "These new laws signed today will solve a variety of transportation issues affecting citizens across Wisconsin. With the enactment of these new laws, DOT will be better able to help the young men and women entering our armed forces, auto dealers of all sizes, persons purchasing new vehicles, and law enforcement officers, all with just a few small changes to prior statutes. We want to thank DOT, former Senator Petrowski, and Senator Pfaff for their work on these efforts." State Sen. Cowles and Pfaff authored these two laws in collaboration with State Rep. Snyder.

In another press release by Cowles' office, it was revealed that Act 44 came into being after discussions between the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (DOT) and the U.S. Army’s Wisconsin Recruiting Command. New policies in the armed forces necessitated valid state IDs for certain training programs which led to concerns about high school enlistees with probationary licenses expiring during basic training. This law now allows high school enlistees joining the armed forces to obtain a permanent license ensuring uninterrupted validity throughout their training.

Act 45 was initiated at the request of the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (DOT), according to another press release from Cowles' office. This act allows for electronic issuance of temporary plates to auto dealers during sales transactions, marking a departure from traditional methods where plates were printed in bulk and assigned to dealers. The change implies that plates are now printed at the dealership itself, facilitating real-time assignment to drivers and assisting law enforcement in driver identification.

According to Ballotpedia, Snyder has been representing Wisconsin's 85th Assembly District, which includes eastern Marathon County, Wausau, Schofield, Elderon, Hatley, and Rothschild since January 2017. This district is one of the 99 districts in the Wisconsin State Assembly.