In 2015, Act 211 was implemented with the goal of improving the building permit process, however many
municipalities across the state began a duplicitous act of requiring home builders and contractors to submit a building permit both electronically and on paper, a process that greatly slowed down the process of starting
work on homes. The purpose of AB 117 is to fix and clarify the duplication that is occurring in many
municipalities.
“First and foremost, thank you to Representatives John Jagler and Amanda Stuck, and Senators Devin
LeMahieu and Janet Bewley for taking the lead on this legislation,” said Brad Boycks, Wisconsin Builders
Association (WBA) Executive Director. “We are grateful to the many members of the legislature and
Governor Evers for seeing the need of this legislation and joining together to pass and sign this bipartisan
bill.”
While a municipality can still mandate that a building permit be submitted on paper, AB 117 effectively
clarifies that a municipality must not require both online and paper forms. If a municipality does mandate
paper applications, they must accept any of the following:
• A printed copy of the municipality’s own permit application form
• A printed copy of the Department of Safety and Professional Service’s standard electronic permit
application
• The standard paper application form that DSPS makes available to the public
“This bill makes a very important change to the way the home building industry has been required by
municipalities to do business,” said WBA President Harvey Kessel. “Enacting this bill makes an important
improvement to ensure the building process continues moving forward. This legislation clarifies what our
industry needs in order to effectively execute for homeowners across Wisconsin.”
About the Wisconsin Builders Association
The Wisconsin Builders Association is a professional trade association comprised of 21 local associations
dedicated to helping members build communities around the state. We advocate the interests of 4,000
home building industry members to keep housing affordable and accessible for Wisconsin families,
Protecting the American Dream for over 70 years.

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