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Statutes > Wisconsin > 254 > 254.61

254.61

SUBCHAPTER VII
LODGING AND FOOD PROTECTION
254.61 Definitions. In this subchapter:

254.61(1)

(1) "Bed and breakfast establishment" means any place of lodging that:

254.61(1)(a)

(a) Provides 8 or fewer rooms for rent to no more than a total of 20 tourists or transients;

254.61(1)(b)

(b) Provides no meals other than breakfast and provides the breakfast only to renters of the place;

254.61(1)(c)

(c) Is the owner's personal residence;

254.61(1)(d)

(d) Is occupied by the owner at the time of rental;

254.61(1)(e)

(e) Was originally built and occupied as a single-family residence, or, prior to use as a place of lodging, was converted to use and occupied as a single-family residence; and

254.61(1)(f)

(f) Has had completed, before May 11, 1990, any structural additions to the dimensions of the original structure, including by renovation, except that this limit does not apply to any of the following:

254.61(1)(f)1.

1. A structural addition, including a renovation, made to a structure after May 11, 1990, within the dimensions of the original structure.

254.61(1)(f)2.

2. A structural addition, made to a structure that was originally constructed at least 50 years before an initial or renewal application for a permit under s. 254.64 (1) (b) is made and for which no use other than as a bed and breakfast establishment is proposed. The structural addition under this subdivision shall comply with the rules under s. 101.63 (1).

254.61(2)

(2) "Establishment" means a hotel, tourist rooming house, bed and breakfast establishment, restaurant, temporary restaurant or vending machine commissary.

254.61(3)

(3) "Hotel" means all places wherein sleeping accommodations are offered for pay to transients, in 5 or more rooms, and all places used in connection therewith. "Hotelkeeper", "motelkeeper" and "innkeeper" are synonymous and "inn", "motel" and "hotel" are synonymous.

254.61(3m)

(3m) "Potluck event" means an event to which all of the following apply:

254.61(3m)(a)

(a) Attendees of the event provide food and beverages to be shared with other attendees and consumed at the event.

254.61(3m)(b)

(b) No compensation is provided to any person who conducts or assists in providing the event or who provides food and beverages to be shared at the event, and no compensation is paid by any person for consumption of food or beverages at the event.

254.61(3m)(c)

(c) The event is sponsored by any of the following:

254.61(3m)(c)1.

1. A church.

254.61(3m)(c)2.

2. A religious, fraternal, youth, or patriotic organization or service club.

254.61(3m)(c)3.

3. A civic organization.

254.61(3m)(c)4.

4. A parent-teacher organization.

254.61(3m)(c)5.

5. A senior citizen center or organization.

254.61(3m)(c)6.

6. An adult day care center.

254.61(4)

(4) "Public health and safety" means the highest degree of protection against infection, contagion or disease and freedom from the danger of fire or accident that can be reasonably maintained in the operation of a hotel, restaurant, tourist rooming house, bed and breakfast establishment, vending machine or vending machine commissary.

254.61(5)

(5) "Restaurant" means any building, room or place where meals are prepared or served or sold to transients or the general public, and all places used in connection with it and includes any public or private school lunchroom for which food service is provided by contract. "Meals" does not include soft drinks, ice cream, milk, milk drinks, ices and confections. "Restaurant" does not include:

254.61(5)(a)

(a) Taverns that serve free lunches consisting of popcorn, cheese, crackers, pretzels, cold sausage, cured fish or bread and butter.

254.61(5)(b)

(b) Churches, religious, fraternal, youths' or patriotic organizations, service clubs and civic organizations which occasionally prepare, serve or sell meals to transients or the general public.

254.61(5)(c)

(c) Any public or private school lunchroom for which food service is directly provided by the school, or a private individual selling foods from a movable or temporary stand at public farm sales.

254.61(5)(d)

(d) Any bed and breakfast establishment that serves breakfasts only to its lodgers.

254.61(5)(e)

(e) The serving of food or beverage through a licensed vending machine.

254.61(5)(f)

(f) Any college campus, as defined in s. 36.05 (6m), institution as defined in s. 36.51 (1) (b) or technical college that serves meals only to the students enrolled in the college campus, institution or school or to authorized elderly persons under s. 36.51 or 38.36.

254.61(5)(g)

(g) A concession stand at a locally sponsored sporting event, such as a little league game.

254.61(5)(h)

(h) A potluck event.

254.61(5m)

(5m) "Temporary restaurant" means a restaurant that operates at a fixed location in conjunction with a single event such as a fair, carnival, circus, public exhibition, anniversary sale or occasional sales promotion.

254.61(5r)

(5r) "Tourist or transient" means a person who travels from place to place away from his or her permanent residence for vacation, pleasure, recreation, culture, business or employment.

254.61(6)

(6) "Tourist rooming house" means any lodging place or tourist cabin or cottage where sleeping accommodations are offered for pay to tourists or transients. "Tourist rooming house" does not include:

254.61(6)(a)

(a) A private boarding or rooming house, ordinarily conducted as such, not accommodating tourists or transients.

254.61(6)(b)

(b) A hotel.

254.61(6)(c)

(c) Bed and breakfast establishments.

254.61(7)

(7) "Vending machine" means any self-service device offered for public use which, upon insertion of a coin or token, or by other means, dispenses unit servings of food or beverage either in bulk or in package, without the necessity of replenishing the device between each vending operation. "Vending machine" does not include a device which dispenses only bottled, prepackaged or canned soft drinks, a one cent vending device, a vending machine dispensing only candy, gum, nuts, nut meats, cookies or crackers or a vending machine dispensing only prepackaged Grade A pasteurized milk or milk products.

254.61(8)

(8) "Vending machine commissary" means any building, room or place where the food, beverage, ingredients, containers, transport equipment or supplies for vending machines are kept, handled, prepared or stored by a vending machine operator. "Vending machine commissary" does not mean any place at which the operator is licensed to manufacture, distribute or sell food products under ch. 97.

254.61(9)

(9) "Vending machine location" means the room, enclosure, space or area where one or more vending machines are installed and operated.

254.61(10)

(10) "Vending machine operator" means the person maintaining a place of business in the state and responsible for the operation of one or more vending machines.

254.61 - ANNOT.

History: 1973 c. 190; 1975 c. 189; 1975 c. 413 s. 13; Stats. 1975 s. 50.50; 1983 a. 163, 189, 203, 538; 1985 a. 135; 1987 a. 27, 307; 1989 a. 269, 354, 359; 1993 a. 27 s. 65; Stats. 1993 s. 254.61; 1993 a. 399; 1997 a. 27, 237; 1999 a. 135; 2005 a. 348; 2007 a. 67, 97.

254.61 - ANNOT.

A city health department may inspect and license public school lunchrooms pursuant to a specific ordinance even though s. 160.01 (3) [now sub. (5)] excludes public school lunchrooms from state regulation as restaurants. The authority in the department of public instruction under s. 115.33 to ensure a sanitary facility is not precluded by sub. (3). 65 Atty. Gen. 54.