A bill that improves self-storage lien-sale procedures in the state of Wisconsin, Assembly Bill 707, passed the House on March 4 without opposition. On March 16, a hearing took place in the Senate during which the only objections came from representatives of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association, who disputed Internet use as a legitimate vehicle for due process.
 
If passed, the new law would give storage operators the option advertise a lien sale in a print newspaper only once rather than twice, which is the current requirement, and then post it in two other places. One of those places could be the Internet and the other a public location such as a courthouse.
 
Other improvements to the bill include a property-value limitation measure and limits on exposure to litigation involving non-tenants. The measure also redefines what constitutes a reasonable auction sale: three or more bidders.
 
Tim Dietz, vice president of communications for the national Self Storage Association, and Lisa Chiappetta, president of the Wisconsin Self Storage Association and a member of the national SSA Board of Directors, spoke in favor of AB707, saying self-storage operators should be free to use the most effective advertising options available. They also reminded the representatives that the legislature, not an association, is the arbiter of what represents due process.

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