Catching up on legislation

By Alexandria Staubach

Gov. Tony Evers has been busy considering bills from the Legislature, tackling 51 bills on Dec. 6 alone.

In what WJI sees as a win for the criminal justice system, Evers vetoed Senate Bill 86/Assembly Bill 57, which would have erased prosecutorial discretion to dismiss or amend certain charges without prior authorization from the court and prohibited deferred-prosecution sentences for crimes. WJI opposed the bill’s lack of clear procedure for dismissal authorization and its prohibition of deferred prosecutions in appropriate cases. Those outcomes would have increased burdens on the criminal justice system without providing appropriate resources to deal with the fallout.

Voting and criminal justice legislation signed into law by Evers included the following:

Assembly Bill 335 (Wisconsin Act 52)
Specifies that if a candidate is convicted of certain election crimes, a court must order dissolution of the candidate’s committee and return of unencumbered campaign funds; also requires the court to appoint a new treasurer for the committee to carry this out.

Senate Bill 283 (Wisconsin Act 53)
Provides that if a municipality, county, or commission chooses to broadcast canvassing proceedings live in any election, including live stream or on the internet, the same entity must record the broadcast; the recording must be retained for 22 months.

Senate Bill 433 (Wisconsin Act 54)
Modifies current law so the requirement that presidential primary absentee ballots be sent at least 47 days in advance of the election applies only to military and overseas voters; all other voters will be sent the presidential primary absentee ballot at least 21 days in advance.

Assembly Bill 36 (Wisconsin Act 58)
Creates a six-month time limit for the state crime laboratories to process sexual assault kits and an expedited 60-day timeline under certain circumstances.

Assembly Bill 166 (Wisconsin Act 61)
Expands the definition of “sexual contact” to include instruction by a victim to touch bodily fluids with the purpose to degrade or humiliate the victim sexually or arouse or gratify the perpetrator for purposes of crimes against children and sexual assault.