Legislative wrap-up, part 1

By Gretchen Schuldt

Little progress was made this last legislative session to ease the state’s tough criminal justice laws, while Gov. Tony Evers — who took office talking about reducing the prison population — signed several bills creating new crimes and harsher penalties.

An oft-introduced bill that would have eased expungement rules and another bill that would have provided juveniles sentenced to life in prison with a chance at reduced sentences failed to get to the governor’s desk.

The Legislature has no more floor periods scheduled until the next legislative session begins in January 2025.

Here’s a look at what was signed into law.

Senate Bill 292, now 2023 Wisconsin Act 1 
The law lets municipalities adopt ordinances allowing law enforcement officers to grab up and impound a vehicle if all of the following conditions are met:

• The officer cites the driver for a reckless driving offense,  
• The driver owns the vehicle,
• The driver committed an earlier reckless driving offense, and
• The driver has not paid off an earlier forfeiture levied for an earlier reckless driving offense.

The ordinance can call for the vehicle to remain impounded until its owner pays off the earlier forfeiture and for the costs of impoundment, including “towing or other transportation costs and storage costs.” If the owner does not claim the vehicle for 90 days after the disposition of the ticket, the municipality can treat the vehicle as abandoned. 

Senate Bill 75, now 2023 Wisconsin Act 3
This law was enacted to implement two changes to the state constitution approved by voters in April 2023. Before the amendments, the constitution limited monetary bail to the amount needed to assure a defendant’s appearance in court or to protect members of the public from serious bodily harm. 

Voters approved changing the constitution’s wording from “serious bodily harm” to “serious harm” as defined by the Legislature defined it in law. The Legislature in this new law adopted a broad definition of “serious harm” after the amendments were adopted. "Serious harm" now includes damage to property over $2,500; economic loss of $2,500; or physical pain, injury, illness, any impairment of physical condition, or death, plus any related mental anguish or emotional harm.

Voters also approved allowing a court to impose cash bail for those accused of a "violent crime" as defined by the Legislature, “based on the totality of the circumstances, taking into account whether the accused has a previous conviction for a violent crime as defined by the legislature by law, the probability that the accused will fail to appear in court, the need to protect members of the community from serious harm as defined by the legislature by law, the need to prevent the intimidation of witnesses, and the potential affirmative defenses of the accused.” The new law defines "violent crime" with a long list of crimes and conforms statutory law to the constitutional change.

Assembly Bill 55, now 2023 Wisconsin Act 9
Prior to the new law, penalties for reckless driving ranged from a $25 forfeiture to a maximum penalty of 3½ years in prison and a $10,000 fine. The new law stiffens the penalties and adds surcharges. The penalty changes include:

• First offense – increases the forfeiture from a $25 to $200 range to a $50 to $400 range. 
• Second and subsequent offense – increases forfeitures from $50 to $500 to $100 to $1,000. 
• Recklessly endangering safety by unlawfully driving across a railroad crossing when required to stop – boosts forfeitures from $300 to $1,000 to $600 to $2,000.  
• Reckless driving that causes bodily harm – escalates fines from $300 to $2,000 to $600 to $4,000 and increases imprisonment term from not less than 30 days to one year in the county jail to 60 days to two years in the county jail. 
• Reckless driving that causes great bodily harm to another – boosts maximum penalty from 3½ years in prison and a $10,000 fine to six years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

People found guilty of reckless driving also will be assessed a $435 driver improvement surcharge and a $50 safe driver surcharge.

Senate Bill 76, now 2023 Wisconsin Act 10 
This law increases the penalty for carjacking while possessing a dangerous weapon, by use of force, or by the threat of the weapon. The maximum penalty jumps from 40 years in prison and a $100,000 fine to 60 years in prison.

Senate Bill 101, now 2023 Wisconsin Act 29
The penalty for causing the death of another by the unlawful distribution of a Schedule I or II drug or their analogs, ketamine, or flunitrazepam (“roofies”), or by illegally administering or helping to administer those drugs increases from 40 years in prison and a $100,000 fine to 60 years in prison.

Assembly Bill 47, now 2023 Wisconsin Act 31
Parole Commission transparency is increased under this bill. It requires the Department of Corrections to post, on the Parole Commission website, the individuals “granted parole, denied parole, and returned to prison following the revocation of parole.” DOC must post monthly and annual aggregate numbers showing:

• The crime for which the individual was convicted,
• The sex, race, and age of the individual, and 
• The county of conviction. 

The law mandates the agency post any guidance documents the Parole Commission uses in making parole decisions. 

The law allows family members of victims, who were under 18 years old at the time of the crime but who are now adults, to request notification of when the offender is requesting parole or is released on parole or supervision. The measure also increases, from three weeks to 90 days before a parole hearing, the deadline for notifying certain people that an incarcerated person has applied for parole.

Assembly Bill 166, now 2023 Wisconsin Act 61
There are new actions that constitute “sexual contact” in determining crimes against children and sexual assault. Those actions include “touching by the complainant of the ejaculate, urine, or feces of any person upon the intentional instructions of the defendant, upon the use or threat of force or violence by the defendant, or upon an intentional act of the defendant.” 

Senate Bill 485, now 2023 Wisconsin Act 133
The definition of financial institution robbery is expanded under this law to include robbery accomplished “by creating circumstances that would cause a reasonable person to believe use of force was imminent.” The definition previously was limited to robbery “by use of force or threat to use imminent force” to take property owned or in the custody or control of a financial institution.

Senate Bill 313, now 2023 Wisconsin Act 154
The penalty for failing to stop for a school bus when it is stopped and flashing red warning lights is increased under this law. The forfeiture rises from a $30 to $300 range, to $1,000. The Wisconsin Department of Transportation also must assess demerit points for any infraction.

Senate Bill 460, now 2023 Wisconsin Act 159
This law adds railroad construction and maintenance areas to other areas (such as highway construction areas) where workers are at risk from traffic. The law doubles fines for certain traffic violations committed where workers are present in a railroad construction or maintenance area.

Senate Bill 333, now 2023 Wisconsin Act 200
A new crime, sexual misconduct against a pupil, is created under this law. The new law prohibits certain conduct by a school employee or volunteer, including verbal conduct of a sexual nature, meaning “communications made intentionally for the purpose of sexually degrading or sexually humiliating the pupil or the actor, or sexually arousing or sexually gratifying the pupil or the actor,” according to a Legislative Council amendment memo. It also prohibits physical contact of a sexual nature. The Department of Public Instruction must revoke the licenses of those convicted of sexual misconduct.

Assembly Bill 437, now 2023 Wisconsin Act 212
This law increases, from $1,000 to $5,000, the forfeiture for a fraud-involved violation of an insurance statute or rule.

Senate Bill 875, now 2023 Wisconsin Act 217
Testing materials involved in detecting the drug xylazine or a xylazine analog are exempt from the definition of illegal “drug paraphernalia,” under this law. The law also provides civil and criminal immunity to anyone who distributes such testing material if a person dies or is injured as a result of the material’s administration. The person administering the testing material also is provided immunity, “except for civil liability for negligence in the performance of the act.”

​More to come in part 2.​