Pretrial Release Resolution

The Wisconsin State Assembly passed a joint resolution this week that aims to fix our broken bail system.

Due to constitutional revisions made in the early 1980s, judges and court commissioners can only impose bail or other monetary conditions of release to assure that an individual appears in court. They may not consider other factors such as previous convictions of the accused or the need to protect members of the community.

When setting other, nonmonetary conditions of release, a judge may take into account the need to protect community members from “serious bodily harm.” Courts have limited their statutory interpretation of “serious bodily harm” to mean “death or risk of death.”

These parameters have opened the door for our courts to set low bail for most defendants. As a result, violent repeat offenders are continuing to victimize people in our neighborhoods while they are awaiting trial. We simply can't let this happen anymore.

The resolution passed by the Assembly changes the term “serious bodily harm” to “serious harm as defined by the Legislature by law.” This permits the state Legislature to allow courts to recognize such factors as human trafficking or child molestation when determining both monetary and nonmonetary conditions of release.

The constitutional amendment also adds components that a court could consider when setting bail or other monetary conditions of release if a defendant is accused of a “violent crime as defined by the Legislature by law.”

Bail may only be imposed if there is a reasonable basis to believe that the conditions are necessary based on the totality of the following circumstances:

• A conviction for a violent crime as defined by the Legislature by law
• The probability 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
• The potential affirmative defenses of the accused

Because this resolution seeks to change the state constitution, it will also have to be passed during the next legislative session. If that happens, the constitutional amendment would then have to go before the voters in a referendum.

For more information on the joint resolution, please click here.   

TID Bill Passed

In our second floor session of the week, the state Assembly passed my bill that allows the Town of Gibraltar to create a tax incremental district that will pave the way for more than 100 new workforce housing units.

If you are interested in reading my press release, please click here.

On a related note, the Senate companion bill received a public hearing this week in front of the Senate Committee on Government Operations, Legal Review and Consumer Protection.

If the legislation is passed out of that committee, the full Senate can take it under consideration. If passed by the Senate, it will then head to the governor's desk to be signed into law.

Ag Export Record

I am pleased to let all of you know that Wisconsin reported more than $3.96 billion in agricultural exports in 2021 – an all-time high for our great state.

The previous record was $3.85 billion in 2014.

According to the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, all product categories experienced large increases in sales from the prior year, with dairy up 14.6 percent, meats up 10.4 percent and crops up 20.4 percent. 

Even though our country is facing severe supply chain issues right now, I am proud that our state continues to be a leader in the agriculture industry.

Wisconsin is the largest producer of cheese in the nation and our cheese is recognized around the world for its high quality. Cheese consumption is rising particularly rapidly in Asia, which presents us with many market opportunities.

Agriculture contributes more to our state's economy than manufacturing and tourism combined. Knowing that, we must continue to build on this momentum and further expand our exports of agricultural products.