1. Increasing Penalties for Reckless Driving - Assembly Bill 55
Our current laws were grossly lacking of any teeth then it comes to fighting what has become commonplace on our streets. The fine for a first time offense can be as little as $25. In addition, reckless drivers causing bodily harm could spend as little as 30 days in jail, while causing lasting hardships to their victims. Many drivers don’t even take these fines seriously as 77% have gone unpaid since 2020 within Milwaukee alone. Governor Evers has recognized this as a major issue stating, “It has to stop. Reckless driving on our roads is affecting Wisconsinites across our state.”
This legislation doubled the fees and jail time associated with reckless driving. This passed with bipartisan support as 2023 Wisconsin Act 9.
2.Towing of Reckless Driving Vehicles - Assembly Bill 56
Reckless driving is often done with stolen vehicles, but there are a significant amount done with personal vehicles. Legislation was drafted to allow local municipalities to pass their own ordinance to allow police to tow and impound for reckless driving. This bill allows maximum local control and ensuring that those who have their car stolen are not negatively impacted.
This passed with bipartisan support as 2023 Wisconsin Act 1.
3. Driver Education Grant Program - Assembly Bill 394
This legislation created the frame work of the grant program after the money as appropriated in the state budget. State fees on insurance companies would be diverted into a grant program for driver's education for children on free or reduced price lunch.
This passed with bipartisan support as 2023 Wisconsin Act 86.
4. Mental Health Police Assistance and Crisis Telehealth Act - Assembly Bill 573
Wisconsin, like many other states, is struggling with a prolonged mental health crisis. The goal of this bill is to ensure law enforcement can better respond to mental health crises, minimizing the amount of involuntary commitments of individuals, save law enforcement resources and provide data on the effectiveness of the pilot program. Through the use of tablets, police would have access to virtual telehealth services 24/7 for citizens.
This passed with bipartisan support as 2023 Wisconsin Act 219.
5. Fleeing an Officer - Assembly Bill 574
Individuals who flee law enforcement endanger not only themselves, but the surrounding public. Statewide since 2018, we have seen a steady increase in injuries related to police pursuits with over 1,200 suspects, 185 law enforcement officers and 365 innocent bystanders – not including deaths. These numbers are staggering, but could be even larger as 50% of police pursuits become extremely dangerous and are terminated as a result. This legislation would increase penalties one level in addition to mandatory minimums for the causing of great bodily harm and causing death.
This legislation was inspired by a case that happened in Wauwatosa and sparked community outrage. As a result, a grassroots organization and the family began demanding accountability.
This passed with bipartisan support as 2023 Wisconsin Act 131.
6. Training Expenses for Officers Reimbursement - Assembly Bill 620
This legislation doubles the payments local law enforcement agencies receive from the state for providing training to their officers. This legislation further assists our law enforcement partners so they have adequate resources to train and staff the best individuals on a wide variety of skills to keep our communities safe.
The Biennial State Budget, 2023 Wisconsin Act 19, provided a secure funding source and enough resources to cover a doubling of the rate from $160 to $320 per law enforcement officer. This bill simply matches the commitment from the budget in statute, ensuring our local departments receive this same amount going forward.
This passed with bipartisan support as 2023 Wisconsin Act 227.
7. Design of Health Care Coverage for Public Safety Employees - Assembly Bill 120
A Wisconsin Employment Relations Commissioner (WERC) issued a ruling stating under that under Wis. Stat. §111.70(4)(mc)6 a “City [has] discretion to determine whether it will even have a health insurance plan for public safety employees.” This ruling is an incorrect interpretation of §111.70(4)(mc)6, and violates the legislative intent behind the statute.
If the Legislature had not intended for public safety employees to have health care plans, why would it allow negotiations on the premiums for those plans? Similarly, why would the Legislature unanimously require a municipality to cover the health insurance of fallen public safety employees if the Legislature did not intend for public safety employees to have health insurance? The WERC ruling would make these legislative actions a nullity.
This bill clarifies the existing statute regarding health care plans for public safety employees by specifying that existence of health care coverage, and who is covered by that coverage, is subject to bargaining between a municipality and public safety employees.
This passed with bipartisan support as 2023 Wisconsin Act 34.
