Criminal Justice Bills
This update looks at criminal justice bills related to defendants and convicts. Following the last update, we are finishing up the last 14 criminal justice bills from January and February.
SB146 prevents people convicted of a violent crime that is a felony from changing their name or identifying by a different name. Sadly, the Governor vetoed this bill, putting our citizens at risk.SB419 was signed into law by the Governor as 2025 Wisconsin Act 107. This law allows the district attorney to apply for expedited testing for communicable diseases if the act or alleged act of a person exposed a public safety worker, a prosecutor, or a correctional staff member to a bodily substance that could transmit a communicable disease. The order may be applied for at any time.
AB677 was signed into law by the Governor as 2025 Wisconsin Act 88. This law creates a crime for grooming a child for sexual activity. The crime prohibits a person from engaging in a series of behaviors with the intention of conditioning, seducing, or luring a child for sexual contact or to create depictions of the child. The crime also adds grooming to the definition of child abuse, and expands the crime of sexual misconduct by school staff to include sexual misconduct towards any pupil in the state.
SB533 was signed into law by the Governor as 2025 Wisconsin Act 244. This law creates a prohibition that makes it a Class H felony to intentionally disarm a correctional officer who is acting in his or her official capacity.
AB666 was signed into law by the Governor as 2025 Wisconsin Act 112. This law creates penalties for filing a false claim with DOR for another person’s property with the intention of depriving the owner of the property.
AB672 does three things. 1) Creates a penalty enhancer if the underlying crime is committed by a person acting for a foreign government or terrorist organization with the intent of imposing the government’s or organization’s views on a dissident. 2) Requires DOJ to develop training programs to help law enforcement identify and respond to transnational repression, develop guidelines for preventing repression, maintain a list of perpetrators, and create public awareness. 3) Makes it a Class E felony to intentionally impede the monitoring or prosecution of the laws regarding foreign governments or terrorist groups. It was unfortunately vetoed by Governor Evers who apparently thinks that those who commit crimes in America on behalf of terrorist organizations or other foreign adversaries should not receive additional scrutiny.
SB610 allows the maximum term of imprisonment to be increased by 5 years if a person delivers, distributes, or possesses with the intent to distribute certain drugs within 1,000 feet of a homeless shelter. The Governor vetoed this bill.
SB620 was signed into law by the Governor as 2025 Wisconsin Act 98. This law requires the DOC to track and monitor using a GPS any person required to register with the DOC as a sex offender if they cannot provide an address.
AB768 was signed into law by the Governor as 2025 Wisconsin Act 194. This law prohibits the use of a drone at an altitude of less than 300 feet, over or within 500 feet of land with a water reclamation facility building, a gas or electric facility, or an internet or cable service provider.
SB782 was signed into law by the Governor as 2025 Wisconsin Act 245. This law creates a penalty for intentionally sending a false text to 911.
AB856 was signed into law by the Governor as 2025 Wisconsin Act 195. This law makes changes to the implied consent law in compliance with recent U.S. and Wisconsin Supreme Court rulings. This bill repeals provisions regarding persons who are unconscious or not capable of withdrawing consent being presumed not to have withdrawn consent for providing a blood, urine, or breath sample. The bill also repeals out-of-date provisions applicable to the intoxicated operation of ATVs, UTVs, boats, and snowmobiles. The bill eliminates the criminal penalties for refusing to consent to a blood sample under provisions applicable to the intoxicated operation of ATVs, UTVs, boats, and snowmobiles.
SB678 was signed into law by the Governor as 2025 Wisconsin Act 99. This law allows a law enforcement officer to collect a sample of a person’s oral fluids to perform a preliminary screening test.
I opposed this bill because some of technology being used can result in extraordinarily high false positives and innocent people being arrested. To see this study out of Michigan, click here.
I asked for an amendment that would limit the use of this technology to only being used when there is a high degree of accuracy (works quite well testing for THC) but could not convince my colleagues to take up the idea. Without this limitation, we are highly likely to have increased incidents of people having their civil rights being violated. And so I voted “no.”
SB814 was signed into law by the Governor as 2025 Wisconsin Act 180. This law requires the county where a person found to be a sexually violent person is going to be placed on supervised release, to perform an assessment of the residence to ensure it still complies with restrictions.
AB923 was signed into law by the Governor as 2025 Wisconsin Act 215. This law creates a civil cause of action for victims of sexual extortion for damages for injury, emotional distress, or loss of property. Earlier this session, we passed AB201 which increased criminal penalties to those who sexually extort our kids, and I was happy to support that bill.
This new bill, AB923, deals with the civil side of the sextortion issue. Current law has liability caps in place for any wrongful death lawsuits that are brought in civil court. This new bill would remove those caps but only for victims of this specific crime. I raised the question, “Why is one victim’s life worth more than another’s?” Rather than passing this one exception to the current law, we should decide what limits, if any, should exist for victims of a wrongful death lawsuits. That is why I voted “no” on this second bill while I supported the criminal penalty bill earlier this session.
In-District Events
Friday, April 17, Kettle Range Snow Riders Fish Fry at 314 West Main St, Mishicot from 4:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. More information can be found here.
Sunday, April 26, Menchalville Fire Department Pancake Breakfast at 15331 County Road K, Reedsville from 8:00 a.m. to noon. More information can be found here.
Sunday, May 3, Pancake & Porkie Breakfast at Larrabee Sportsman’s Club, Mishicot from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.
Friday, May 8, Mishicot FFA Plant Sale at 660 Washington Street, Mishicot from 7:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. More information can be found here.
Saturday, May 9, Kellnersville First Responders Spring Raffle and Brat Fry at 807 Main St, Kellnersville from 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. More information can be found here.
Saturday, May 9, Riverside Rally Car Show at Riverside Park, Kaukauna from 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. More information can be found here.
Friday, May 15, Trivia Nigh Benefiting Mishicot Agriscience and FFA at K-City Pub and Grill, Kellnersville from 6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. More information can be found here.
Sunday, May 26, Pancake & Porkie Breakfast at 15331 County Road K, Reedsville from 8:00 a.m. to noon. More information can be found here.
Sunday, May 31, Tractor Pull at Larrabee Sportsman’s Club, Mishicot from 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
