AB500: Bill Text

LRB-3529/4

CMH&PG:kjf:jf

2011 - 2012 LEGISLATURE

2011 Assembly BILL 500

January 26, 2012 - Introduced by Representatives Clark, Brooks, Hulsey, Grigsby, C. Taylor, Steineke, Ringhand, Turner, Pasch, Bewley, Pope-Roberts, Pocan, Berceau, Roys, Sinicki and Seidel, cosponsored by Senators Hansen, Risser, Schultz, Lassa, C. Larson, S. Coggs and T. Cullen. Referred to Committee on Criminal Justice and Corrections.

AB500,1,3 An Act to amend 948.61 (1) (b) of the statutes; relating to: adding kindergarten to definition of school for the purposes of the gun-free school zone law and the prohibition against weapons on school premises.

Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau

Under current law, with exceptions, an individual who knowingly possesses a firearm at a place that the individual knows, or has reasonable cause to believe, is in or on the grounds of a school is guilty of a Class I felony. With exceptions, an individual who knowingly possesses a firearm at a place that the individual knows, or has reasonable cause to believe, is within 1,000 feet of the grounds of a school is subject to a Class B forfeiture. With exceptions, an individual who knowingly possesses a dangerous weapon that is not a firearm on school premises is guilty of a Class A misdemeanor for a first violation or a Class I felony for a second or subsequent violation within a five-year period. For these crimes, "school" is defined as a school that provides an educational program for one or more grades between 1 and 12. This bill changes the definition of school so that it includes a prekindergarten, four-year-old kindergarten, or five-year-old kindergarten program, and specifies that it must be a facility dedicated to educational programming.

The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do enact as follows:

AB500, s. 1 Section 1. 948.61 (1) (b) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB500,2,8 948.61 (1) (b) "School" means a public school, parochial or private school, or tribal school, as defined in s. 115.001 (15m), which provides an educational program for one or more grades between grades 1 kindergarten and 12 and which is commonly known as an elementary school, middle school, junior high school, senior high school, or high school. In this paragraph, "kindergarten" includes prekindergarten, 4-year-old kindergarten, and 5-year-old kindergarten, and "school" includes only a facility that is dedicated to educational programming.

AB500,2,9 (End)