State of Wisconsin
Revisor of Statutes Bureau
Madison
DATE: April 1, 2002
TO: Patrick E. Fuller
Assembly Assistant Chief Clerk
Donald J. Schneider
Senate Chief Clerk
FROM: Gary L. Poulson
Deputy Revisor of Statutes
SUBJECT: Rules published in the March 31, 2002,
Wisconsin Administrative
Register, No. 555.
The following rules have been published:
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Referral of Agency Reports
State of Wisconsin
Department of Transportation
Madison
March 26, 2002
To the Honorable, the Assembly:
I am pleased to be able to present to you, for distribution to the Wisconsin Assembly, the annual evaluation report on the Pretrial Intoxicated Driver Intervention Grant Program. The program, created by section 85.53 Wis. Stats., was established by the legislature in 1997 with the requirement that the Department study its impact and report on its findings every even-numbered year.
The Pretrial Intoxicated Driver Intervention Grant Program is intended for offenders who are arrested for their second or subsequent OWI (Operating While Intoxicated) offense. Their participation may be voluntary or court ordered, the program may support 2nd or 3rd or greater offenders, it may have exclusions for felons or may not. It is an intervention model designed to get the offender into counseling, treatment and monitoring as soon as possible after the arrest. The program is individual to each community.
As you will see in the full report, no county that has begun a program has dropped the program. Offenders who successfully completed the program were less likely than non-participants to be re-arrested for subsequent operating while intoxicated violations. Those who were re-arrested went significantly longer between arrests than non-participants. Currently there are three counties and a multi-county effort on a waiting list for funding to begin programs.
I commend those people who have dedicated themselves to making this innovative program a success. There are no "silver bullets" in eradicating intoxicated driving, but I feel this effort is a vital piece in the total transportation safety effort.
Sincerely,
Gene E. Kussart
Secretary
Referred to committee on Highway Safety.