AB668: Bill Text

LRB-3996/1

PJH:kjf:jf

2013 - 2014 LEGISLATURE

2013 Assembly BILL 668

January 24, 2014 - Introduced by Representatives Nygren, Bies, Ballweg, Bernier, Born, Brooks, Endsley, Kaufert, Kleefisch, Knudson, Kooyenga, Krug, T. Larson, LeMahieu, Marklein, Murphy, Mursau, A. Ott, Petryk, Schraa, Spiros, Strachota, Tranel, Weatherston, Barnes, Berceau, Bernard Schaber, Billings, Clark, Doyle, Goyke, Hesselbein, Hintz, Johnson, Kahl, Kolste, Mason, Ohnstad, Pasch, Riemer, Richards, Ringhand, C. Taylor, Wachs, Wright and Young, cosponsored by Senators Darling, S. Fitzgerald, Cowles, Gudex, Harsdorf, Leibham, Olsen, Petrowski, Carpenter, Harris, Jauch, Shilling, L. Taylor, Vinehout, Wirch and Lehman. Referred to Joint Committee on Finance.

AB668,1,3 An Act to create 165.95 (5) (bg) and 165.95 (5p) of the statutes; relating to: providing grants to counties that offer substance abuse treatment and diversion from incarceration and making an appropriation.

Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau

Under current law, the Department of Justice (DOJ) provides grants to counties that have established qualifying treatment and diversion (TAD) programs for persons who are or may be charged with, or who are convicted of, an offense related to the person's use or abuse of alcohol or other drugs. TAD programs are intended to offer alternatives to prosecution or incarceration. Current law requires DOJ to evaluate the grant program every two years.

This bill increases funding for TAD grants by $1,500,000 in each fiscal year of the current fiscal biennium. The bill requires each county that receives a TAD grant to submit to DOJ data requested by DOJ for the purpose of evaluating the effectiveness of the county's TAD program. The bill requires DOJ to prepare an annual progress report using that data and, every five years, to prepare a comprehensive report for submission to the legislature that provides a cost benefit analysis of the TAD grant program.

For further information see the state and local fiscal estimate, which will be printed as an appendix to this bill.

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

AB668,1 Section 1. 165.95 (5) (bg) of the statutes is created to read:

AB668,2,6 165.95 (5) (bg) A county that receives a grant under this section shall submit data requested by the department of justice to the department of justice each month. The department of justice may request any data regarding the project funded by the grant that is necessary to evaluate the project and prepare the reports under sub. (5p).

AB668,2 Section 2. 165.95 (5p) of the statutes is created to read:

AB668,2,11 165.95 (5p) (a) The department of justice shall, annually, analyze the data submitted under sub. (5) (bg) and prepare a progress report that evaluates the effectiveness of the grant program. The department of justice shall make the report available to the public.

AB668,2,17 (b) The department of justice shall, every 5 years, prepare a comprehensive report that analyzes the data it receives under sub. (5) (bg) and the annual reports it produces under par. (a). The department of justice shall include in this comprehensive report a cost benefit analysis of the grant program and shall submit the report to the chief clerk of each house of the legislature for distribution to the legislature under s. 13.172 (2).

AB668,3 Section 3. Fiscal changes.

AB668,3,4 (1) Treatment and diversion programs. In the schedule under section 20.005 (3) of the statutes for the appropriation to the department of justice under section 20.455 (2) (em) of the statutes, as affected by the acts of 2013, the dollar amount is increased by $1,500,000 for the first fiscal year of the fiscal biennium in which this subsection takes effect to provide grants for counties that establish alternatives for prosecution and incarceration. In the schedule under section 20.005 (3) of the statutes for the appropriation to the department of justice under section 20.455 (2) (em) of the statutes, as affected by the acts of 2013, the dollar amount is increased by $1,500,000 for the second fiscal year of the fiscal biennium in which this subsection takes effect to provide grants for counties that establish alternatives for prosecution and incarceration.

AB668,3,5 (End)