2015 - 2016 LEGISLATURE
February 17, 2015 - Introduced by
Joint Legislative Council. Referred to
Committee on Corrections.
AB52,2,2
1An Act to repeal 15.145 (5), 165.95 (1) (a), 165.95 (1) (b), 165.95 (2r), 165.95 (3)
2(a), 165.95 (3) (d), (e) and (f), 165.95 (3) (j), 165.95 (5m), 165.95 (8), 165.95 (9),
3165.95 (10) and 301.095;
to renumber and amend 165.95 (5) (a) and 165.95
4(5) (b);
to amend 20.455 (2) (em), 20.455 (2) (kn), 20.455 (2) (kv), 165.95 (1)
5(intro.), 165.95 (2), 165.95 (3) (intro.), 165.95 (3) (b), 165.95 (3) (c), 165.95 (3) (g),
6165.95 (3) (h), 165.95 (3) (i), 165.95 (3) (k), 165.95 (4), 165.95 (6), 165.95 (7),
7165.95 (7m), 165.955 (2), 302.43, 950.04 (1v) (g), 961.472 (5) (b), 967.11, 973.09
8(1) (d) and (4) (a) and 973.155 (1m); and
to create 15.257 (3), 165.847, 165.95
9(1) (ag), 165.95 (1) (am), 165.95 (1) (ar), 165.95 (1) (av), 165.95 (3) (ae), 165.95
10(3) (ag), 165.95 (3) (bd), 165.95 (3) (cm) 2., 165.95 (3) (hm), 165.95 (3m), 165.95
11(5) (bg), 165.95 (5p) and 973.09 (4g) of the statutes;
relating to: creating the
12criminal justice coordinating council, providing grants to certain county or
1tribal criminal justice projects, home detention for probation, and making
2appropriations.
Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau
This bill is explained in the Notes provided by the Joint Legislative Council in
the bill.
The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do
enact as follows:
Joint Legislative Council prefatory note: This bill was prepared for the
Joint Legislative Council's Study Committee on Problem-Solving Courts,
Alternatives, and Diversions.
Treatment Alternatives and Diversions
Under current law, the Department of Justice (DOJ) provides grants to counties
that have established qualifying treatment alternatives and diversion (TAD)
projects for persons who are or may be charged with, or who are convicted of,
offenses related to the person's use or abuse of alcohol or other drugs. TAD
projects are intended to offer alternatives to prosecution or incarceration for
offenders with substance abuse problems in order to reduce recidivism, promote
public safety, and reduce prison and jail populations.
In order to qualify for a TAD grant, a county's project must meet certain
criteria, including offering treatment alternatives for the offender's substance
abuse, and coordinating with other specialists, including mental health
treatment providers, social services providers, and case workers in order to
provide intensive case management. Each qualifying project must be developed
in collaboration with representatives from the judicial system, law enforcement
and corrections, social and welfare service providers, and mental health and
substance abuse treatment providers. Further, each county that receives a TAD
grant creates an oversight committee with representatives from those agencies
or services to administer and evaluate the project.
A qualifying TAD project is subject to state audits and each county that receives
a TAD grant must submit an annual report to DOJ and to the oversight
committee that details its progress in promoting public safety, reducing
recidivism and lowering costs, and meeting the treatment and other needs of
program participants.
Current law allows counties to administer a project jointly and requires any
county that receives a grant to provide matching funds that are equal to 25
percent of the amount of the grant. Eligible projects must require participants
to pay a reasonable amount for their treatment within the project. Finally,
under current law, the governor has created by executive order a criminal
justice coordinating council (CJCC), that is charged with various duties
regarding criminal justice policy and administration.
The bill creates a CJCC in DOJ, consisting of nine members who are members
by virtue of the office they hold and 11 members appointed by the governor for
three-year terms.
Because the CJCC has assumed the duties of the current council on offender
re-entry with the department of corrections, the bill repeals references to the
council.
Under the bill, in addition to studying, and providing advice and making
recommendations to the governor on a variety of matters relating to the
criminal justice system, CJCC advises DOJ in its administration of the TAD
program.
This bill makes several changes to the TAD grant program. Under the bill,
counties and tribes may qualify for TAD grants; the bill allows a county or tribe
to administer a program jointly with another county or tribe. Under the bill, in
order to be eligible for a TAD grant, a project must operate within the
continuum from arrest to discharge from supervision and provide an alternative
to prosecution, incarceration, or both. Under the bill, a project need not focus
solely on alcohol and other drug treatment, but must be evidence-based and
designed to promote effective criminal justice policies to reduce prosecution and
incarceration costs, reduce recidivism, and enhance justice and public safety.
The bill requires each project to be designed to integrate and coordinate services
from several providers, including a participant's behavioral health treatment
providers, case managers, and compliance monitors. The bill requires each
project to use evidence-based eligibility criteria to determine who may
participate in the project and to tailor its services to the needs of each
participant or target population.
The bill allows, but does not require, an eligible project to require participants
to pay an amount towards their treatment. The bill eliminates the 25 percent
matching funds requirement.
Under the bill, DOJ must consult with CJCC to establish eligibility criteria and
to determine which county or tribe projects meet the eligibility requirements.
The bill requires each county or tribe to establish a criminal justice oversight
committee to develop and implement the project design and advise the county or
tribe in administering and evaluating its project.
Under the bill, a project must specify whether or not certain violent offenders
will be allowed to participate. If so, there must be a victim advocate on the
project's oversight committee, if such an advocate exists in the project's county.
If the project includes domestic abuse offenders, the oversight committee must
consult with a batterers' treatment provider.
Under the bill, each county or tribe that receives a grant must, monthly, submit
data requested by DOJ in order to allow DOJ to evaluate the project. The bill
requires DOJ to use this data to prepare an annual progress report that it
submits to the TAD council and makes available to the public. The bill requires
DOJ to prepare, for submission to CJCC and to each house of the legislature, a
comprehensive report every five years that includes a cost benefit analysis of
the TAD grant program. The evaluation is funded from TAD appropriation, and
the DOJ may enter into a contract with an independent entity to conduct the
evaluation.
The bill increases an appropriation to the supreme court to fund a statewide
treatment court coordinator in the office of the director of state courts.
Home Detention for Probation
Current law provides that if a person is convicted of an offense, for which there
is a mandatory or presumptive minimum period of one year or less of
imprisonment, a court may place the person on probation if the court requires
that the person be confined for at least that mandatory or presumptive
minimum period as a condition of the probation. The person is eligible to earn
good time credit calculated regarding the period of confinement. In State v.
Eastman, 220 Wis. 2d 330, 339, (Ct. App. 1998), the court of appeals clarified
that a court's authority did not include the ability to order home detention as a
condition of probation if a person is convicted of an offense that provides a
mandatory or presumptive minimum period of one year or less of imprisonment.
Current law also authorizes a county sheriff, or a house of correction
superintendent, to place in the home detention program any person confined in
jail who has been arrested for, charged with, convicted of, or sentenced for a
crime.
The bill provides express authority for a court to order that a probationer,
including a probationer who is convicted of an offense that provides a
mandatory or presumptive minimum period of one year or less of imprisonment,
be confined in jail or placed in detention at the probationer's place of residence
or other place designated by the court, or both, as a condition of probation
during such period of the term of probation as the court prescribes, but not to
exceed one year. The detention must be monitored by the use of an electronic
device worn continuously on the probationer's person and be capable of
providing positive identification of the wearer at the detention location at any
time. A probationer in detention is eligible for good time credit. The defendant
must agree to the condition of probation; must be given the terms of the
condition of probation in writing; and may be required to pay a daily fee to cover
the costs associated with home detention monitoring.
AB52,1
1Section
1
. 15.145 (5) of the statutes is repealed.
Note: Section 1
repeals the council on offender re-entry in the Department of
Corrections (DOC). The council's duties have been assumed by the CJCC,
created in this bill.
AB52,2
2Section
2
. 15.257 (3) of the statutes is created to read:
AB52,4,53
15.257
(3) Criminal justice coordinating council. (a) There is created in the
4department of justice a criminal justice coordinating council consisting of the
5following members:
AB52,4,76
1. The secretary of corrections, or his or her designee, who shall serve as
7cochairperson.
AB52,4,98
2. The attorney general, or his or her designee, who shall serve as
9cochairperson.
AB52,4,1010
3. The state public defender, or his or her designee.
AB52,4,1111
4. A sheriff.
AB52,5,1
15. A chief of police.
AB52,5,22
6. A district attorney.
AB52,5,33
7. The director of state courts, or his or her designee.
AB52,5,44
8. The secretary of workforce development, or his or her designee.
AB52,5,55
9. The secretary of children and families, or his or her designee.
AB52,5,66
10. The secretary of health services, or his or her designee.
AB52,5,77
11. The secretary of veterans affairs, or his or her designee.
AB52,5,98
12. The chairperson of the committee of chief judges of the circuit courts, or his
9or her designee.
AB52,5,1010
13. A county executive or county administrator.
AB52,5,1211
14. A county criminal justice coordinator or a member serving on a county
12criminal justice coordinating council.
AB52,5,1413
15. A representative of a crime victim rights or crime victim services
14organization.
AB52,5,1615
16. A person with experience in mental health issues and the criminal justice
16system.
AB52,5,1817
17. A representative of a federally recognized American Indian tribe or band
18in this state.
AB52,5,1919
18. Three other members.
AB52,5,2120
(b) Each member specified in par. (a) 4. to 6. and 13. to 17. shall be appointed
21by the governor for a 3-year term.
AB52,5,2322
(c) The members specified in par. (a) 1. to 7. shall constitute an executive
23committee.
AB52,5,2524
(d) The criminal justice coordinating council shall meet not less than 4 times
25each year.
Note: Section 2 creates the CJCC in DOJ.
AB52,3
1Section
3. 20.455 (2) (em) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB52,6,52
20.455
(2) (em)
Alternatives to prosecution and incarceration for persons who
3use alcohol or other drugs; presentencing assessments. The amounts in the schedule
4for making grants to counties
and tribes under s. 165.95 (2)
and entering into
5contracts under s. 165.95 (5p) (c).
Note: This Section and Sections 4, 5, 10
, 25, 27
, 30, 32
, 33, 34
, 35, 38
, and 40 allow
tribes, in addition to counties, to be eligible recipients of TAD grants and to enter into
contracts to operate TAD projects.
AB52,4
6Section
4
. 20.455 (2) (kn) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB52,6,117
20.455
(2) (kn)
Alternatives to prosecution and incarceration for persons who
8use alcohol or other drugs; justice information fee. The amounts in the schedule for
9administering and making grants to counties
and tribes under s. 165.95 (2). All
10moneys transferred from the appropriation account under s. 20.505 (1) (id) 5. shall
11be credited to this appropriation account.
AB52,5
12Section
5
. 20.455 (2) (kv) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB52,6,1613
20.455
(2) (kv)
Grants for substance abuse treatment programs for criminal
14offenders projects. All moneys received under s. 961.41 (5) (c) 2. or 973.043 for the
15purpose of making grants to counties
and tribes under s. 165.95 (2)
and entering into
16contracts under s. 165.95 (5p) (c).
AB52,6
17Section
6. 165.847 of the statutes is created to read:
AB52,6,19
18165.847 Criminal justice coordinating council. The criminal justice
19coordinating council shall do all of the following:
AB52,7,2
20(1) Study and provide recommendations to the governor, the legislature, the
21department of corrections, the department of health services, and the department of
22workforce development on matters related to coordinating the services of state and
1local government agencies and nongovernmental entities in the criminal justice
2system to increase efficiency, effectiveness, and public safety.
AB52,7,8
3(2) Provide recommendations to the governor, the legislature, the department
4of corrections, the department of health services, and the department of workforce
5development regarding the use of evidence-based practices, risk reduction
6programming, crime prevention, diversion, and community-based alternatives to
7confinement to increase public safety, reduce recidivism, and improve offender and
8system accountability.
AB52,7,11
9(3) Study county-level programs related to criminal justice, including
10treatment alternatives, diversion initiatives, and specialty courts, and disseminate
11information about programs the council determines are effective and innovative.
AB52,7,13
12(4) Facilitate the development of county or multicounty criminal justice
13oversight committees.
AB52,7,17
14(5) Provide recommendations to the governor, the legislature, the department
15of corrections, the department of health services, and the department of workforce
16development regarding the collection and synthesis of real-time criminal justice
17data and the tracking of system indicators.
AB52,7,20
18(6) Assist the governor in identifying stable and adequate funding sources for
19the criminal justice system and identifying areas where greater cost-effectiveness
20could be achieved.
AB52,7,21
21(7) Assist the governor in evaluating criminal justice policies.
AB52,8,2
22(8) Study, and make recommendations to the governor, the legislature, the
23department of corrections, the department of health services, and the department of
24workforce development, regarding areas in the criminal justice system in which
25improved collaboration and coordination would increase the effectiveness or
1efficiency of services by eliminating duplication, filling service gaps, or improving the
2quality of services provided.
AB52,8,7
3(9) Study whether racial, demographic, or other disparities exist between
4treatment court participants and individuals who are denied participation, and
5make recommendations to the governor, the attorney general, the legislature, the
6department of corrections, and the department of justice, on how to remediate such
7disparities.
AB52,8,9
8(10) Assist the governor with strategic planning for, and management of,
9federal block grant or federal formula grant funds.
AB52,8,14
10(11) Annually, submit a report on the progress of the council's work to the chief
11clerk of each house of the legislature, for distribution to the appropriate standing
12committees under s. 13.172 (3), the governor, the chief justice of the supreme court,
13the department of corrections, the department of health services, and the
14department of workforce development.
AB52,8,16
15(12) Develop a system that tracks and reports, on a monthly basis, state
16criminal justice data, including all of the following:
AB52,8,1817
(a) The rate of violent crime, as reported by law enforcement agencies in
18uniform crime reports or incident-based reports.
AB52,8,1919
(b) The average daily population of prisons and county jails.
AB52,8,2020
(c) The number of felony criminal cases filed in circuit courts.
AB52,8,2121
(d) The number of persons sentenced to prison by the circuit courts.
AB52,8,2322
(e) The number of persons imprisoned due to revocation of parole or extended
23supervision.
AB52,8,2424
(f) The number of persons imprisoned due to probation revocation.
AB52,8,2525
(g) The number of persons released to parole or extended supervision.