Table DOC 332.20
Income Category
|
Tracking Fee
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<$800.00
|
$00.00
|
$800.00 - $1500.99
|
$50.00
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$1501.00 - $2400.00
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$120.00
|
>$2400.00
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$240.00
|
a. The department shall publish adjustments to Table DOC 332.20 in the Wisconsin administrative register.
b. If the department proposes to make adjustment to the tracking fee by ten (10) percent or more, the department shall promulgate an administrative rule to make the adjustments. The department will not issue an emergency rule to implement the adjustments under this subsection before providing advance public notice of at least one month.
3. Establish a tracking fee schedule including the following:
a. A grace period for the initial tracking fee payment.
b. A deadline for receipt of each monthly tracking fee payment.
4. Approve procedures for the collection of tracking fees.
5. Provide the person who is required to pay a tracking fee with a copy of the tracking fee payment procedures.
6. Record all costs incurred as part of the tracking cost for monitoring a person on GPS tracking or PPS tracking.
7. Record all tracking fees paid by a person.
8. Provide the person with access to a copy of the record of payments to verify receipt of the payments.
9. Advise the person of nonpayment of tracking fees.
10. Credit the moneys collected to the appropriation account under s.
20.410 (1) (gk), Stats.
11. Audit the record of payments of tracking fees.
(4) Department action when a person on probation, parole, or extended supervision fails to pay tracking fee. The department may use any of the following actions in any order when a person who is required to pay a tracking fee and who is on probation, parole, or extended supervision fails to pay the tracking fee:
(a) Counseling.
(b) Wage assignment.
(c) Review of supervision or custody level to determine if more restrictive sanctions are needed, including an increase in the level of supervision, increase in the security level of custody, or detention in a jail, correctional facility or house of correction.
(d) Issue a recommendation for revocation of parole, probation, or extended supervision for the person's willful failure to pay the tracking fee.
(e) Any other appropriate means of obtaining the tracking fee.
(5) Department action when a person not on probation, parole or extended supervision fails to pay tracking fee. The department may use any of the following actions in any order when a person who is required to pay a tracking fee but who is not on probation, parole, or extended supervision fails to pay the tracking fee:
(a) Wage assignment.
(b) Intercept of the person's Wisconsin income tax refund or Wisconsin lottery winnings.
(c) Submission of the debt to a state contracted collection agency.
(d) Any other appropriate means of obtaining the tracking fee.
Small Business Impact
The Department of Corrections has determined that the rule will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small businesses since the rule does not regulate small businesses as that term is defined in s.
227.114, Stats.
Fiscal Estimate
See the Fiscal Estimate in the Permanent Rule portion of this Notice.
The Wisconsin Department of Corrections proposes an order to create s.
DOC 332.20, relating to establishing a reimbursement fee to offset the costs of monitoring persons subject to global positioning system tracking or passive positioning system tracking.
Analysis Prepared by Department of Corrections
Statute interpreted
Statutory authority
Explanation of agency authority
Under s.
301.48, Stats., the department of corrections is responsible for the program of tracking by global positioning system or passive positioning system the location of persons who have committed a serious child sex offense.
Plain language analysis
The rule establishes a fee to recover the costs of tracking a person subject to global positioning system (GPS) tracking or passive positioning system (PPS) tracking under §
301.48, Stats., based on the person's ability to pay. The department has established a tracking fee which is based on the gross household monthly income and the person's ability to pay. The fee structure is similar to the one used by the department for assessing monthly supervision fees under §
DOC 328.045, Wis. Adm. Code. Specifically, for persons who have a gross household monthly income of less than $800.00, there is no monthly fee; for persons who have a gross household monthly income from $800.00 to $1,500.99, the monthly fee is $50.00; for persons who have a gross household monthly income from $1,501.00 to $2,400.00, the monthly fee is $120.00; and for persons who have a gross household monthly income greater than $2,400.00, the monthly fee is $240.00.
Persons subject to GPS tracking or PPS tracking are required to produce financial information about their gross household income, including financial institution statements, wage statements, and tax returns. The department will use this financial information to determine the appropriate fee. If a person fails to provide the requested documentation, the department may assess a fee up to and including the full cost of tracking the person.
The department will review the tracking fee determination at least annually. Each time the department performs a review, it may request financial information.
The department has set forth the tracking fee structure in a table which will be published as part of the rule. The department recognizes that the table may need to be revised periodically. In the proposed rule the department will publish adjustments to the table in the Wisconsin Administrative Register if the adjustments constitute less than a ten (10) percent increase. If the increase is ten (10) percent or greater, the department will promulgate an administrative rule to make the necessary adjustments.
The department will establish procedures for notifying persons subject to the tracking fee of the procedures relating to the assessment and collection of fees. The department will record all tracking fees which are paid and provide the person making the payment a record of the payment.
The department has identified methods it can use to collect tracking fees in the case that a person fails to make payments when required to do so. For example, if the person is on probation, parole, or extended supervision, the methods include counseling, wage assignment and steps which might affect the level of supervision. If the person is not on community supervision, the methods include wage assignment, use of a collection agency, and tax refund intercept.
Comparison with federal regulations
Under 42 USC § 16981 the US Department of Justice may award grants to states, local governments, and Indian tribal government to establish a GPS monitoring program for sex offenders. There are no federal regulations which address the issue of assessing a fee for the costs of electronic monitoring or global positioning system tracking.
Comparison with rules in adjacent states
Illinois:
Illinois State law sections 730 ILCS 5/5-6-3.1 (persons on community supervision), 730 ILCS 5/5-7-1 (persons subject to periodic imprisonment), and 725 ILCS 207/40 (Sexually Violent Persons Commitment Act) provide for the Chief Judge of the county where the person was convicted or committed to assess reasonable fees for all costs incidental to electronic monitoring in accordance with the person's ability to pay. The fees are paid to the county clerk to defray the costs of the monitoring program. There are no state administrative regulations which address this issue.
Iowa:
Iowa does not have either statutory or regulation provisions assessing a fee for electronic monitoring or global positioning system tracking of sex offenders.
Michigan:
Under MCLA 791.285, Michigan statutes establish a lifetime electronic monitoring program for certain offenders. Under MCLA 791.285 (2), an individual who receives a sentence which includes lifetime electronic monitoring is required to reimburse the State of Michigan for the costs related to the program. The MI Department of Corrections has not developed rules concerning the lifetime electronic monitoring program.
Minnesota:
Under MSA §
631.425 subd. 4, Minnesota statutes provide that a sheriff may assess the cost of electronic monitoring when an offender is released for work. There is not a similar statute for the electronic monitoring of sex offenders.
Summary of factual data and analytical methodologies
This rule does not affect small businesses. The rule imposes a fee on persons whom the Department monitors under GPS tracking or PPS tracking.
Small Business Impact
The department does not anticipate any effect on small businesses.
Fiscal Estimate
Assumptions used in arriving at fiscal estimate
This rule establishes a fee to partially offset the costs of monitoring global positioning system [GPS] tracking for the lifetime of an offender.
Certain sex offenders as defined in s.
301.48 (2), Wis. Stats., are required to be placed on mandatory lifetime GPS. Additionally, persons who commit a serious child sex offense as defined in s.
301.48 (1) (e), or a person under supervision under the interstate corrections compact for a serious child sex offense committed outside Wisconsin, may be subject to lifetime GPS depending upon the findings of a standardized risk assessment instrument.
The Department currently contracts with a vendor to provide and install GPS equipment worn by each offender. The vendor also provides automated alerts to the Department when an offender violates a personally assigned exclusion zone or leaves a personally assigned inclusion zone. The Department is charged $7.99 per day per GPS unit.
The Department has established an offender fee schedule to recoup a portion of the costs the Department pays the vendor. If an offender's gross household income is below $800 per month, the offender will not be charged any portion of the $7.99/day GPS equipment costs. If the income level is between $800 and $1,500 per month, the offender will be charged $50 per month; between $1,502 and $2,400 per month incurs a $120 fee and over $2,400 totals the full $240 per month cost.
The Department currently estimates there will be 331 offenders on GPS by June 30, 2009. Probation and Parole agents will determine the offender's monthly income if the offender is being actively supervised in local communities. If the offender has been terminated from supervision yet is still required to be on lifetime GPS, the monthly income will be determined by the Department's business offices.
Automated monthly invoices will be sent to each offender. In addition, if a payment is received during a month, a receipt will be sent to each offender monthly.
During FY09 equipment costs are expected to be approximately $611,800. Given the Department's income schedule shown above, and the Department's historical collection rates, the Department anticipates recouping approximately $30,600 in revenues during the first fiscal year. Revenues and costs will continue to grow incrementally thereafter.
The Department has incurred one-time costs to create the automated billing system to track these payments. Those costs totaled approximately $69,000.
State fiscal effect
Increase existing revenues. Increase in costs may be possible to absorb within agency's budget.
Local government fiscal effect
None
Fund sources affected
PRO
Affected Chapter
20 appropriations
Contact Person
Kathryn R. Anderson, Chief Legal Counsel, Department of Corrections, 3099 East Washington Avenue, P.O. Box 7925, Madison, WI 53707-7925, telephone: (608) 240-5049, FAX: (608) 240-3306, email: kathryn.anderson@ wisconsin.gov
Text of Proposed Rule
DOC 332.20 Tracking fee. (1)
Applicability. A person who is subject to GPS tracking or PPS tracking under s.
301.48, Stats. shall be charged a fee to offset the costs of the tracking, based on the person's ability to pay.
(2) Definitions. In this section:
(a) “Global positioning system tracking" or “GPS tracking" has the meaning given in s.
301.48 (1) (b), Stats.
(b) “Passive positioning system tracking" or “PPS tracking" has the meaning given in s.
301.48 (1) (dm), Stats.
(c) “Tracking cost" means the monthly cost for tracking a person subject to GPS tracking or PPS tracking.
(d) “Tracking fee" means the fee which a person who is subject to either GPS tracking or PPS tracking is required to pay to offset the costs of tracking.
(3) Tracking fee. (a) A person who is subject to either GPS tracking or PPS tracking shall pay the tracking fee in accordance with procedures established by the department.
