2001 Wisconsin Act 28

Date of enactment: November 30, 2001
2001 Assembly Bill 290 Date of publication*: December 13, 2001

* Section 991.11, Wisconsin Statutes 1999-00 : Effective date of acts. "Every act and every portion of an act enacted by the legislature over the governor's partial veto which does not expressly prescribe the time when it takes effect shall take effect on the day after its date of publication as designated" by the secretary of state [the date of publication may not be more than 10 working days after the date of enactment].

2001 WISCONSIN ACT 28

An Act to amend 347.50 (1) and 347.50 (2); and to create 347.475 of the statutes; relating to: prohibiting the installation of a previously deployed or an otherwise nonfunctional airbag and providing a penalty.

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

28,1 Section 1. 347.475 of the statutes is created to read:

347.475 Airbags, prohibited practices. (1) In this section, "airbag" means an inflatable restraint system that is designed to be installed and to operate in a motor vehicle to deploy by inflating upon an impact of the vehicle with another object.

(2) No person may, either personally or through an agent, sell, install, reinstall, or distribute any previously deployed airbag. This subsection does not apply to the sale of a motor vehicle with a previously deployed airbag unless the deployment is concealed or disguised.

(3) No person may, either personally or through an agent, remove, disconnect, tamper with, or otherwise circumvent the operation of any airbag, except for the purpose of testing, repairing, or maintaining an airbag, salvaging an undeployed airbag, disposing of a deployed airbag, or replacing a deployed airbag with a functional airbag. This subsection does not apply to the installation or use of an on-off switch by any person who is authorized by federal law or regulation to install or use an on-off switch for an airbag.

(4) No person may, either personally or through an agent, install a cover or otherwise conceal or disguise a missing airbag or a previously deployed airbag.

28,2 Section 2. 347.50 (1) of the statutes is amended to read:

347.50 (1) Any person violating ss. 347.35 to 347.49, except s. 347.413 (1) or s. 347.415 (1), (2) and (3) to (5) or s. 347.417 (1) or s. 347.475 or s. 347.48 (2m) or (4) (a) or s. 347.489, may be required to forfeit not less than $10 nor more than $200.

28,3 Section 3. 347.50 (2) of the statutes is amended to read:

347.50 (2) Any person violating s. 347.415 (1), (2) , and (3) to (5) or 347.475 may be fined not more than $5,000 or imprisoned for not more than one year in the county jail, or both, for each violation.