LRBs0166/1
MGD:kjf:rs
2005 - 2006 LEGISLATURE
ASSEMBLY SUBSTITUTE AMENDMENT 1,
TO 2005 ASSEMBLY BILL 280
October 3, 2005 - Offered by Representative Gielow.
AB280-ASA1,1,4 1An Act to renumber and amend 973.015 (2); to amend 301.45 (7) (e) 2., 301.45
2(7) (e) 3., 973.015 (1) (a) and 973.015 (1) (b); to repeal and recreate 973.015
3(title); and to create 973.015 (2) (d), 973.015 (4) and (5) and 973.015 (6) (a) of
4the statutes; relating to: expungement of misdemeanors.
Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau
Under current law, if a person commits a misdemeanor (which, in general, is
a crime for which a person may be imprisoned for no more than one year) before he
or she reaches the age of 21, a court may order that the court's record regarding the
offense be expunged upon the offender's successful completion of his or her sentence.
(A person successfully completes a sentence if he or she is not convicted of a
subsequent offense and, if the person is placed on probation, he or she complies with
any conditions of probation.) The court may enter such an order only at the time of
sentencing and only if it finds that expunging the record will benefit the person and
will not harm society. If the person successfully completes the sentence in such a
case, the Department of Corrections or the county jail or house of correction must
issue a certificate stating that the person successfully completed the sentence. The
expungement takes effect immediately upon the issuance of that certificate.
This substitute amendment makes this expungement option available for all
offenders, regardless of their age at the time of their offenses. In addition, upon the
expungement of a person's conviction, he or she can no longer be affected by any

prohibition, disqualification, disability, increased penalty, or other adverse or
unfavorable treatment that results from a misdemeanor conviction, including any
adverse consequences that might result from a court's consideration of the expunged
offense in any subsequent case. Moreover, neither the existence nor the contents of
court records relating to the expunged offense may be disclosed to anyone other than
the person or his or her attorney. The substitute amendment also permits a court to
enter an order authorizing expungement at any time during or after the sentence.
The substitute amendment, however, specifies that expungement may not occur
within the first two years after the person's misdemeanor conviction and that, in
general, a person is only eligible for expungement once in his or her lifetime.
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:
AB280-ASA1, s. 1 1Section 1. 301.45 (7) (e) 2. of the statutes is amended to read:
AB280-ASA1,2,32 301.45 (7) (e) 2. The department issues a certificate of discharge under s.
3973.015 (2) (3).
AB280-ASA1, s. 2 4Section 2. 301.45 (7) (e) 3. of the statutes is amended to read:
AB280-ASA1,2,85 301.45 (7) (e) 3. The department receives a certificate of discharge issued under
6s. 973.015 (2) (3) by the detaining authority or, if s. 973.015 (3) does not apply but the
7requirements of s. 973.015 (2) are met, an expungement order issued under s.
8973.015 (1)
.
AB280-ASA1, s. 3 9Section 3. 973.015 (title) of the statutes is repealed and recreated to read:
AB280-ASA1,2,10 10973.015 (title) Expungement of misdemeanors.
AB280-ASA1, s. 4 11Section 4. 973.015 (1) (a) of the statutes, as affected by 2003 Wisconsin Act
12320
, is amended to read:
AB280-ASA1,3,613 973.015 (1) (a) Subject to par. (b), when if a person is under the age of 21 at the
14time of the commission
convicted of an offense for which the person has been found
15guilty in a court for violation of a law
a misdemeanor for which the maximum penalty

1is imprisonment for one year or less in the county jail, the court may order at the time
2of sentencing that the record be expunged upon successful completion of the sentence
3if
and the court determines the person will benefit and society will not be harmed by
4this disposition, the court may order, at sentencing, during the sentence, or after the
5completion of the sentence, that the record be expunged if the requirements of sub.
6(2) are met
.
AB280-ASA1,3,9 7(6) (b) This subsection section does not apply to information maintained by the
8department of transportation regarding a conviction that is required to be included
9in a record kept under s. 343.23 (2) (a).
AB280-ASA1, s. 5 10Section 5. 973.015 (1) (b) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB280-ASA1,3,1511 973.015 (1) (b) The court shall order at the time of sentencing that the record
12be expunged upon successful completion of the sentence if
If the offense
13misdemeanor was a violation of s. 942.08 (2) (b), (c), or (d), and the person was under
14the age of 18 when he or she committed it, the court shall order, at the time of
15sentencing, that the record be expunged if the requirements of sub. (2) are met
.
AB280-ASA1, s. 6 16Section 6. 973.015 (2) of the statutes is renumbered 973.015 (2) (intro.) and
17amended to read:
AB280-ASA1,3,1918 973.015 (2) (intro.) A person's conviction for a misdemeanor may be expunged
19through an order entered under sub. (1) if all of the following apply:
AB280-ASA1,3,20 20(a) The person has successfully completed the sentence if the.
AB280-ASA1,3,22 21(b) The person has not been convicted of a subsequent offense and, if crime
22committed after the misdemeanor conviction.
AB280-ASA1,3,25 23(c) If on probation, the probation has not been revoked and the probationer
24person has satisfied the conditions of probation. Upon successful completion of the
25sentence
AB280-ASA1,4,7
1(3) If the requirements of sub. (2) are met and the order under sub. (1) was
2entered before the person completed the sentence or less than 2 years after the
3person's misdemeanor conviction,
the detaining or probationary authority shall
4issue a certificate of discharge which shall be forwarded to the court of record and
5which shall have the effect of expunging the record. If the person has been
6imprisoned, the detaining authority shall also forward a copy of the certificate of
7discharge to the department.
AB280-ASA1, s. 7 8Section 7. 973.015 (2) (d) of the statutes is created to read:
AB280-ASA1,4,109 973.015 (2) (d) At least 2 years have passed since the person's misdemeanor
10conviction.
AB280-ASA1, s. 8 11Section 8. 973.015 (4) and (5) of the statutes are created to read:
AB280-ASA1,4,1512 973.015 (4) If a record of a person's conviction is expunged under this section,
13the person shall not be subject to any prohibition, disqualification, disability,
14increased penalty, or other adverse or unfavorable treatment that would otherwise
15result from the person having been convicted of that offense.
AB280-ASA1,4,18 16(5) (a) 1. Except as provided in subd. 2. and sub. (3), if a record of a conviction
17is expunged under this section, neither the existence nor the contents of the court's
18records relating to the misdemeanor may be disclosed to any person.
AB280-ASA1,4,2219 2. Notwithstanding SCR 72.06 (3), the existence and content of a court record
20that is expunged under sub. (2) may be disclosed to the person who was convicted or,
21if authorized by the person who was convicted, to an attorney representing the
22person who was convicted.
AB280-ASA1,5,223 (b) Within 45 days after a conviction is expunged under this section, the clerk
24of the court of record shall ensure that all records and data relating to the

1misdemeanor are removed from the automated information systems under s. 758.19
2(4).
AB280-ASA1, s. 9 3Section 9. 973.015 (6) (a) of the statutes is created to read:
AB280-ASA1,5,54 973.015 (6) (a) This section applies to a person who has already been the subject
5of an order entered under this section only if all of the following apply:
AB280-ASA1,5,76 1. The order related to an offense that could have been joined under s. 971.12
7(1) with the present offense.
AB280-ASA1,5,98 2. The record of the offense to which the order related has been expunged or the
9person remains eligible for expungement regarding that offense under sub. (2).
AB280-ASA1, s. 10 10Section 10. Effective date.
AB280-ASA1,5,1211 (1) This act takes effect on September 30, 2005, or the day after publication,
12whichever is later.
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