LRB-2243/1
CMH:lmk:rs
2007 - 2008 LEGISLATURE
March 20, 2007 - Introduced by Joint Legislative Council. Referred to
Committee on Environment and Natural Resources.
SB97,1,10 1An Act to renumber and amend 165.83 (1) (e) and 165.85 (2) (g); to amend
223.29 (23), 23.293 (19), 23.33 (4) (c) 1., 23.33 (12) (b), 23.51 (3), 30.64, 175.40 (1)
3(c), 340.01 (3) (b), 341.17 (9) (c) 2., 343.235 (3) (a), 343.237 (4), 350.02 (3m),
4350.17 (2), 939.22 (22), 940.20 (2), 941.20 (1m) (b), 941.20 (3) (b) 1. a., 941.23,
5941.235 (2), 941.26 (4) (c) 2., 941.29 (10) (a), 941.295 (2) (a), 941.2965 (3) (a),
6941.298 (3) (a), 941.299 (2) (a), 941.31 (2) (c), 948.55 (4) (d), 948.605 (2) (b) 6.,
7948.605 (3) (b) 4. and 948.61 (3) (c); and to create 165.83 (1) (e) 2., 165.85 (2)
8(g) 2., 175.41, 340.01 (8t), 340.01 (8u), 341.17 (4) (h), 939.22 (5), 939.22 (37) and
9941.237 (1) (dr) of the statutes; relating to: conservation wardens employed by
10the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission.
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, developed by the joint
legislative council's special committee on state-tribal relations, extends the application
of a broad range of statutes related to law enforcement to conservation wardens employed
by the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission (GLIFWC) and authorizes
GLIFWC wardens (referred to in the bill as "commission wardens") to aid or assist a
Wisconsin peace officer or to make an arrest for a violation of state law under specified
circumstances.
Background
In the 1970s and 1980s, litigation in federal court sought to determine the extent
of rights for the harvest of natural resources retained by the Chippewa Indian bands
when the bands ceded territory to the United States in treaties in 1837 and 1842. In a
series of orders, the court affirmed the bands' continuing rights to hunt, fish, and gather
on off-reservation public lands and waters throughout the ceded territories in northern
Wisconsin. Among other things, the court approved the Chippewa bands' proposal to
adopt an off-reservation conservation code (off-reservation code) governing their
members' exercise of those rights within the ceded territory but not on any Chippewa
reservation, and to form an intertribal agency to enforce that code. GLIFWC is the agency
the Chippewa bands created for this purpose.
An incident in which a GLIFWC warden working off-reservation detained a
non-Indian person for a state firearms violation and delivered the individual to the
county sheriff called into question the authority of the warden to detain the individual,
as well as the legality of other aspects of the warden's behavior, such as going armed in
the uniform of a law enforcement officer in a vehicle with equipment such as lights and
siren.
This case brought to attention that much of what GLIFWC wardens do is not
contemplated under the statutes and that, in fact, the statutes could be read as
prohibiting GLIFWC wardens from doing many things that the federal court authorized
them to do. Similarly, many statutes that serve to protect the physical safety of law
enforcement officers and others that serve to protect the interests of the public do not
apply to GLIFWC wardens. These statutes do apply to conservation wardens employed
by the Department of Natural Resources.
The bill
The bill is intended to accomplish two goals: a) to facilitate the work of GLIFWC
and its wardens in enforcing the off-reservation code; and b) to enable GLIFWC wardens
to assist state and local law enforcement agencies under certain circumstances.
Facilitating the Work of GLIFWC Wardens
To facilitate the work of GLIFWC wardens, the bill applies many provisions of the
criminal code and the conservation and motor vehicle statutes to them. In general, the
bill does the following:
1. Applies statutes regarding the protection of officers or interference with law
enforcement to all GLIFWC wardens. Examples of the statutes treated in this manner
are: s. 940.20 (2), stats., battery to a law enforcement officer; s. 941.21, stats., disarming
a peace officer; and s. 946.41, stats., resisting or obstructing an officer. The bill also
applies a number of other, miscellaneous statutes to all GLIFWC wardens, such as the
requirement that a peace officer provide first aid to a person in custody (s. 940.291, stats.),
communicable diseases (ch. 252, stats.), and the exception for peace officers to the
prohibition on shining animals (s. 29.314, stats.). The bill also applies to all GLIFWC
wardens the exceptions enjoyed by peace officers to various aspects of the motor vehicle
code, including exceptions to various rules of the road and various restrictions on vehicle
equipment.

2. Applies most statutes regarding the possession or use of firearms and other
weapons by peace officers to GLIFWC wardens who meet state certification standards.
Examples of statutes treated in this manner are exceptions for peace officers to
prohibitions against carrying concealed weapons (s. 941.23, stats.), and the use of pepper
spray (s. 941.26, stats.). The bill does not apply statutes authorizing the possession or
use of explosives or particularly dangerous weapons to any GLIFWC warden. Examples
of statutes in this category are exceptions for peace officers to prohibitions against the
possession or use of machine guns, short-barreled shotguns and rifles, explosives, and
other weapons.
3. Authorizes GLIFWC and its wardens to use the transaction information for
management of enforcement (TIME) system if GLIFWC agrees to contribute information
in its possession to the Department of Justice for addition to the TIME system. The TIME
system allows officers in the field to access information regarding criminal
investigations, suspected criminals, and outstanding warrants, as well as drivers' license
and vehicle registration information, using computers installed in their patrol vehicles.
4. Applies the statutes administered by the law enforcement standards board
(LESB) to GLIFWC wardens who agree to accept the duties of law enforcement officers
under the laws of this state, which makes a GLIFWC warden subject to the rules and
certification procedures of the LESB, and which is a prerequisite for exercising the
authority, as created by this bill, to make arrests for violations of state law and to render
aid and assistance to state peace officers.
5. Authorizes GLIFWC to receive from the Department of Transportation monthly
compilations of vehicle registration information, drivers' license and identification card
photographs, and other identifying information in the same manner that sheriffs and
chiefs of local police departments, among others, currently receive this information.
Authority to Arrest and Assist
The bill authorizes a GLIFWC warden to make an arrest for a violation of state law
in the ceded territory if the warden is responding to either: a) an emergency situation that
poses a significant threat to life or of bodily harm; or b) acts that the warden believes, on
reasonable grounds, constitute a felony. The bill authorizes a GLIFWC warden also to
render aid or assistance to a Wisconsin peace officer in the ceded territory in an
emergency or at the request of the Wisconsin peace officer. A GLIFWC warden may take
these actions only if all of the following conditions are met:
1. The warden is on duty and on official business.
2. The warden meets the training standards for state and local law enforcement
officers and has agreed to accept the duties of law enforcement officers under the laws of
this state.
3. GLIFWC has adopted and implemented written policies regarding making
felony arrests under state law and rendering aid or assistance to state or local officers.
4. GLIFWC maintains liability insurance that does all of the following:
(a) Covers GLIFWC's liability up to a limit of not less than $2 million per
occurrence for the acts and omissions of its wardens acting under this authority.
(b) Provides that the insurer, in defending a claim against the policy, may not raise
the defense of sovereign immunity of the insured up to that limit.
The bill also authorizes GLIFWC wardens to engage in fresh pursuit in Wisconsin
beyond the ceded territory under specified circumstances.
SB97, s. 1 1Section 1 . 23.29 (23) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB97,4,5
123.29 (23) Enforcement. The department and its agents, the department of
2justice, and peace officers, as defined under s. 939.22 (22), but not including
3commission wardens, as defined under s. 939.22 (5),
have jurisdiction on dedicated
4state natural areas in the geographic jurisdiction to enforce articles of dedication and
5restrictions authorized under sub. (21).
SB97, s. 2 6Section 2 . 23.293 (19) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB97,4,107 23.293 (19) Enforcement. The department and its agents, the department of
8justice, and peace officers, as defined under s. 939.22 (22), but not including
9commission wardens, as defined under s. 939.22 (5),
have jurisdiction on dedicated
10ice age trail areas.
Note: Sections 1 and 2 exclude GLIFWC wardens from the list of entities having
enforcement authority for purposes of dedicated state natural areas and Ice Age Trail
areas.
SB97, s. 3 11Section 3 . 23.33 (4) (c) 1. of the statutes is amended to read:
SB97,4,1812 23.33 (4) (c) 1. Paragraphs (a) and (b) do not apply to the operator of an
13all-terrain vehicle owned by a municipality, state agency, or public utility, or by the
14Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission,
while the operator is engaged in
15an emergency or in the operation of an all-terrain vehicle directly related to the
16functions of the municipality, state agency, or public utility, or of the Great Lakes
17Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission,
if safety does not require strict adherence to
18these restrictions.
SB97, s. 4 19Section 4 . 23.33 (12) (b) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB97,4,2220 23.33 (12) (b) No operator of an all-terrain vehicle may refuse to stop after
21being requested or signaled to do so by a law enforcement officer or a commission
22warden, as defined in s. 939.22 (5)
.

Note: Sections 3 and 4 authorize GLIFWC wardens to operate all-terrain vehicles
(ATVs) on highways, under specified circumstances, and require other ATV operators to
stop when signaled by a GLIFWC warden.
SB97, s. 5 1Section 5. 23.51 (3) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB97,5,42 23.51 (3) "Enforcing officer" means a peace officer as defined by in s. 939.22
3(22), but not including a commission warden, as defined in s. 939.22 (5), or means a
4person who has authority to act pursuant to a specific statute.
Note: Excludes GLIFWC wardens from the definition of "enforcing officer" for
purposes of forfeiture procedures for the enforcement of state conservation laws.
SB97, s. 6 5Section 6. 30.64 of the statutes is amended to read:
SB97,5,13 630.64 Patrol boats. (1) The operator of a patrol boat, including a commission
7warden, as defined in s. 939.22 (5),
when responding to an emergency call or when
8in pursuit of an actual or suspected violator of the law, need not comply with this
9subchapter or ordinances under s. 30.77 when a siren or emergency light is activated
10or, if the patrol boat is equipped with a siren and an emergency light, when both the
11siren and emergency light are activated, and if due regard is given to the safety of
12other persons in the vicinity. If an emergency light is used, it shall be of a type and
13design specified under 33 CFR 88.11 or 88.12.
SB97,5,17 14(2) Upon the approach of a patrol boat, including a patrol boat operated by a
15commission warden, as defined in s. 939.22 (5),
giving an audio or visual signal, the
16operator of a boat shall reduce the boat speed to slow-no-wake and yield the
17right-of-way to the patrol boat until it has passed.
SB97,5,20 18(3) No person operating a boat may refuse to stop after being requested or
19signaled to do so by a law enforcement officer or a commission warden, as defined in
20s. 939.22 (5)
.
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