LRB-1261/1
CMH:sac:rs
2013 - 2014 LEGISLATURE
February 18, 2013 - Introduced by Joint Legislative Council. Referred to
Committee on Criminal Justice.
AB28,2,2 1An Act to repeal 980.075 (title), (1), (1m) (b) and (2); to renumber 980.07 (6);
2to renumber and amend 980.075 (1m) (a), 980.075 (3), 980.075 (5), 980.075
3(6) and 980.08 (3); to consolidate, renumber and amend 980.075 (4) (a) and
4(b); to amend 980.01 (3), 980.01 (8), 980.065 (1r), 980.07 (1), 980.07 (4) (b),
5980.07 (6m), 980.08 (1), 980.08 (4) (a), 980.08 (4) (cg) 1., 980.08 (9) (a), 980.09
6(1), 980.09 (2) and (3), 980.09 (4) and 980.095 (1) (a); and to create 980.08 (2m),
7980.08 (4) (cj), 980.09 (1m) (d) and 980.09 (5) of the statutes; relating to:
8criteria for supervised release from commitment as sexually violent persons,
9placement of females committed as sexually violent persons, permitted outings

1under direct supervision for individuals on supervised release, and supervised
2release and discharge of individuals committed as sexually violent persons.
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 Special Committee on Supervised Release and Discharge of
Sexually Violent Persons.
Chapter 980 of the Wisconsin statutes provides a statutory scheme for the
involuntary civil commitment of individuals who have completed their criminal
sentences and are determined to be "sexually violent persons." In general, a sexually
violent person (SVP) is an individual who has been convicted of a sexually violent offense
and who is dangerous because he or she suffers from a mental disorder that makes it
likely the individual will engage in future acts of sexual violence. Current law contains
provisions for the discharge or supervised release of individuals committed under ch. 980.
This draft makes various changes to the discharge and supervised release
provisions of ch. 980. These changes include the following:
Assigning the burden of proof regarding supervised release criteria to the
petitioner.
Extending the timelines within which a court must hold a supervised release
hearing or discharge trial.
Altering the pleading requirement a petitioner must meet before receiving a
discharge trial.
Repealing parts of s. 980.075, stats., relating to the supervised release and
discharge petition process, and renumbering certain provisions to the statutory sections
specifically relating to supervised release and discharge.
Requiring a court to make a supervised release determination after denying
discharge at a discharge trial.
Requiring a delay of up to 10 days in the execution of a court order granting
discharge to a committed individual.
Altering the criteria which a committed person must meet before a court may
grant supervised release.
Expanding the list of activities for which a committed person on supervised
release may leave his or her residence under direct supervision of a department of
corrections (DOC) escort.
AB28,1 3Section 1. 980.01 (3) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB28,3,2
1980.01 (3) Except in ss. 980.075, 980.09, and 980.095, "petitioner" "Petitioner"
2means the agency or person that filed a petition under s. 980.02.
Note: Part of s. 980.075 is repealed in this bill and parts are renumbered to be parts
of s. 980.07, but the only instance of "petitioner" in s. 980.075 was changed to "person."
See Section 11 . Section 980.09 contains one occurrence of "petitioner"; this bill changes
it to "person" for consistency. See Section 24. Section 980.095 contains one occurrence
of "petitioner"; this bill changes it to "person" to be consistent and to eliminate any
confusion since that statutory section also discusses the petition under s. 980.02. See
Section 26.
AB28,2 3Section 2 . 980.01 (8) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB28,3,54 980.01 (8) "Significant progress in treatment" means that the person has done
5is doing all of the following:
AB28,3,86 (a) Meaningfully participated participating in the treatment program
7specifically designed to reduce his or her risk to reoffend offered at a facility described
8under s. 980.065.
AB28,3,129 (b) Participated Participating in the treatment program at a level that was is
10sufficient to allow the identification of his or her specific treatment needs and then
11demonstrated
demonstrating, through overt behavior, a willingness to work on
12addressing the specific treatment needs.
AB28,3,1513 (c) Demonstrated Demonstrating an understanding of the thoughts, attitudes,
14emotions, behaviors, and sexual arousal linked to his or her sexual offending and an
15ability to identify when the thoughts, emotions, behaviors, or sexual arousal occur.
AB28,3,1916 (d) Demonstrated Demonstrating sufficiently sustained change in the
17thoughts, attitudes, emotions, and behaviors and sufficient management of sexual
18arousal such that one could reasonably assume that, with continued treatment, the
19change could be maintained.
Note: Revises the definition of "significant progress in treatment" to specify that
the individual must be participating in treatment programs at a sufficient level and
demonstrating the requisite behavior, understanding, and changes, rather than

specifying that the individual has already participated in the treatment or has already
demonstrated these behaviors, understandings, and changes.
Under current law, a committed individual must meet 5 specified criteria before a
court may grant him or her supervised release. One of the criteria requires that the
individual has made "significant progress in treatment" and that the progress can be
sustained while on supervised release. Because the draft revises the definition of
"significant progress in treatment", a committed individual must currently be engaged
in or working towards the requirements set forth in the definition to meet the criterion
for supervised release. Corresponding revisions are made in Sections 5 and 18.
AB28,3 1Section 3. 980.065 (1r) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB28,4,52 980.065 (1r) Notwithstanding sub. (1m), the department may place a female
3person committed under s. 980.06 at Mendota Mental Health Institute, Wisconsin
4Women's Resource Center,
Winnebago Mental Health Institute, or a privately
5operated residential facility under contract with the department of health services.
Note: Expands the list of facilities at which DHS may place a female committed
as an SVP to include the Wisconsin Women's Resource Center.
AB28,4 6Section 4. 980.07 (1) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB28,5,27 980.07 (1) If a person is committed under s. 980.06 and has not been discharged
8under s. 980.09 (4), the department shall appoint an examiner to conduct a
9reexamination of the person's mental condition within 12 months after the date of
10the initial commitment order under s. 980.06 and again thereafter at least once each
1112 months to determine whether the person has made sufficient progress for the
12court to consider whether the person should be placed on supervised release or
13discharged. The examiner shall apply the criteria under s. 980.08 (4) (cg) when
14considering if the person should be placed on supervised release and shall apply the
15criteria under s. 980.09 (3) when considering if the person should be discharged. At
16the time of a reexamination under this section, the person who has been committed
17may retain or have the
court shall appoint an examiner as provided under s. 980.031
18(3) upon request of the committed person or the person may retain an examiner. The

1county shall pay the costs of an examiner appointed by the court as provided under
2s. 51.20 (18) (a).
Note: Clarifies that a court must appoint an examiner for the committed person
if the person requests an examiner at the time of the 12-month reexamination. Removes
ambiguity regarding whether a court may choose not to appoint an examiner when a
committed person requests an examiner.
AB28,5 3Section 5 . 980.07 (4) (b) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB28,5,54 980.07 (4) (b) Whether the person has made is making significant progress in
5treatment or has refused treatment.
Note: This change corresponds with the revision in Section 2.
AB28,6 6Section 6 . 980.07 (6) of the statutes is renumbered 980.07 (6) (a).
Note: This bill renumbers 980.075 (1m) (a) to 980.07 (6) (b); see Section 9 .
AB28,7 7Section 7. 980.07 (6m) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB28,5,148 980.07 (6m) If a person committed under s. 980.06 is incarcerated at a county
9jail, state correctional institution, or federal correction institution for a new criminal
10charge or conviction or because his or her parole was revoked, any reporting
11requirement under sub. (1), (4), or (6) (a) does not apply during the incarceration
12period. A court may order a reexamination of the person under sub. (3) if the courts
13finds reexamination to be necessary. The schedule for reporting established under
14sub. (1) shall resume upon the release of the person.
****Note: This bill renumbers s. 980.07 (6) to be 980.07 (6) (a). See Section 6 .
AB28,8 15Section 8. 980.075 (title), (1), (1m) (b) and (2) of the statutes are repealed.
Note: This bill relocates portions of s. 980.075 into ss. 980.07 and 980.09, stats.,
as described in the notes appearing beneath Sections 9, 10 , 11, 12 , and 13. This draft also
adds identical language from s. 980.075 to s. 980.08. See the note following Section 15 .
Portions of s. 980.075, patient petition process, which this bill repeals and does not
relocate to other portions of the chapter appear in s. 980.075 (2), stats., and contain the
following: (1) a 30-day deadline for submitting a supervised release or discharge petition
that may conflict with more specific deadlines appearing within s. 980.08 and 980.09,
stats; and (2) language stating that a person remains committed or remains on
supervised release without court review if the person does not file a timely discharge
petition.
AB28,9
1Section 9 . 980.075 (1m) (a) of the statutes is renumbered 980.07 (6) (b) and
2amended to read:
AB28,6,73 980.07 (6) (b) When the department provides a copy of the report under s.
4980.07 (6)
par. (a) to the person who has been committed under s. 980.06, the
5department shall provide to the person a standardized petition form for supervised
6release under s. 980.08 and a standardized petition form for discharge under s.
7980.09.
Note: Requires DHS to provide petition forms to committed individuals when
providing a copy of the person's reexamination report.
AB28,10 8Section 10 . 980.075 (3) of the statutes is renumbered 980.09 (1m) (a) and
9amended to read:
AB28,6,1510 980.09 (1m) (a) If the person files a petition for discharge under s. 980.09 sub.
11(1)
without counsel, the court shall serve a copy of the petition and any supporting
12documents on the district attorney or department of justice, whichever is applicable.
13If the person petitions for discharge under s. 980.09 sub. (1) through counsel, his or
14her attorney shall serve the district attorney or department of justice, whichever is
15applicable.
Note: This Section relocates s. 980.075 (3), stats., which requires that a
committed person or his or her attorney serve a copy of the person's discharge petition and
supporting documents on the prosecuting entity.
AB28,11 16Section 11 . 980.075 (4) (a) and (b) of the statutes are consolidated, renumbered
17980.09 (1m) (c) and amended to read:
AB28,6,2118 980.09 (1m) (c) The petitioner If a person files a petition for discharge under
19sub. (1), the person
may use experts or professional persons to support his or her
20petition. (b) The district attorney or the department of justice may use experts or
21professional persons to support or oppose any petition filed under sub. (1).

Note: This Section relocates s. 980.075 (4) (a) and (b), which permits the
committed individual and the prosecution to use experts or other professionals to support
or oppose a discharge petition.
AB28,12 1Section 12 . 980.075 (5) of the statutes is renumbered 980.09 (1m) (b) and
2amended to read:
AB28,7,73 980.09 (1m) (b) Subject to s. 980.03 (2) (a), before proceeding under s. 980.08
4or 980.09 but
If the person files a petition for a discharge under sub. (1) without
5counsel,
as soon as circumstances permit, the court shall refer the matter to the
6authority for indigency determinations under s. 977.07 (1) and appointment of
7counsel under s. 977.05 (4) (j) if the person is not represented by counsel.
Note: This Section relocates s. 980.075 (5), stats., which requires the court to refer
a committed person who does not have an attorney to the office of the state public
defender for an indigency determination and appointment of counsel.
AB28,13 8Section 13 . 980.075 (6) of the statutes is renumbered 980.07 (7) and amended
9to read:
AB28,7,1410 980.07 (7) At any time before a hearing under s. 980.08 or 980.09, the
11department may file a supplemental report if the department determines that court
12should have additional information. The court shall accept the supplemental report
13and permit testimony from the department regarding the report or any relevant
14portion of the report.
Note: Permits the department of health services (DHS) to file a supplemental
report at any time prior to a supervised release or discharge hearing.
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