2013 - 2014 LEGISLATURE
March 14, 2013 - Introduced by Representatives Jacque, Genrich, Bernier,
Danou, Kahl, Kleefisch, Krug, A. Ott, Spiros, Swearingen, Tranel and
Weininger, cosponsored by Senators Cowles, Hansen and Schultz. Referred
to Committee on Judiciary.
AB74,1,6 1An Act to renumber and amend 973.045 (2); to amend 23.85, 59.40 (2) (n),
2973.045 (1) (a) and 973.045 (1) (b); and to create 59.25 (3) (gm), 59.54 (28),
3973.045 (1r) (a) 4., 973.045 (2) (b) and 973.045 (3) (d) of the statutes; relating
4to:
increasing the crime victim and witness assistance surcharge, dedicating
5funds for crime prevention organizations, and creating local crime prevention
6funding boards.
Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau
Under current law, if a person commits a crime, the court that sentences the
person or places the person on probation must impose a surcharge in addition to any
other sentence imposed upon the person. Currently, if the person is convicted of a
misdemeanor, he or she must pay $67; if the person is convicted of a felony, he or she
must pay $92. The surcharge is divided three ways: part A ($40 for each
misdemeanor surcharge and $65 for each felony surcharge); part B ($20 for each
misdemeanor and felony surcharge); and part C ($7 for each misdemeanor and felony
surcharge).
Currently, the clerk of courts collects the surcharge amounts and forwards
them to the county treasurer, who in turn forwards them to the Department of
Administration to help fund programs for victims and witnesses of crime. Funds
from parts A and C are used to reimburse victims and witnesses and reimburse
counties for victim and witness programs. Funds from part B are used to fund

services for victims of sexual assault. Current law requires a person who is assessed
this surcharge to pay part A in full before he or she pays part B, and both parts A and
B before he or she pays part C.
This bill increases the surcharge by $20 for a misdemeanor and for a felony. The
bill creates a part D, which is funded by $20 for each misdemeanor or felony and
which a person who is assessed the surcharge may pay only after he or she pays parts
A, B, and C in full. Under the bill, the clerk of court forwards the amounts collected
under part D to the county treasurer along with the other parts of the surcharge, but
the treasurer retains those funds in a crime prevention fund.
Under the bill, a county treasurer deposits the funds he or she receives from
part D of the surcharge into a crime prevention fund. Moneys from the fund are
distributed as grants at the direction of a crime prevention funding board (CPFB).
Under the bill, a CPFB is created in every county whose treasurer receives funds
from a part D surcharge. Each CPFB consists of seven members: the presiding judge
of the circuit court, or his or her designee; the district attorney, or his or her designee;
the sheriff, or his or her designee; the county executive, county administrator, or
county board chairperson, or his or her designee; the chief elected official of the city,
village, or town with the largest population in the county, or his or her designee; a
person chosen by a majority vote of the top law enforcement officials of the
departments that are located in the county; and a person chosen by the county's
public defender's office. Members of a CPFB may be reimbursed for expenses but
may not receive any other compensation. Members serve for a term that is
determined by the CPFB.
A CPFB may solicit grant applications from certain specified entities and may
award grants to such entities. At least one-half of the funds must go to one or more
private, nonprofit organizations that has as its primary purpose preventing crime,
providing a funding source for crime prevention programs, encouraging the public
to report crime, or assisting law enforcement agencies in the apprehension of
criminal offenders. A CPFB may direct that the rest of the funds be distributed to
a law enforcement agency that has a crime prevention fund, if the contribution is
credited to the crime prevention fund and is used for crime prevention purposes. The
bill requires that a CPFB and any entity that receives a grant from a CPFB must
submit an annual report to certain specified entities detailing the amounts spent, the
purposes for which the grants were spent, and contact information for the entity and
the entity's leaders. The reports must be distributed to the clerk of court for the
county that distributed the funds, the county board, and the governing bodies of the
cities, villages, and towns in the county.
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:
AB74,1 1Section 1. 23.85 of the statutes is amended to read:
AB74,3,11
123.85 Statement to county board; payment to state. Every county
2treasurer shall, on the first day of the annual meeting of the county board of
3supervisors, submit to it a verified statement of all forfeitures, costs, fees, and
4surcharges imposed under ch. 814 and received during the previous year. The county
5clerk shall deduct all expenses incurred by the county in recovering those forfeitures,
6costs, fees, and surcharges from the aggregate amount so received, and shall
7immediately certify the amount of clear proceeds of those forfeitures, costs, fees, and
8surcharges to the county treasurer, who shall pay the proceeds to the state as
9provided in s. 59.25 (3). Jail surcharges imposed under ch. 814 shall be treated
10separately as provided in s. 302.46 and part D of the crime victim witness assistance
11surcharge shall be treated separately as provided in s. 973.045 (2) (b)
.
AB74,2 12Section 2. 59.25 (3) (gm) of the statutes is created to read:
AB74,3,1513 59.25 (3) (gm) Deposit all moneys received under s. 973.045 (2) (b) into a crime
14prevention fund and, on order of the crime board under s. 59.54 (28) (d), make grant
15payments as the crime board directs.
AB74,3 16Section 3. 59.40 (2) (n) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB74,3,1917 59.40 (2) (n) Pay monthly to the treasurer the amounts required by s. 302.46
18(1) for the jail assessment surcharge and the amounts required by s. 973.045 (2) (b).
19The payments shall be made by the 15th day of the month following receipt thereof.
AB74,4 20Section 4. 59.54 (28) of the statutes is created to read:
AB74,3,2121 59.54 (28) Crime prevention funding board. (a) In this subsection:
AB74,3,2422 1. "Chief elected official" means the mayor of a city or, if the city is organized
23under subch. I of ch. 64, the president of the council of that city, the village president
24of a village, or the town board chairperson of a town.
AB74,4,2
12. "Crime board" means the crime prevention funding board that is created
2under this subsection.
AB74,4,33 3. "Municipality" means a city, village, or town.
AB74,4,104 (b) There is created in each county, in which the treasurer receives moneys and
5deposits them as described in s. 59.25 (3) (gm), a crime board. The funds in such an
6account may be distributed upon the direction of the crime board under par. (d). The
7crime board shall meet, and its members may receive no compensation, other than
8reimbursement for actual and reasonable expenses incurred in the performance of
9their duties. Members shall serve for the terms that are determined by the crime
10board.
AB74,4,1111 (c) A county crime board shall consist of the following members:
AB74,4,1212 1. The presiding judge of the circuit court, or his or her designee.
AB74,4,1313 2. The district attorney, or his or her designee.
AB74,4,1414 3. The sheriff, or his or her designee.
AB74,4,1515 4. One of the following county officials, or his or her designee:
AB74,4,1616 a. The county executive.
AB74,4,1717 b. If the county does not have a county executive, the county administrator.
AB74,4,1918 c. The chairperson of the county board of supervisors, or his or her designee,
19if the county does not have a county executive or a county administrator.
AB74,4,2120 5. The chief elected official of the largest municipality in the county, as
21determined by population, or his or her designee.
AB74,4,2322 6. A person chosen by a majority vote of the sheriff and all of the chiefs of police
23departments that are located wholly or partly within the county.
AB74,4,2424 7. A person chosen by the county's public defender's office.
AB74,5,5
1(d) 1. The crime board may solicit applications for grants in a format
2determined by the crime board, and may vote to direct the treasurer to distribute
3grants to applicants from moneys in the crime prevention fund under s. 59.25 (3)
4(gm). The crime board may direct the treasurer to distribute grants to any of the
5following entities, in amounts determined by the crime board:
AB74,5,96 a. One or more private nonprofit organizations within the county that has as
7its primary purpose preventing crime, providing a funding source for crime
8prevention programs, encouraging the public to report crime, or assisting law
9enforcement agencies in the apprehension of criminal offenders.
AB74,5,1210 b. A law enforcement agency within the county that has a crime prevention
11fund, if the contribution is credited to the crime prevention fund and is used for crime
12prevention purposes.
AB74,5,1413 2. Not less than 50 percent of the payments made under subd. 1. shall be made
14to one or more organizations described in subd. 1. a.
AB74,5,1915 (e) Annually, the crime board shall submit a report on its activities to the clerk
16of court for the county that distributed the funds, to the county board, and to the
17legislative bodies of each municipality that is located wholly or partly within the
18county. The report shall contain at least all of the following information for the year
19to which the report relates:
AB74,5,2120 1. The name and address of each entity that received a grant, including contact
21information for the leadership of the entity.
AB74,5,2422 2. A full accounting of all funds disbursed by the treasurer at the direction of
23the crime board, including the amount of the funds disbursed, the dates of disbursal,
24and the purposes for which the grant was made.
AB74,6,4
1(f) Annually, each recipient of a grant awarded under this subsection shall
2submit a report on its activities to all of the entities specified in par. (e). The report
3shall contain at least all of the following information for the year to which the report
4relates:
AB74,6,55 1. The name and address of the entity.
AB74,6,76 2. The name and address, and title, of each member of the governing body of
7the entity.
AB74,6,88 3. The purposes for which the grant money was spent.
AB74,6,109 4. A detailed accounting of all receipts and expenditures of the entity that relate
10to the grant money.
AB74,6,1111 5. The balance of any funds remaining.
AB74,5 12Section 5. 973.045 (1) (a) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB74,6,1313 973.045 (1) (a) For each misdemeanor offense or count, $67 $87.
AB74,6 14Section 6. 973.045 (1) (b) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB74,6,1515 973.045 (1) (b) For each felony offense or count, $92 $112.
AB74,7 16Section 7. 973.045 (1r) (a) 4. of the statutes is created to read:
AB74,6,1817 973.045 (1r) (a) 4. Part D equals $20 for each misdemeanor offense or count and
18$20 for each felony offense or count.
AB74,8 19Section 8. 973.045 (2) of the statutes is renumbered 973.045 (2) (a) and
20amended to read:
AB74,6,2421 973.045 (2) (a) After the clerk determines the amount due, the clerk of court
22shall collect and transmit the amount amounts collected under parts A, B, and C to
23the county treasurer under s. 59.40 (2) (m). The county treasurer shall then make
24payment to the secretary of administration under s. 59.25 (3) (f) 2.
AB74,9 25Section 9. 973.045 (2) (b) of the statutes is created to read:
AB74,7,4
1973.045 (2) (b) After the clerk determines the amount due, the clerk of court
2shall collect and transmit the amount collected under part D to the county treasurer
3under s. 59.40 (2) (n). The county treasurer shall then distribute the moneys under
4s. 59.25 (3) (gm).
AB74,10 5Section 10. 973.045 (3) (d) of the statutes is created to read:
AB74,7,86 973.045 (3) (d) The person paying the crime victim and witness assistance
7surcharge shall pay all of the moneys due under parts A, B, and C before he or she
8pays any of the moneys due under part D.
AB74,11 9Section 11. Nonstatutory provisions.
AB74,7,1310 (1) Upon the creation of a crime prevention funding board, the initial members
11of the board specified under section 59.54 (28) (c) of the statutes shall declare that
12they are serving on the board, or appoint their designees, not later than the first day
13of the 4th month beginning after a board is created.
AB74,7,1414 (End)
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