LRB-1475/1
CMH:emw
2023 - 2024 LEGISLATURE
February 21, 2023 - Introduced by Senators Wanggaard, Bradley, Cowles,
Marklein, Stroebel and Tomczyk, cosponsored by Representatives Duchow,
Behnke, Brooks, Dittrich, Donovan, Edming, Kitchens, Magnafici,
Michalski, Murphy, Novak, O'Connor, Rettinger, Rodriguez, Rozar, Spiros,
Steffen, Wichgers, Wittke and Neylon. Referred to Committee on Judiciary
and Public Safety.
SB75,1,5 1An Act to renumber 969.001 (2); to renumber and amend 969.01 (1) and
2969.035 (1); to amend 165.957 (4) (a) 1. and 2. and (c), 969.01 (4), 969.02 (3) (d)
3and 969.03 (1) (e); and to create 969.001 (2m), 969.001 (3) and 969.01 (1) (b)
42. of the statutes; relating to: statutory changes to implement the
5constitutional amendment relating to conditions of release.
Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau
Under the Wisconsin Constitution, a person accused of a crime is eligible for
release before conviction under reasonable conditions designed to do any of the
following: 1) assure that he or she will appear in court; 2) protect members of the
community from serious bodily harm; or 3) prevent the intimidation of witnesses.
The conditions of release may include monetary bail only if the court finds that there
is a reasonable basis to believe that bail is necessary to assure that the defendant will
appear in court. The Wisconsin Statutes relating to preconviction release contain the
same language as the constitution.
A proposed amendment to the Wisconsin Constitution, to be given second
consideration by the 2023 legislature for submittal to the voters in April 2023,
changes these provisions. This bill changes the statutes relating to preconviction
release to conform to the changes in the proposed constitutional amendment. The bill
will take effect when the amendment is ratified by the voters and will be void if the
amendment is not ratified by the voters.

Conditions of preconviction release
The proposed constitutional amendment provides that a defendant is eligible
for release before conviction under reasonable conditions designed to protect
members of the community from “serious harm as defined by the legislature by law,”
not just “serious bodily harm.” The bill defines “serious harm,” as required by the
amendment, and harmonizes the statutes with the amended constitutional
provision to allow the court to set reasonable conditions designed to protect members
of the community from serious harm. Under the bill, “serious harm” is defined as any
of the following: 1) personal physical pain or injury, illness, any impairment of
physical condition, or death, including mental anguish or emotional harm attendant
to the personal physical pain or injury, illness, or death; 2) damage to property over
$2,500 in value; or 3) economic loss over $2,500 in value.
When bail may be imposed
The proposed constitutional amendment also expands the reasons why a court
may impose monetary bail on a defendant as a condition of release. Under current
law, monetary bail may be imposed only if the court finds that there is a reasonable
basis to believe bail is necessary to assure that the defendant will appear in court.
The proposed constitutional amendment adds that, if the defendant is accused of a
violent crime as defined by the legislature by law, monetary bail may be imposed if
the court finds that there is a reasonable basis to believe that bail is necessary based
on the totality of the circumstances. The proposed amendment provides that, when
considering the totality of the circumstances, the court may take into account
whether the defendant has a previous conviction for a violent crime as defined by the
legislature by law; the probability that the defendant will fail to appear; the need to
protect members of the community from serious harm as defined by the legislature
by law; the need to prevent the intimidation of witnesses; and the potential
affirmative defenses of the defendant. The bill defines “violent crime” for this
purpose, and it changes the statutes to incorporate the additional reasons that the
court may impose monetary bail as a condition of release. The definition of “violent
crime” includes crimes such as homicide, aggravated and special circumstances
battery, mayhem, sexual assault, false imprisonment, human trafficking, taking of
hostages, kidnapping, stalking, disarming a police officer, arson, felony burglary, and
carjacking; crimes to which a domestic abuse or dangerous weapon penalty enhancer
may be applied; the violation of a domestic abuse, child abuse, or harassment
injunction; or the solicitation, conspiracy, or attempt to commit a Class A felony.
The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do
enact as follows:
SB75,1 1Section 1. 165.957 (4) (a) 1. and 2. and (c) of the statutes are amended to read:
SB75,3,52 165.957 (4) (a) 1. The person is ordered by a judge or by the department of
3corrections as a condition of bond, release under s. 969.01 (1) (a), probation or

1deferred prosecution, release to parole, or release to extended supervision, to totally
2abstain from using alcohol or a controlled substance, and whose participation in the
3program is ordered by the judge or by the department of corrections as a condition
4of bond, release under s. 969.01 (1) (a), probation, release to parole, or release to
5extended supervision.
SB75,3,146 2. The person agrees to totally abstain from using alcohol or a controlled
7substance while he or she is released on bond, on release under s. 969.01 (1) (a), on
8probation, participating in a deferred prosecution agreement, or on parole or
9extended supervision and agrees to participate in the program even though his or her
10participation is not ordered by a judge or by the department of corrections as a
11condition of bond, release pursuant to s. 969.01 (1) (a), probation or deferred
12prosecution, or release to parole or to extended supervision. This subdivision does
13not apply to any person who meets the criteria under s. 343.301 (1g) (a) 2. b. and who
14is subject to an order under s. 343.301 (1g) (am) 2.
SB75,3,2015 (c) The program informs a participant that, if he or she fails to appear for a
16scheduled test or if his or her test results indicate that the participant used alcohol
17or a controlled substance, he or she may be placed under immediate arrest and
18referred to the department of corrections and to the appropriate prosecuting agency
19for violating a condition of his or her bond, release under s. 969.01 (1) (a), probation
20or deferred prosecution, or of his or her release to parole or extended supervision.
SB75,2 21Section 2. 969.001 (2) of the statutes is renumbered 969.035 (1) (a).
SB75,3 22Section 3. 969.001 (2m) of the statutes is created to read:
SB75,3,2323 969.001 (2m) “Serious harm" means any of the following:
SB75,4,3
1(a) Personal physical pain or injury, illness, any impairment of physical
2condition, or death, including mental anguish or emotional harm attendant to the
3personal physical pain or injury, illness, or death.
SB75,4,44 (b) Damage to property over $2,500 in value.
SB75,4,55 (c) Economic loss over $2,500 in value.
SB75,4 6Section 4. 969.001 (3) of the statutes is created to read:
SB75,4,77 969.001 (3) “Violent crime” means any of the following:
SB75,4,178 (a) A crime specified under s. 940.01, 940.02, 940.03, 940.05, 940.06, 940.07,
9940.08, 940.09 (1), 940.10, 940.19 (2), (4), (5), or (6), 940.195 (2), (4), (5), or (6), 940.198
10(2) (a) or (c), 940.20, 940.201 (2), 940.203 (2), 940.204, 940.205 (2), 940.207 (2),
11940.208, 940.21, 940.225 (1), (2), or (3), 940.23, 940.235, 940.25, 940.285, 940.30,
12940.302 (2) (a) 1. b., 940.305, 940.31, 940.32, 940.43, 940.45, 941.20, 941.21, 941.28,
13941.2905, 941.292, 941.30, 941.327, 941.38 (3), 941.39, 943.01 (2) (c), 943.011,
14943.013, 943.02, 943.04, 943.06, 943.10 (2), 943.23 (1g), 943.30, 943.32, 943.86,
15943.87, 943.89, 943.90, 946.43, 947.013, 947.015, 948.02 (1) or (2), 948.025, 948.03
16(2) (a), (b), or (c), (3), or (5) (a) 1., 2., 3., or 4., 948.04, 948.05, 948.051, 948.055, 948.06,
17948.07, 948.08, 948.085, 948.095, 948.30 (2), 948.55, 951.02, 951.08, or 951.09.
SB75,4,1818 (b) A felony violation of s. 941.26.
SB75,4,1919 (c) A violation of s. 813.12, 813.122, or 813.125.
SB75,4,2120 (d) The solicitation, conspiracy, or attempt, under s. 939.30, 939.31, or 939.32,
21to commit a Class A felony.
SB75,4,2322 (e) A violation to which a penalty enhancer specified in s. 939.621 or 939.63 (1)
23may be applied.
SB75,5 24Section 5. 969.01 (1) of the statutes is renumbered 969.01 (1) (a) and amended
25to read:
SB75,5,5
1969.01 (1) (a) Before conviction, except as provided in ss. 969.035 and 971.14
2(1r), a defendant arrested for a criminal offense is eligible for release under
3reasonable conditions designed to assure his or her appearance in court, protect
4members of the community from serious bodily harm, or and prevent the
5intimidation of witnesses.
SB75,5,7 6(b) Bail may be imposed at or after the initial appearance only upon a finding
7by the court that there any of the following is true:
SB75,5,11 81. There is a reasonable basis to believe that bail is necessary to assure the
9defendant's
appearance in court. In determining whether any conditions of release
10are appropriate, the judge shall first consider the likelihood of the defendant
11appearing for trial if released on his or her own recognizance.
SB75,6 12Section 6. 969.01 (1) (b) 2. of the statutes is created to read:
SB75,5,1913 969.01 (1) (b) 2. If the defendant is accused of a violent crime, there is a
14reasonable basis to believe that bail is necessary based on the totality of the
15circumstances. The court, when considering the totality of the circumstances, may
16take into account whether the defendant has a previous conviction for a violent
17crime, the probability that the defendant will fail to appear in court, the need to
18protect members of the community from serious harm, the need to prevent the
19intimidation of witnesses, and the potential affirmative defenses of the defendant.
SB75,7 20Section 7. 969.01 (4) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB75,6,1621 969.01 (4) Considerations in setting conditions of release. If bail is imposed,
22it
only due to a finding under sub. (1) (b) 1., the bail amount shall be only in the
23amount found necessary to assure the appearance of the defendant. If bail is imposed
24due to a finding under sub. (1) (b) 2., the bail amount may not be excessive.

25Conditions of release, other than monetary conditions, may be imposed for the

1purpose of assuring the defendant's appearance in court, protecting members of the
2community from serious bodily harm, or preventing intimidation of witnesses.
3Proper considerations in determining whether to release the defendant without bail,
4fixing a reasonable and not excessive amount of bail or imposing other reasonable
5conditions of release are: the ability of the arrested person to give bail, the nature,
6number and gravity of the offenses and the potential penalty the defendant faces,
7whether the alleged acts were violent in nature, the defendant's prior record of
8criminal convictions and delinquency adjudications, if any, the character, health,
9residence and reputation of the defendant, the character and strength of the evidence
10which has been presented to the judge, whether the defendant is currently on
11probation, extended supervision or parole, whether the defendant is already on bail
12or subject to other release conditions in other pending cases, whether the defendant
13has been bound over for trial after a preliminary examination, whether the
14defendant has in the past forfeited bail or violated a condition of release or was a
15fugitive from justice at the time of arrest, and the policy against unnecessary
16detention of the defendant's pending trial.
SB75,8 17Section 8. 969.02 (3) (d) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB75,6,2418 969.02 (3) (d) Impose any other condition deemed reasonably necessary to
19assure appearance as required
bail following a finding under s. 969.01 (1) (b) or
20impose any nonmonetary condition deemed reasonably necessary to secure
21appearance in court as required,
protect members of the community from serious
22bodily harm, or prevent intimidation of witnesses, including a condition that the
23defendant return to custody after specified hours. The charges authorized by s.
24303.08 (4) and (5) shall not apply under this section.
SB75,9 25Section 9. 969.03 (1) (e) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB75,7,7
1969.03 (1) (e) Impose any other condition deemed reasonably necessary to
2assure appearance as required
bail following a finding under s. 969.01 (1) (b) or any
3nonmonetary condition deemed reasonably necessary to secure appearance in court
4as required,
protect members of the community from serious bodily harm, or prevent
5intimidation of witnesses, including a condition requiring that the defendant return
6to custody after specified hours. The charges authorized by s. 303.08 (4) and (5) shall
7not apply under this section.
SB75,10 8Section 10. 969.035 (1) of the statutes is renumbered 969.035 (1) (intro.) and
9amended to read:
SB75,7,1010 969.035 (1) (intro.) In this section:
SB75,7,14 11(b) Notwithstanding s. 969.001 (3), “violent crime" means any crime specified
12in s. 940.01, 940.02, 940.03, 940.05, 940.06, 940.07, 940.08, 940.10, 940.19 (5),
13940.195 (5), 940.198 (2) (a) or (c), 940.21, 940.225 (1), 940.23, 941.327, 948.02 (1) or
14(2), 948.025, 948.03, or 948.085.
SB75,11 15Section 11. Nonstatutory provisions.
SB75,7,2116 (1) If, at the April 2023 election, only question 1 or question 2 of 2023 Senate
17Joint Resolution 2 or 2023 Assembly Joint Resolution 1 is ratified, the treatments
18in this act that are related to the question that was not ratified are void. If neither
19question is ratified at the April 2023 election, this act is void. The legislative
20reference bureau shall identify and delete voided treatments in enrolling this bill or
21when publishing the statutes.
SB75,12 22Section 12. Effective date.
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