AB827: Bill Text

AB827, s. 15 Section 15. 345.28 (5) (a) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB827,8,20 345.28 (5) (a) In lieu of the procedure under sub. (4), if the person does not pay the forfeiture or appear in court in response to the citation for a nonmoving traffic violation or red light violation on the date specified in the citation or, if no date is specified in the citation, within 28 days after the citation was issued, the authority, after sending 2 notices which meet the requirements under sub. (4) (c) 1., may issue a warrant under par. (b) for the person.

AB827, s. 16 Section 16. 345.28 (5) (b) 2. (intro.) and a. of the statutes are amended to read:

AB827,8,23 345.28 (5) (b) 2. (intro.) If an officer contacts a person for whom a warrant for a nonmoving traffic violation or red light violation has been issued under subd. 1.:

AB827,9,14 a. The officer shall accept a deposit of money or a deposit of the person's valid Wisconsin operator's license in lieu of serving the warrant and arresting the person. If the license is deposited with the officer, the officer shall issue to the licensee a receipt, on a form provided by the department, which is valid as an operator's license through a date specified on the receipt, not to exceed 30 days from the date of contact, which shall be the same as the court appearance date and the officer shall at the earliest possible time prior to the court appearance date deposit the license with the court. If a deposit of money is made, s. 345.26 (1) (a) and (2) to (5) applies. The officer shall notify the person who deposits money or his or her license, in writing, of the specific actions which the authority and the courts are authorized to take under this section if the person fails to appear in court at the time specified by the officer, not to exceed 30 days from the date of contact, or at any subsequent court appearance for the nonmoving traffic violation citation or red light violation. If the person makes a deposit of money or deposits his or her valid Wisconsin operator's license, the officer shall return the warrant to the court or judge who issued the warrant and the court or judge shall vacate the warrant.

AB827, s. 17 Section 17. 345.28 (5) (c) 1. and 2. of the statutes are amended to read:

AB827,9,24 345.28 (5) (c) 1. If the person who was contacted under par. (b) 2. and who has made a deposit of money fails to appear in court at the date specified by the officer under par. (b) 2. a. or set under s. 345.32, 345.34 or 345.36 or at any subsequent court appearance for the nonmoving traffic violation or red light violation, the person shall be deemed to have entered a plea of no contest. The court shall accept the plea of no contest, find the defendant guilty and proceed under s. 345.47, except that the deposit shall be forfeited and serve as payment of the judgment. The court shall give notice of the entry of judgment to the defendant by mailing a copy of the judgment to the defendant's last-known address.

AB827,10,19 2. If the person who was contacted under par. (b) 2. and who has deposited his or her operator's license fails to appear in court at the date specified by the officer under par. (b) 2. a. or set under s. 345.32, 345.34 or 345.36 or at any subsequent court appearance for the nonmoving traffic violation or red light violation, the person may be deemed to have entered a plea of no contest. The court may accept the plea of no contest, find the defendant guilty and, except as limited by sub. (6), proceed under s. 345.47. If the court enters judgment under s. 345.47 (1), the court shall give notice of the entry of judgment to the defendant by mailing a copy of the judgment to the defendant's last-known address. The court shall also mail to the defendant's last-known address a statement setting forth the actions the court may take under s. 345.47 if the judgment is not paid. In lieu of accepting the plea of no contest, the court may issue a warrant commanding that the person be arrested and brought before the court. Unless the case is tried immediately with the person's consent, any person who is arrested on a warrant issued under this subdivision may be released on his or her own recognizance or on posting bond or may be released without bail and shall be released if the person posts cash bail for his or her appearance. The court may retain the person's license, but the person's operating privilege may not be suspended until after judgment is entered under s. 345.47 and the judgment is not paid.

AB827, s. 18 Section 18. 345.28 (7) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB827,11,5 345.28 (7) Nothing in this section prevents a court from issuing a warrant under s. 345.36 or 345.37 if the person appears in court in response to a citation for a nonmoving traffic violation or red light violation or after notice by the authority who issued the citation or the department under sub. (4) with respect to the citation or on the date specified by the officer or the court under sub. (5) and then fails to appear in court at any time fixed by subsequent postponement. Unless the case is tried immediately with the person's consent, any person who is arrested on a warrant issued under this subsection may be released on his or her own recognizance or on posting bond or may be released without bail and shall be released if the person posts cash bail for his or her appearance.

AB827, s. 19 Section 19. 345.30 of the statutes is amended to read:

AB827,11,13 345.30 Jurisdiction. Jurisdiction over actions for violation of traffic regulations and, nonmoving traffic violations, and violations of ordinances enacted under s. 349.107 is conferred upon circuit courts. Municipal courts shall have jurisdiction over traffic regulations enacted in accordance with s. 349.06 and, over actions for violations of nonmoving traffic ordinances enacted in accordance with s. 349.06 or 349.13, and over actions for violations of ordinances enacted under s. 349.107.

AB827, s. 20 Section 20. 345.31 of the statutes is amended to read:

AB827,11,21 345.31 Venue in traffic regulation actions. Section 971.19 on place of trial in criminal actions applies to actions for the violation of traffic regulations and, nonmoving traffic violations, and violations of ordinances enacted under s. 349.107 except that, in the case of a violation of an ordinance of a municipality which is located in more than one county, the action may be brought in any court sitting in that municipality even though in another county. As an alternative, the plaintiff may bring the action in the county where the defendant resides.

AB827, s. 21 Section 21. 345.315 (1) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB827,12,12 345.315 (1) In traffic regulation and nonmoving traffic violation cases, and in cases involving violations of ordinances enacted under s. 349.107, a person charged with a violation may file a written request for a substitution of a different judge for the judge originally assigned to the trial of that case. The written request shall be filed not later than 7 days after the initial appearance in person or by an attorney. If a new judge is assigned to the trial of a case and the defendant has not exercised the right to substitute an assigned judge, a written request for the substitution of the new judge may be filed within 10 days of the giving of actual notice or sending of the notice of assignment to the defendant or the defendant's attorney. If the notification occurs within 10 days of the date set for trial, the request shall be filed within 48 hours of the giving of actual notice or sending of the notice of assignment to the defendant or the defendant's attorney. If the notification occurs within 48 hours of the trial or if there has been no notification, the defendant may make an oral or written request for substitution prior to the commencement of the proceedings. The judge against whom a request has been filed may set initial bail and accept a plea.

AB827, s. 22 Section 22. 345.36 (3) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB827,12,16 345.36 (3) If the offense involved is a nonmoving traffic violation or violation of an ordinance enacted under s. 349.107 and the defendant is subject to s. 345.28 (5) (c), a default judgment may be entered and opened as provided in s. 345.28 (5) (c).

AB827, s. 23 Section 23. 345.37 (1) (b) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB827,13,6 345.37 (1) (b) Deem the nonappearance a plea of no contest and enter judgment accordingly. If the defendant has posted bond for appearance at that date, the court may also order the bond forfeited. The court shall promptly mail a copy or notice of the judgment to the defendant. The judgment shall allow not less than 20 days from the date thereof for payment of any forfeiture, plus costs, fees, and surcharges imposed under ch. 814. If the defendant moves to open the judgment within 6 months after the court appearance date fixed in the citation, and shows to the satisfaction of the court that the failure to appear was due to mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect, the court shall open the judgment, accept a not guilty plea, and set a trial date. The court may impose costs under s. 814.07. The court shall immediately notify the department to delete the record of conviction based upon the original judgment. If the offense involved is a nonmoving traffic violation or violation of an ordinance enacted under s. 349.107 and the defendant is subject to s. 345.28 (5) (c), a default judgment may be entered and opened as provided in s. 345.28 (5) (c).

AB827, s. 24 Section 24. 345.47 (1) (b) of the statutes, as affected by 2009 Wisconsin Act 17, is amended to read:

AB827,13,22 345.47 (1) (b) In lieu of imprisonment and in addition to any other suspension or revocation, that the defendant's operating privilege be suspended. The operating privilege shall be suspended for 30 days or until the person pays the forfeiture, plus costs, fees, and surcharges imposed under ch. 814, but not to exceed 2 years. If the defendant has notified the court that he or she is unable to pay the judgment because of poverty, and if the court, using the criteria in s. 814.29 (1) (d), determines that the defendant is unable to pay the judgment because of poverty, the court may not suspend the defendant's operating privilege without first providing the defendant with an opportunity to pay the judgment in installments, taking into account the defendant's income. Suspension under this paragraph shall not affect the power of the court to suspend or revoke under s. 343.30 or the power of the secretary to suspend or revoke the operating privilege. This paragraph does not apply if the judgment was entered solely for violation of an ordinance unrelated to the violator's operation of a motor vehicle or of an ordinance enacted under s. 349.107.

AB827, s. 25 Section 25. 349.107 of the statutes is created to read:

AB827,13,25 349.107 Authority to use traffic control photographic systems. (1) In this section:

AB827,14,3 (a) In addition to the meaning given in s. 340.01 (42), "owner" means, with respect to a vehicle that is registered, or that is required to be registered, by a lessee of the vehicle under ch. 341, the lessee of the vehicle.

AB827,14,8 (b) "Traffic control photographic system" means an electronic system consisting of a photographic, video, or electronic camera and a vehicle sensor installed for use with an official traffic control signal to automatically produce photographs or video or digital images, stamped with the time and date, of vehicles moving through an intersection.

AB827,14,10 (2) Subject to sub. (3), the governing body of any county or municipality may enact an ordinance that does all of the following:

AB827,14,14 (a) Except as provided in sub. (3) (c), subjects a person to a forfeiture for being the owner of a motor vehicle that, when facing a traffic control signal at an intersection that exhibits a red light other than a flashing red light, does any of the following:

AB827,14,15 1. Proceeds through the intersection without stopping.

AB827,14,18 2. After stopping at the intersection, proceeds through the intersection before the traffic control signal exhibits a green light if the vehicle is not making a right turn.

AB827,14,21 (b) Allows the use of a traffic control photographic system on highways under the jurisdiction of the county or municipality, including connecting highways, for the purpose of detecting violations described in par. (a).

AB827,14,24 (c) Subjects a person to a forfeiture for being the lessee or operator of a motor vehicle the owner of which would be subject to a forfeiture under this section but for the owner's successful assertion of a defense under sub. (3) (d) 2. or 3.

AB827,14,25 (3) An ordinance enacted under sub. (2) shall include all of the following:

AB827,15,5 (a) A requirement that official traffic signs be placed at or reasonably near the corporate limits of the county or municipality on all county trunk highways and connecting highways under the jurisdiction of the county or municipality informing motorists that intersections in the county or municipality may be monitored by traffic control photographic systems.

AB827,15,17 (b) A requirement that, if a traffic officer employed by the governing body of the county or municipality prepares a citation for a violation of an ordinance enacted under this section, the traffic officer shall serve the owner of the vehicle with the citation, within 5 business days after the violation, by personal service or by mailing the citation by certified mail addressed to the owner's last-known address. If the citation may be issued under par. (d) to the lessee or operator of the vehicle, the traffic officer shall serve the lessee or operator with the citation, in the same manner required for service on the vehicle owner, within 5 business days of determining that the vehicle owner is likely to successfully assert a defense under par. (d). A traffic officer shall send with the citation a duplicate of the photograph, video, or digital image, taken by the traffic control photographic system, of the vehicle involved in the violation.

AB827,15,19 (c) A requirement that the procedure specified in s. 345.28 applies to any citation for a violation of an ordinance enacted under this section.

AB827,15,22 (d) A provision that it is not a defense to a violation of the ordinance that the owner was not in control of the vehicle at the time of the violation, except that all of the following are defenses to a violation of an ordinance enacted under this section:

AB827,15,25 1. That a report that the vehicle was stolen was made by the owner to a law enforcement agency before the violation occurred or within 5 business days after the violation occurred.

AB827,16,5 2. That the vehicle is owned by a lessor of vehicles and is registered in the name of the lessor, that at the time of the violation the vehicle was in the possession of a lessee, and that the lessor provided a traffic officer with the information required under s. 343.46 (3). In that case, the lessee may be issued a citation and charged with a violation of the ordinance enacted under this section.

AB827,16,11 3. That the vehicle is owned by a dealer, as defined in s. 340.01 (11) (intro.), but including the persons specified in s. 340.01 (11) (a) to (d), at the time of the violation the vehicle was being operated by a person on a trial run, and the dealer provided a traffic officer with the name, address, and operator's license number of the person operating the vehicle. In that case, the person operating the vehicle may be issued a citation and charged with a violation of the ordinance enacted under this section.

AB827,16,12 4. Any other defense specified in the ordinance.

AB827,16,14 (e) A provision that permits a court to impose a forfeiture of not more than $50 for a violation of an ordinance enacted under this section.

AB827,16,18 (f) A requirement that any photograph or video or digital image produced by the traffic control photographic system be taken from a direction to the rear of the vehicles moving through an intersection and be focused on the rear registration plate of such vehicles.

AB827,16,22 (4) Imposition of liability for a violation of an ordinance enacted under this section shall not result in the suspension or revocation of a person's operating license under s. 343.30, nor shall it result in demerit points being recorded on a person's driving record under s. 343.32 (2) (a).

AB827,17,3 (5) Nothing in this section prohibits the issuance of a citation to the operator of a motor vehicle for a violation of s. 346.37 (1) (c) 1. or 3. or a local ordinance in conformity with s. 346.37 (1) (c) 1. or 3., but a person may not be subject to a forfeiture for a violation of an ordinance enacted under this section and a violation of s. 346.37 (1) (c) 1. or 3. or a local ordinance in conformity with s. 346.37 (1) (c) 1. or 3. arising from the same incident or occurrence.

AB827, s. 26 Section 26. 752.31 (2) (c) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB827,17,7 752.31 (2) (c) Cases involving violations of traffic regulations, as defined in s. 345.20 (1) (b), or nonmoving traffic violations, as defined in s. 345.28 (1), or violations of ordinances enacted under s. 349.107, and cases under s. 343.305 and ch. 351.

AB827, s. 27 Section 27. 757.05 (1) (a) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB827,17,21 757.05 (1) (a) Whenever a court imposes a fine or forfeiture for a violation of state law or for a violation of a municipal or county ordinance except for a violation of s. 101.123 (2) (a), (am) 1., (ar), (bm), (br), or (bv) or (5), or for a first violation of s. 23.33 (4c) (a) 2., 30.681 (1) (b) 1., 346.63 (1) (b), or 350.101 (1) (b), if the person who committed the violation had a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08 or more but less than 0.1 at the time of the violation, or for a violation of state laws or municipal or county ordinances involving nonmoving traffic violations, a violation of an ordinance enacted under s. 349.107, violations under s. 343.51 (1m) (b), or safety belt use violations under s. 347.48 (2m), there shall be imposed in addition a penalty surcharge under ch. 814 in an amount of 26 percent of the fine or forfeiture imposed. If multiple offenses are involved, the penalty surcharge shall be based upon the total fine or forfeiture for all offenses. When a fine or forfeiture is suspended in whole or in part, the penalty surcharge shall be reduced in proportion to the suspension.

AB827, s. 28 Section 28. 778.103 of the statutes is amended to read:

AB827,18,3 778.103 Traffic regulation forfeitures; how recovered. Where there is a conflict with this chapter, the procedure in ch. 345 shall be followed in actions to recover forfeitures for the violation of traffic regulations as defined in s. 345.20, and the procedures in ss. 345.28 and 345.34 to 345.47 shall be followed in actions to recover forfeitures for nonmoving traffic violations as defined in s. 345.28 (1) and violations of ordinances enacted under s. 349.107.

AB827, s. 29 Section 29. 785.05 of the statutes is amended to read:

AB827,18,10 785.05 Limitation on imprisonment. In any case in which the contempt of court is based upon interference with visitation rights granted under s. 48.925 (1), or upon failure to respond to a citation, summons or warrant under s. 345.28 or any other failure to pay or to appear in court for a nonmoving traffic violation or violation of an ordinance enacted under s. 349.107, the court may not impose imprisonment as a sanction under this chapter.

AB827, s. 30 Section 30. 800.09 (1) (c) of the statutes, as affected by 2009 Wisconsin Act 17, is amended to read:

AB827,19,2 800.09 (1) (c) The court may suspend the defendant's operating privilege, as defined in s. 340.01 (40), until restitution is made and the forfeiture, assessments and costs are paid, if the defendant has not done so within 60 days after the date the restitution or payments or both are to be made under par. (a), except that the suspension period may not exceed 2 years. If the court, using the criteria in s. 814.29 (1) (d), determines that the defendant is unable to pay the judgment because of his or her poverty, as that term is used in s. 814.29 (1) (d), the court may not order the suspension of the defendant's operating privilege, except as provided in s. 800.095. The court shall take possession of the suspended license and shall forward the license, along with a notice of the suspension clearly stating that the suspension is for failure to comply with a judgment of the court, to the department of transportation. This paragraph does not apply if the forfeiture is assessed for violation of an ordinance that is unrelated to the violator's operation of a motor vehicle or of an ordinance enacted under s. 349.107.

AB827, s. 31 Section 31. 800.095 (4) (b) 4. of the statutes, as affected by 2009 Wisconsin Act 17, is amended to read:

AB827,19,10 800.095 (4) (b) 4. Except as provided under s. 800.09 (3), that the defendant's operating privilege, as defined in s. 340.01 (40), be suspended until the judgment is complied with, except that the suspension period may not exceed 2 years. This subdivision does not apply if the forfeiture is assessed for violation of an ordinance that is unrelated to the violator's operation of a motor vehicle or of an ordinance enacted under s. 349.107.

AB827, s. 32 Section 32. 938.17 (1) (intro.) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB827,19,24 938.17 (1) Traffic, boating, snowmobile and all-terrain vehicle violations. (intro.) Except for violations of ss. 342.06 (2) and 344.48 (1), and violations of ss. 30.67 (1) and 346.67 (1) when death or injury occurs, courts of criminal and civil jurisdiction have exclusive jurisdiction in proceedings against juveniles 16 years of age or older for violations of s. 23.33, of ss. 30.50 to 30.80, of chs. 341 to 351, and of traffic regulations, as defined in s. 345.20, and nonmoving traffic violations, as defined in s. 345.28 (1), and violations of ordinances enacted under s. 349.107. A juvenile charged with a traffic, boating, snowmobile, or all-terrain vehicle offense in a court of criminal or civil jurisdiction shall be treated as an adult before the trial of the proceeding except that the juvenile may be held in secure custody only in a juvenile detention facility. A juvenile convicted of a traffic, boating, snowmobile, or all-terrain vehicle offense in a court of criminal or civil jurisdiction shall be treated as an adult for sentencing purposes except as follows:

AB827,19,25 (End)