2015-16 Legislative Session

Please click on Bill and Act numbers for additional information on the legislation. For more information, please contact Legislative Liaison Adam Plotkin at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 608-264-8572.

Senate Bill	Assembly Bill	Act	Description	Date Added
SJR 2	AJR 1		Election of Chief Justice (second consideration of constitutional amendment)	1/7/15
	AB 5	14	Changes s. 940.44(2), intimidation of a witness, to conform with State of Wisconsin v. Freer, 2010 WI App 9	1/7/15
	AB 7	81	Changes s. 939.66(2), lesser included homicide crimes, to conform with State of Wisconsin v. Patterson, 2010 WI 130	1/7/15
SB 4	AB 8	80	"Upskirting" - Creates an additional element and Class I felony penalty for invading an individual's privacy by viewing under or through clothing	1/7/15
SB 9	AB 10	4	Personal jurisdiction for domestic and child abuse and harassment injunctions and restraining orders	1/23/15
	AB 13		Process to allow the return of a seized firearm to its owner	1/28/15
SB 22	AB 19	45	Creates a new crime for using a GPS device to track a person without their knowledge	1/29/15
SB 21	AB 21		2015-2017 Biennial Budget	2/3/15
	AB 29		Limits the authority of a law enforcement officer to arrest someone for sleeping or camping in a county park	2/10/15
SB 29	AB 43		Obtaining a search warrant for certain civil violations (Post-McNeely blood draw)	2/11/15
SB 36	AB 34		Allows DOC to approve international travel for a person on community supervision	2/13/15
	AB 50		Allows court access to ignition interlock device reports and to waive the waiting period to obtain an occupational license for a person participating in a treatment court (Legislative Council bill)	2/17/15
	AB 51		Creating a family treatment court and grant appropriation in DCF (Legislative Council bill)	2/17/15
	AB 52		Codifying the state Criminal Justice Coordinating Council and various changes to the treatment alternatives and diversions grant funding program (Legislative Council bill)	2/17/15
SB 366	AB 53		Expands current definition of "threatening to communicate derogatory information" to include the transmission of electronic media	2/17/15
SB 43	AB 68	64	Changes to John Doe proceedings	2/19/15
SB 82	AB 90		Criminal Procedure Code re-write (Judicial Council bill)	3/12/15
SB 46	AB 94		Creates crimes and felony penalties for intoxicated co-sleeping with an infant	3/12/15
SB 75	AB 127		Prohibiting a felon from owning a vicious dog	3/13/15
SB 95	AB 114	30	Creates a new crime and Class A misdemeanor penalty for falsely claiming military service or honors	3/26/15
	AB 128		Reclassifies, repeals, or modifies obsolete misdemeanor crimes (Legislative Council bill)	3/27/15
SB 102	AB 142		Changes to the definition of assisted opening knife (switchblade)	3/27/15
SB 117	AB 147	78	Creates a Class H felony penalty for intentionally causing or threatening bodily harm to a judge, a prosecutor, law enforcement or their families	4/1/15
SB 414	AB 180		Allows post-traumatic stress disorder to be consider as a mitigating factor during the sentencing of a military veteran	4/22/15
	AB 201		Creates new statute to say that a prosecutor does not need to allege or prove that a motorist who fails to investigate a collision knew they collided with a person or vehicle	5/5/15
SB 133	AB 202		Reclassifies the penalty for hiding or burying a corpse from a Class G to a Class F felony	5/5/15
SB 159	AB 247		Creates a misdemeanor penalty for selling a firearm without using a federally licensed firearms dealer. Contains some exceptions for personal transfer	5/14/15
SB 199	AB 220	109	Creates mandatory minimum penalties for being a felon in possession of a firearm or using a firearm while committing one of a newly defined list of "violent crimes"	5/18/15
	AB 224		Legalizes marijuana possession and provides regulation for growing marijuana growing and sales	5/19/15
SB 167	AB 246		Legalizes possession and manufacture of up to 25 grams of marijuana	5/27/15
SB 170	AB 252	121	Increases the statute of limitations for 2nd and 3rd degree sexual assault from 6 years to 10 years	6/4/15
SB 184	AB 258		Requires the removal of certain criminal record information to be removed from private internet sites without a fee	6/5/15
SB 181	AB 259		Extends the period of detention for competency determinations to the minimum term of incarceration for serious felony and sexual assault offenses	6/5/15
SB 172	AB 260		Requires racial impact statements for bills that create new crimes or criminal penalties	6/5/15
SB 222	AB 266		Creates an Ignition Interlock Restricted License and makes changes to driving restrictions with an ignition interlock device	6/18/15
SB 200	AB 267		Prohibits the prosecution of someone under 18 for prostitution	6/18/15
SB 197	AB 273		Creates a crime and Class I felony penalty for making a false threat to injure or kill another person in a school zone	6/24/15
SB 199	AB 274		Limits possession of a firearm for 10 years if either the person has been convicted of 3 or more misdemeanors within 5 years or the person was convicted of a violent misdemeanor	6/29/15
	AB 275		Increases the rate of compensation for private bar appointments from the SPD to $85 per hour	6/29/15
SB 204			Extends the definition of "special circumstances battery" to include a court employee, county health or social services worker, a tribal child welfare agent, a Dept. of Children & Families employee, or someone providing child welfare or juvenile justice worker	6/26/15
SB 202	AB 282		Allows direct appeal to DCF of a denial of kinship care based on arrest or conviction record	6/26/15
SB 204	AB 284		Adds child welfare workers and juvenile justice workers to the definition of special circumstances battery	7/8/15
	AB 290		Sets statewide residency requirements for certain classes of sex offenders and preempts municipal restrictions	7/29/15
SB 221	AB 228		Clarifies the definition of tetrahydrocannabinols as relates to cannabidiol	7/31/15
	AB 302		Penalty enhancer for committing certain crimes at a gas station while armed	8/6/15
	AB 309		Limits the total number of annual non-criminal revocations of extended supervisions and parole to 3000 per year	8/12/15
SB 248	AB 340		Removes the 12 hour waiting period before a strip search can be conducted (see 2013 Wisconsin Act 317)	9/14/15
SB 256	AB 341		Creates a felony penalty for making a terrorist threat	9/14/15
	AB 347		Creates a special circumstances battery category for current and former judges, prosecutors, and law enforcement officers as well as current public defenders (including private bar appointments)	9/24/15
	AB 353		Mandatory minimum penalties for various OWI offenses involving causing bodily harm	9/25/15
SB 544	AB 357		Expands existing felony crime of expelling a bodily substance so that it would apply to a prosecutor	9/25/15
	AB 363		Creates a Class C misdemeanor penalty for first offense OWI and removes the 10 year look back for second offense OWI	9/25/15
	AB 375		Guarantees the right to a trial by jury for a juvenile recommended for placement in the Serious Juvenile Offender Program	10/8/15
SB 280	AB 378		Raises the age of juvenile jurisdiction to 18 for first-time, nonviolent offenders	10/8/15
SB 296	AB 381		Requires written policies and reporting on law enforcement's use of no-knock search warrants	10/8/15
SB 299	AB 395		Allows for a lethal violence temporary restraining order to remove the firearms from a person found substantially likely to injure themselves. Creates a felony penalty for not surrendering the firearm	10/13/15
SB 303	AB 403		Creates a penalty enhancer for crimes related to gang activity	10/13/15
SB 325	AB 428		Part of the "Justice for Children" package - Allows charging of a felony penalty for at least three violations of physical abuse of a child	10/21/15
SB 326	AB 429		Part of the "Justice for Children" package - Requires referral of cases of suspected child abuse to law enforcement agencies	10/21/15
SB 323	AB 430		Part of the "Justice for Children" package - Expands the location/events at which a victim may be accompanied by an advocate	10/21/15
SB 324	AB 431		Part of the "Justice for Children" package - Expands the definition and penalty structure for the crime of child neglect	10/21/15
SB 335	AB 432		Requires DOT to permanently revoke for at least 10 years the operating privileges of someone with 5 or more OWI convictions	10/21/15
SB 317	AB 440		Regarding child support withholding orders but includes a provisions allowing the domestic violence and GPS surcharge to be added to a deferred prosecution agreement in domestic violence cases	10/22/15
	AB 444		Eliminates the look back on OWI 2nd & 4th	10/22/15
	AB 445		Mandatory minimum period of 18 months incarceration for OWI 5th & 6th	10/22/15
	AB 446		Mandatory minimum period of 7 years incarceration for homicide by intoxicated use of a vehicle	10/22/15
	AB 447		Increases the penalties for OWI 3rd-9th and removes the look back on OWI 4th	10/22/15
SB 322	AB 460		Increases the benefits available for a wrongful conviction. Authorizes SPD to provide representation before the Claims Board	10/29/15
SB 365	AB 485		Creates a Class I felony penalty for carrying a dangerous weapon at a college or university	10/29/15
SB 473	AB 496		Creates a Class B misdemeanor for electronic bullying	11/10/15
SB 409	AB 497		Restricts placement of Ch. 980 supervised release individuals to not within 1500 feet of certain locations	11/10/15
SB 377			Provides victim of a crime notification when an offender's extended supervision or parole is revoked	11/12/15
SB 380	AB 503		Adds circuit court branches in Calumet, Wood, Marathon, Dunn, Polk, Jackson, and Vilas counties	11/13/15
SB 410	AB 521		Expands the definition and application of felony penalties for recording nude and partially nude people	11/13/15
SB 389	AB 522		Imposes additional $3 per month supervision fee	11/13/15
	AB 528		Creates a voluntary TPR by affidavit process	11/18/15
SB 401	AB 533		Increases the penalties based on value of unemployment benefits obtained fraudulently	11/18/15
SB 455	AB 536		Removes the look back on OWI 4th and increases the penalties for OWI 5th and above	11/24/15
SB 521	AB 537		Changes civil asset forfeiture so that property can only be seized upon conviction	11/24/15
SB 457	AB 547		Creates a felony penalty for damaging property owned by an energy provider with intent to disrupt service	11/24/15
	AB 557		Adds a heroin metabolite to the definition of a restricted controlled substance	12/1/15
SB 428			Creates a Class I felony penalty for carrying a weapon on a bus	12/3/15
SB 452	AB 566		Expands the definition of the locker room nude images crime to create felony penalties when the victim is under 18	12/4/15
	AB 585		Creates objective standards for the disqualification of a judge or justice	12/10/15
	AB 586		Allows for the disqualification of a judge or justice	12/10/15
SB 462	AB 604		Reduces the amount of time a license can be suspended for failure to pay from two years to one	12/22/15
SB 482	AB 614		Creates a process to apply for a certificate lifting some collateral consequences of conviction	12/23/15
SB 398	AB 621		Requires the automatic expungement of DNA if a person is not adjudicated guilty	12/29/15
SB 484			Requires installation of an ignition interlock device upon conviction for any drunken driving offense	12/29/15
	AB 630		Narrows the parental exception for capturing and distributing a representation of a nude child	1/5/16
	AB 657		Provides an additional $2 million in Treatment Alternatives and Diversions funding	1/7/16
SB 499	AB 658		Creates a misdemeanor penalty for using, possessing, manufacturing, or distributing a drug masking agent	1/7/16
SB 546	AB 666		Creates a new surcharge and grants administrative subpoena power to DOJ to investigate internet crimes against children	1/11/16
SB 497	AB 671		Creates a penalty enhancer for use of a drone to commit a crime	1/11/16
SB 618	AB 737		Expands the definition of the crime of human trafficking and adds child sex trafficking to the definition of abuse for CHIPS	1/15/16
SB 639			Creates a legislative committee with oversight of law enforcement and subpoena powers	1/22/16
	AB 789		Creates continuing legal education requirements for attorneys dealing with elder law-related issues	1/22/16
	AB 801		Restricts ability to substitute a judge in a criminal matter by requiring a reason for the requested substitution	1/25/16