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2023 - 2024 LEGISLATURE
2023 ASSEMBLY BILL 1051
February 2, 2024 - Introduced by Representatives STUBBS, BALDEH, SUBECK,
RATCLIFF, NEUBAUER, PALMERI, J. ANDERSON, JOERS, ANDRACA, CONLEY,
SHELTON, C. ANDERSON, ORTIZ-VELEZ, SINICKI, DRAKE and JACOBSON,
cosponsored by Senators L. JOHNSON, TAYLOR, ROYS, LARSON, WIRCH, SPREITZER
and AGARD. Referred to Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety.
***AUTHORS SUBJECT TO CHANGE***
AN ACT to create 15.253 (4), 20.923 (4) (c) 7., 165.29 and 230.08 (2) (wd) of the
statutes; relating to: creating an office of gun violence prevention in the
Department of Justice and making an appropriation.
Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau
This bill creates an office of gun violence prevention in the Department of
Justice. The office must collaborate with other organizations and experts to develop
a strategy to identify causes of gun violence and to improve social determinants of
health for communities most affected by gun violence. The office must submit to the
legislature a written plan of action every two years that details how DOJ will
incorporate a public health approach to gun violence prevention-related programs
and services.
For further information see the state 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:
SECTION 1. 15.253 (4) of the statutes is created to read:
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SECTION 1 ASSEMBLY BILL 1051
15.253 (4) OFFICE OF GUN VIOLENCE PREVENTION. There is created in the
department of justice an office of gun violence prevention. The director of the office
shall be appointed by the attorney general.
SECTION 2. 20.923 (4) (c) 7. of the statutes is created to read:
20.923 (4) (c) 7. Justice, department of: director of the office of gun violence
prevention.
SECTION 3. 165.29 of the statutes is created to read:
165.29 Office of gun violence prevention. (1) It is declared to be the policy
of the state that gun violence shall be recognized as a public health crisis and
addressed by utilizing a public health data-based approach and taking into
consideration all of the following:
(a) The specifics of gun violence and gun homicides in each community,
including identifying those most affected, identifying contributing factors, and
identifying factors that create greater safety for those most affected by gun violence
in each community.
(b) The root causes of gun violence in the community, including racism, poverty,
political neglect, lack of affordable housing, food insecurity, unemployment,
untreated trauma, and the evaluation of community conditions. The evaluation of
community conditions shall include the comparison of community conditions and
opportunities for communities with a high risk of gun violence and those with a lesser
risk of gun violence in order to identify and create greater safety for high-risk
communities through community surroundings. In this paragraph, “community
surroundings” includes streets, parks, schools, community-based organizations,
youth and community centers, and places of worship.
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SECTION 3
ASSEMBLY BILL 1051
(c) A commitment for gun violence prevention efforts to focus on addressing and
healing individual, interpersonal, and community trauma inflicted as a result of gun
violence.
(2) The office of gun violence prevention shall address gun violence in a manner
that is consistent with the policy in sub. (1) and shall do all of the following:
(a) Collaborate with the office of school safety and members of various
communities, including youth, community-based organizations, faith leaders,
grassroots organizers, political leaders, business owners, and other organizations
and individuals with expertise in the field to develop a strategy to identify causes of
gun violence in a community and to incorporate a public health approach to improve
social determinants of health for communities most affected by gun violence.
Research centers at higher educational institutions, to the extent that each
institution chooses to participate, and the department of health services, to the
extent that the department chooses to participate, shall act as advisors in developing
the strategy.
(b) Submit a written plan of action to the legislature every 2 years, starting no
later than July 1, 2024, detailing how the department of justice, as advised by
research centers and the department of health services, will incorporate a public
health approach to gun violence prevention-related programs and services. In
creating the plan of action, the office shall collaborate with those impacted by gun
violence, identify and evaluate innovative and successful community-based violence
prevention programs, and focus on how any proposed programs and services will
address trauma in communities with a high degree of gun violence.
SECTION 4. 230.08 (2) (wd) of the statutes is created to read:
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SECTION 4 ASSEMBLY BILL 1051
230.08 (2) (wd) The director of the office of gun violence prevention in the
department of justice.
SECTION 5.0Nonstatutory provisions.
(1) LEGISLATIVE INTENT. The legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) Gun violence is a public health crisis, leading to thousands of deaths and
injuries annually, and contributing to the harmful effects of post-traumatic stress
disorder and trauma thereafter.
(b) Gun violence rates in the United States increased during the COVID-19
pandemic.
(c) A commitment to ending gun violence is a commitment to racial justice.
(d) Gun violence is more than just a criminal justice and public safety issue.
It is also a public health crisis needing an urgent and holistic plan of action across
all relevant programs and services.
SECTION 6.0Fiscal changes.
(1) OFFICE OF GUN VIOLENCE PREVENTION; POSITION INCREASES. In the schedule
under s. 20.005 (3) for the appropriation to the department of justice under s. 20.455
(2) (a), the dollar amount for fiscal year 2023-24 is increased by $91,100 to increase
the authorized FTE positions by 1.0 GPR position for directing the office of gun
violence prevention. In the schedule under s. 20.005 (3) for the appropriation to the
department of justice under s. 20.455 (2) (a), the dollar amount for fiscal year
2024-25 is increased by $91,000 to provide funding for the position authorized under
this subsection.
(END)
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