Wisconsin 2025-2026 Regular Session

Wisconsin Assembly Bill AB78 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	2025 - 2026 LEGISLATURE
2	2	LRB-1530/1
3	3	EVM:emw&skw
4	4	2025 ASSEMBLY BILL 78
5	5	February 28, 2025 - Introduced by Representatives DONOVAN, RODRIGUEZ, ALLEN,
6	6	DITTRICH, DUCHOW, GOODWIN, GUNDRUM, KNODL, MAXEY, MELOTIK,
7	7	MURPHY, MURSAU, NOVAK, O'CONNOR, ORTIZ-VELEZ, PENTERMAN,
8	8	PIWOWARCZYK, STEFFEN, TITTL, TUSLER and WICHGERS, cosponsored by
9	9	Senators WANGGAARD and TOMCZYK. Referred to Committee on Criminal
10	10	Justice and Public Safety.
11	11
12	12	*AUTHORS SUBJECT TO CHANGE*
13	13	AN ACT to amend 349.115 (1) and 349.115 (3); to create 349.115 (1m) of the
14	14	statutes; relating to: impoundment of vehicles used in certain reckless
15	15	driving offenses.
16	16	Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau
17	17	Under current law, a political subdivision may enact an ordinance authorizing
18	18	law enforcement officers to impound vehicles used in reckless driving offenses if the
19	19	person cited for reckless driving is the owner of the vehicle and the person has a
20	20	prior reckless driving conviction for which a forfeiture was imposed that has not
21	21	been fully paid. Under this bill, such an ordinance may authorize the impoundment
22	22	of any vehicle used in a reckless driving offense regardless of ownership of the
23	23	vehicle or prior record of the operator. The bill also provides that a local ordinance
24	24	may authorize impounding such a vehicle until outstanding fines and forfeitures
25	25	owed by the vehicle[s owner are fully paid.
26	26	Also under the bill, upon impounding a vehicle under such an ordinance, the
27	27	law enforcement officer must attempt to determine if the vehicle has been reported
28	28	as stolen, and if so, the officer or the impounding political subdivision must attempt
29	29	to contact the owner. If the vehicle is reported as stolen, the vehicle must be
30	30	released to the owner without the payment of a fee or charge.
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33	33	3 2025 - 2026 Legislature
34	34	ASSEMBLY BILL 78
35	35	- 2 - LRB-1530/1
36	36	EVM:emw&skw
37	37	SECTION 1
38	38	For further information see the local fiscal estimate, which will be printed as
39	39	an appendix to this bill.
40	40	The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do
41	41	enact as follows:
42	42	SECTION 1. 349.115 (1) of the statutes is amended to read:
43	43	349.115 (1) A political subdivision may, by ordinance, authorize a law
44	44	enforcement officer to impound any vehicle used in the commission of a violation of
45	45	s. 346.62 or a local ordinance in strict conformity with s. 346.62 at the time of
46	46	issuing a citation for the offense if the person cited is the owner of the vehicle and
47	47	the person has a prior conviction for a violation of s. 346.62 or a local ordinance in
48	48	strict conformity with s. 346.62 for which a forfeiture was imposed that has not been
49	49	fully paid. The ordinance may provide for impoundment of the vehicle until the
50	50	person fully pays the prior forfeiture amount and reasonable costs of impounding
51	51	the vehicle, including towing or other transportation costs and storage costs, and
52	52	any outstanding fine or forfeiture owed by the owner of the vehicle are fully paid.
53	53	SECTION 2. 349.115 (1m) of the statutes is created to read:
54	54	349.115 (1m) Upon impounding a vehicle under sub. (1), a law enforcement
55	55	officer shall make a reasonable effort to determine if the vehicle has been reported
56	56	as stolen. If the officer determines that the vehicle has been reported as stolen, the
57	57	officer or political subdivision shall make a reasonable attempt to contact the
58	58	owner. Notwithstanding sub. (2), the political subdivision shall return to its owner
59	59	a vehicle reported as stolen and impounded under sub. (1) without the payment of a
60	60	fee or charge. If a vehicle reported as stolen remains unclaimed for more than 60
61	61	days after impoundment, the political subdivision may dispose of the vehicle
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81	81	20 2025 - 2026 Legislature
82	82	ASSEMBLY BILL 78
83	83	- 3 - LRB-1530/1
84	84	EVM:emw&skw
85	85	SECTION 2
86	86	following the same procedure as provided for disposing of an abandoned vehicle
87	87	under s. 342.40.
88	88	SECTION 3. 349.115 (3) of the statutes is amended to read:
89	89	349.115 (3) A Subject to sub. (1m), a political subdivision that has
90	90	impounded a vehicle under sub. (1) may dispose of the vehicle by following the same
91	91	procedure as provided for disposing of an abandoned vehicle under s. 342.40 if the
92	92	impounded vehicle remains unclaimed for more than 90 days after the disposition of
93	93	the citation for which the vehicle was impounded.
94	94	(END)
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