Wisconsin 2025-2026 Regular Session

Wisconsin Senate Bill SB94 Compare Versions

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

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1	1	2025 - 2026 LEGISLATURE
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4	4	2025 SENATE BILL 94
5	5	March 7, 2025 - Introduced by Senators FEYEN, CABRAL-GUEVARA, NASS, TOMCZYK
6	6	and WANGGAARD, cosponsored by Representatives SORTWELL, BEHNKE, BRILL,
7	7	DITTRICH, DONOVAN, GOEBEN, GUNDRUM, B. JACOBSON, KNODL, MAXEY,
8	8	MOSES, MURPHY, MURSAU, O'CONNOR, TUSLER and WICHGERS. Referred to
9	9	Committee on Judiciary and Public Safety.
10	10	AN ACT to create 66.0511 (5), 895.4465 and 947.065 of the statutes; relating
11	11	to: civil action for injury or damages resulting from riot or vandalism,
12	12	participation in a riot, prohibiting certain limitations or restrictions on law
13	13	enforcement responses to riot or vandalism activity, and providing a penalty.
14	14	Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau
15	15	This bill makes it a Class I felony to urge, promote, organize, encourage, or
16	16	instigate others to commit a riot and a Class H felony to intentionally commit an act
17	17	of violence while participating in a riot.
18	18	The bill defines a XriotY as a public disturbance that involves an act of violence,
19	19	as part of an assembly of at least three persons, that constitutes a clear and present
20	20	danger of property damage or personal injury or a threat of an act of violence, as
21	21	part of an assembly of at least three persons having the ability of immediate
22	22	execution of the threat, if the threatened action constitutes a clear and present
23	23	danger of property damage or personal injury.
24	24	The bill establishes a civil cause of action for any person who suffers injury or
25	25	loss to person or property as a result of conduct that violates the criminal
26	26	prohibitions on vandalism or participation in a riot. The bill allows a person to
27	27	bring a civil action against a person who committed the violation and against any
28	28	person or organization that provided material support or resources with the intent
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33	33	SENATE BILL 94
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36	36	SECTION 1
37	37	that such support or resources would be used to perpetrate the offense. The person
38	38	bringing the action may obtain an order requiring the offender to fix or repair the
39	39	damage caused to the person[s property if certain requirements set forth in the bill
40	40	are met.
41	41	The bill also prohibits any government official with authority over any law
42	42	enforcement agency or law enforcement officers from limiting or restricting the
43	43	authority of the agency to have its officers, or certain officers, arrest or detain
44	44	individuals involved in a riot or vandalism activity or take action to quell a riot or
45	45	vandalism activity. The bill also prohibits any government official with authority
46	46	over any law enforcement agency from limiting or restricting the authority of law
47	47	enforcement officers, or certain designated law enforcement officers, to arrest or
48	48	detain individuals involved in a riot or vandalism activity or to take action to quell
49	49	a riot or vandalism activity. Finally, the bill provides that no government official,
50	50	law enforcement agency, or law enforcement officer may discharge, demote,
51	51	reassign, or take any punitive action against any employee because the employee
52	52	made a charge, testified, assisted, or participated in any manner in any
53	53	investigation, proceeding, or hearing regarding a violation of the prohibitions on
54	54	government officials set forth in the bill.
55	55	Because this bill creates a new crime or revises a penalty for an existing crime,
56	56	the Joint Review Committee on Criminal Penalties may be requested to prepare a
57	57	report.
58	58	The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do
59	59	enact as follows:
60	60	SECTION 1. 66.0511 (5) of the statutes is created to read:
61	61	66.0511 (5) RIOT OR VANDALISM ACTIVITY POLICIES. (a) In this subsection:
62	62	1. XGovernment entityY means the state, a state agency, a political
63	63	subdivision, or any entity of local government.
64	64	2. XGovernment officialY means any elected or appointed officer, employee, or
65	65	agent of a government entity, other than a law enforcement officer, whether in a
66	66	temporary or permanent capacity.
67	67	3. XLaw enforcement officerY means any person employed by the state or any
68	68	political subdivision of the state, for the purpose of detecting and preventing crime
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82	82	and enforcing laws or ordinances and who is authorized to make arrests for
83	83	violations of the laws or ordinances that the person is employed to enforce.
84	84	4. XPolitical subdivisionY means a city, village, town, or county.
85	85	5. XRiot or vandalism activityY means any conduct that is in violation of s.
86	86	943.01 or 947.065 or in violation of any ordinance that is substantially equivalent to
87	87	either of those sections.
88	88	(b) No government official with authority over any law enforcement agency or
89	89	law enforcement officers may do any of the following:
90	90	1. Limit or restrict the authority of the law enforcement agency to have its law
91	91	enforcement officers, or certain designated law enforcement officers of the agency,
92	92	arrest or detain individuals involved in a riot or vandalism activity or take action to
93	93	quell a riot or vandalism activity.
94	94	2. Limit or restrict the authority of law enforcement officers, or certain
95	95	designated law enforcement officers of a law enforcement agency, to arrest or detain
96	96	individuals involved in a riot or vandalism activity or to take action to quell a riot or
97	97	vandalism activity.
98	98	(c) No government official, law enforcement agency, or law enforcement officer
99	99	may discharge, demote, reassign, or take any punitive action against any employee
100	100	because the employee made a charge, testified, assisted, or participated in any
101	101	manner in any investigation, proceeding, or hearing regarding a violation of par. (b).
102	102	SECTION 2. 895.4465 of the statutes is created to read:
103	103	895.4465 Action for injury or loss caused by riot or vandalism activity.
104	104	(1) In this section, Xmaterial support or resourcesY means currency, payment
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131	131	SECTION 2
132	132	instruments, other financial securities, funds, transfer of funds, financial services,
133	133	communications, lodging, training, safe houses, false documentation or
134	134	identification, communications equipment, facilities, weapons, lethal substances,
135	135	explosives, personnel, transportation, and other physical assets, except medicine or
136	136	religious materials.
137	137	(2) (a) Any person who suffers injury or loss to person or property as a result
138	138	of an act committed in violation of s. 943.01 or 947.065 has a civil action against any
139	139	person who committed the violation and against any person or organization that
140	140	provided material support or resources with the intent that the material support or
141	141	resources would be used to perpetrate the offense. In the action, the person
142	142	bringing the action may obtain an order requiring the offender to fix or repair the
143	143	damage to property that was suffered by the person and may recover other damages
144	144	as set forth in pars. (b) and (c).
145	145	(b) 1. In a civil action brought under par. (a), if the person who brings the
146	146	action proves that the offender[s conduct is in violation of s. 943.01 or 947.065, or
147	147	that the conduct of any person in violation of either of s. 943.01 or 947.065 that
148	148	occurred at the same time as, was part of a common scheme or plan with, or was
149	149	part of a course of criminal conduct with the offender[s violation of either of those
150	150	sections and damage to property that was suffered by the person was a natural and
151	151	probable consequence of that person[s conduct, there is a presumption that the
152	152	offender shall be required to fix or repair the damage to property that occurred as a
153	153	natural and probable consequence of that conduct. The presumption applies with
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179	179	SECTION 2
180	180	respect to each item of property that was damaged as a natural and probable
181	181	consequence of that conduct.
182	182	2. The presumption set forth in subd. 1. does not apply with respect to a
183	183	particular item of property, and the court may not issue an order requiring the
184	184	offender against whom the civil action is brought to fix or repair damage to that
185	185	item of property that occurred as a natural and probable consequence of the conduct
186	186	described in subd. 1. if the offender proves by clear and convincing evidence that the
187	187	offender did not personally engage in conduct in violation of s. 943.01 or 947.065 the
188	188	natural and probable consequence of which was damage to that item of property.
189	189	3. If the presumption described in subd. 1. applies, the court shall issue an
190	190	order requiring the offender against whom the civil action is brought to fix or repair
191	191	the damage to property that occurred as a natural and probable consequence of the
192	192	conduct described in subd. 1.
193	193	(c) In a civil action brought under par. (a), in addition to obtaining an order as
194	194	described in par. (b) requiring the offender against whom the action is brought to fix
195	195	or repair the damage to property that occurred as a natural and probable
196	196	consequence of conduct described in par. (b) 1., if applicable, the person who brings
197	197	the action may recover full compensatory damages, including damages for
198	198	emotional distress, and may recover court costs, other reasonable expenses incurred
199	199	in maintaining the action, and, notwithstanding s. 814.04 (1), reasonable attorney[s
200	200	fees incurred in maintaining the action.
201	201	(d) A person may bring a cause of action for violation of this section regardless
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227	227	SECTION 2
228	228	of whether any person has been charged with or convicted of a violation of s. 943.01
229	229	or 947.065.
230	230	(e) For purposes of this subsection, when issuing an order for a person to fix or
231	231	repair the damage to property, the court may order the person either to personally
232	232	fix or repair the damage to the property that occurred as a natural and probable
233	233	consequence of the person[s conduct in violation of s. 943.01 or 947.065, to the
234	234	extent practicable, or to pay the cost of fixing or repairing the damage to the
235	235	property that occurred as a natural and probable consequence of the person[s
236	236	conduct in violation of s. 943.01 or 947.065.
237	237	SECTION 3. 947.065 of the statutes is created to read:
238	238	947.065 Rioting. (1) In this section:
239	239	(a) XInciteY means to urge, promote, organize, encourage, or instigate other
240	240	persons. XInciteY does not mean to advocate, orally or in writing, ideas or
241	241	expressions of belief that do not involve urging, promoting, organizing, encouraging,
242	242	or instigating or to assert, orally or in writing, the rightness of, or the right to
243	243	commit, an act.
244	244	(b) XRiotY means a public disturbance involving at least one of the following:
245	245	1. An act of violence by one or more persons that are part of an assembly of at
246	246	least 3 persons, that results in or constitutes a clear and present danger of damage
247	247	to the property of any other person or injury to another person.
248	248	2. A threat of the commission of an act of violence by one or more persons that
249	249	are part of an assembly of at least 3 persons having, individually or collectively, the
250	250	ability to immediately execute the threat, if the performance of the threatened act
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277	277	SECTION 3
278	278	of violence constitutes a clear and present danger of damage to the property of any
279	279	other person or injury to another person.
280	280	(2) Whoever intentionally incites another to commit a riot is guilty of a Class
281	281	I felony.
282	282	(3) Whoever intentionally commits an act of violence while participating in a
283	283	riot is guilty of a Class H felony.
284	284	(END)
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