Operating a motor vehicle without a valid driver's license or after suspension or revocation of an operating privilege and providing penalties

Under current law, with limited exceptions, a person convicted of OWL with respect to a motor vehicle that is not a commercial motor vehicle may be required to forfeit not more than $200 for the first offense, may be fined not more than $300 and imprisoned for not more than 30 days for the second offense occurring within three years, and may be fined not more than $500 and imprisoned for not more than six months for the third or subsequent offense occurring within three years. Under one exception, if the OWL violation results from the person's operator's license being expired for not more than three months and the person has no prior OWL convictions, the person may be required to forfeit not more than $100 for the OWL violation.

Under another exception, as created in 2005 Wisconsin Act 412 , if, in the course of operating the vehicle knowingly without a valid operator's license or knowingly with an operator's license that has been revoked, suspended, or canceled, the person causes: 1) damage to the property of another, the person must forfeit $1,000; 2) injury to another person, the person must forfeit $5,000; or 3) great bodily harm or death to another person, the person is guilty of a Class A misdemeanor.

This bill repeals "knowing" OWS as a separate and distinct violation and repeals all other provisions of 2005 Wisconsin Act 412 . The bill creates new penalties for OWS, OAR, and OWL violations in which the person, in the course of the violation, causes great bodily harm or death to another person.

Under the bill, a person convicted of OWL or OWS who, in the course of the violation, causes great bodily harm to another person: 1) must forfeit not less than $5,000 nor more than $7,500 if, at the time of the violation, the person did not know, respectively, that he or she did not possess a valid operator's license or that his or her operating privilege was suspended; or 2) is guilty of a Class I felony if the person knew. A Class I felony is punishable by a maximum fine of $10,000 or a maximum term of imprisonment of three and one-half years or both. If the person causes the death of another in the course of the OWL or OWS violation, the person: 1) must forfeit not less than $7,500 nor more than $10,000 if the person did not know, respectively, that he or she did not possess a valid operator's license or that his or her operating privilege was suspended; or 2) is guilty of a Class H felony if the person knew. A Class H felony is punishable by a maximum fine of $10,000 or a maximum term of imprisonment of six years or both. A person convicted of OAR who, in the course of the violation, causes great bodily harm to another person: 1) must be fined not less than $5,000 nor more than $7,500 or imprisoned for not more than one year or both if, at the time of the violation, the person did not know that his or her operating privilege was revoked; or 2) is guilty of a Class I felony if the person knew.

If the person causes the death of another in the course of the OAR violation, the person: 1) must be fined not less than $7,500 nor more than $10,000 or imprisoned for not more than one year or both if the person did not know that his or her operating privilege was revoked; or 2) is guilty of a Class H felony if the person knew.

Under current law, a court may suspend a person's operating privilege for any period not exceeding six months upon the person's conviction for OAR or OWS or operating a commercial motor vehicle during a period in which the person is disqualified (operating while disqualified or OWD). However, a court must revoke a person's operating privilege, for a period of six months or less, upon the person's conviction for OAR, OWS, or OWD if the person has been convicted of three or more prior violations of OAR, OWS, or OWD within the preceding five-year period. In addition, the Department of Transportation (DOT) must administratively revoke a person's operating privilege, for a period of six months unless the court has ordered a revocation for a lesser period, upon receiving a record of conviction showing that the person has been convicted of OAR, OWS, or OWD if the person has been convicted of three or more prior violations of OAR, OWS, or OWD within the preceding five-year period.

This bill makes court-ordered operating privilege revocation for a fourth offense OAR, OWS, or OWD permissive rather than mandatory and eliminates the requirement that DOT administratively revoke a person's operating privilege for a fourth offense OAR, OWS, or OWD. In addition, the bill requires a court to revoke a person's operating privilege if the person is convicted of OWL, OWS, or OAR and, in the course of the violation, the person causes great bodily harm or death to another person. The bill also provides that, as with OWS and OAR, DOT may revoke a resident's operating privilege if the resident is convicted in another state for an OWL offense in the course of which the person causes great bodily harm or death to another person.

Under current law, a vehicle operator may not drive on or across a railroad crossing while any traffic officer or railroad employee signals to stop, while any warning device signals to stop, or, if any crossbuck sign is maintained at the crossing, while any train occupies or closely approaches the crossing. A vehicle operator may not drive through or around any crossing gate or barrier at a railroad crossing while the gate or barrier is closed or is being opened or closed. A court may revoke a person's operating privilege upon the person's first conviction of any of these violations and must revoke the person's operating privilege upon the person's second or subsequent conviction within a five-year period. The revocation is for six months.

This bill provides for suspension of a person's operating privilege, rather than revocation of the person's operating privilege, for any of these violations.

Because this bill creates a new crime or revises a penalty for an existing crime, the Joint Review Committee on Criminal Penalties may be requested to prepare a report concerning the proposed penalty and the costs or savings that are likely to result if the bill is enacted.