SB 57

2009 Wisconsin Act 28

(the Act) made several changes to the adult correctional

system, most of which took effect on October 1, 2009. Prior to the effective date of

the provisions relating to the adult correctional system (pre-Act), a person who was

imprisoned for a felony he or she committed prior to December 31, 1999, was allowed

to petition the parole commission in the Department of Corrections (DOC) to be

released to parole after the person served 25 percent of his or her sentence, or six

months, whichever was greater. The parole commission determined whether, and

under what conditions, the person should be released to parole. A person who

committed a felony on or after December 31, 1999, is sentenced to a bifurcated

sentence, with the first portion of the sentence served in confinement and the second

portion served under extended supervision in the community.

Pre-Act, a person who was serving a bifurcated sentence was, with few

exceptions, required to serve the entire confinement portion of his or her sentence

before being released to extended supervision. A person's confinement portion could

have been extended if he or she violated a prison regulation. If a person's

confinement portion was extended for such a violation, the law pre-Act required his

or her extended supervision portion to be reduced so that the total length of the

person's sentence remained unchanged.

The law pre-Act allowed a person who is sentenced to a bifurcated sentence for

a Class C to Class I felony to petition the sentencing court to adjust his or her

sentence and release the person from prison to extended supervision if he or she has

served 85 percent (for Class C to Class E felonies) or 75 percent (for Class F to Class

I felonies) of the confinement portion of the sentence. If a person's confinement

portion was reduced by the sentencing court, the law pre-Act required his or her

extended supervision portion to be extended so that the total length of the person's

sentence remained unchanged. Pre-Act, a person who was released to extended

supervision was required to serve his or her entire sentence before extended

supervision terminated.

The Act renamed the parole commission the earned release review commission

(ERRC) and allows most persons who are incarcerated for a Class C to Class I felony

to earn "positive adjustment time" toward early release from confinement. Under

the Act, the amount of positive adjustment time a person can earn varies depending

on the classification of the felony, the person's history and likelihood of reoffending,

and other factors determined by DOC.

The Act allows DOC to release the person to extended supervision when he or

she serves his entire period of confinement, minus positive adjustment time earned,

subject to court review. Under the Act, if a person's period of confinement is reduced

by positive adjustment time, his or her period of extended supervision is increased

so that the length of the sentence does not change. The Act requires the ERRC to