AB 256

Under current law, a person who has not attained the legal drinking age of 21

years and who is not accompanied by his or her parent, guardian, or spouse who is

at least age 21 (underage person) may not 1) procure or attempt to procure alcohol

beverages from an alcohol retailer; 2) possess or consume alcohol beverages on

licensed retail premises or knowingly possess or consume alcohol beverages

elsewhere; 3) enter or be on licensed retail premises, subject to various exceptions;

or 4) falsely represent his or her age to obtain alcohol beverages from a retailer

(underage violation). A person who commits an underage violation is subject to

various penalties, including a forfeiture ranging in amount from $250 to $1,000

depending on the number of prior underage violations the person has committed.

Under this bill, an underage person may not be issued a citation for, or convicted

of, an underage violation if all of the following apply:

1. A law enforcement officer has contact with the underage person because the

underage person requested emergency medical assistance for himself or herself or

for another person; another person requested emergency medical assistance for the

underage person; or the underage person requested law enforcement assistance to

report, request investigation of, or prevent a possible crime. The request for

assistance may be made by dialing "911" or by other means.

2. The underage person remains at the scene until emergency medical

assistance or law enforcement assistance arrives and thereafter cooperates with

providers of emergency medical assistance or law enforcement assistance. However,

this requirement does not apply if the underage person is the person in need of

emergency medical assistance and lacks capacity to cooperate.

A person who requests assistance with an intention to claim this protection

against citation or conviction for an underage violation knowing that the fact

situation that he or she reports does not exist must be fined not less than $100 nor

more than $600 or imprisoned not more than 90 days or both for the first offense and

is guilty of a Class H felony for a subsequent offense within four years. A Class H

felony is punishable by a fine not exceeding $10,000 or imprisonment not exceeding

six years or both.

The bill also prohibits the Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin (UW)

System and any two-year or four-year UW System school from imposing specified

disciplinary sanctions against a student who commits an underage violation, but

only if the bill exempts the student from a citation or conviction for the violation and

the student has not committed the offense described above. The prohibited

disciplinary sanctions are the following: 1) removal from a course in progress; 2)

enrollment restrictions on a course or program; 3) suspension or expulsion; and 4)

exclusion from student housing.

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