AB 653

Current law adopts the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) Article 9 — Secured

Transactions, which governs transactions that involve the granting of credit secured

by personal property of a debtor. The creditor's interest is called a "security interest."

UCC Article 9 regulates the creation and enforcement of security interests in

movable property but not in real property. Under UCC Article 9, if a debtor defaults,

the creditor may take possession of (repossess) the property (collateral) if the creditor

proceeds through judicial process or without breach of the peace. The creditor may

then sell the repossessed collateral to satisfy the debt.

Under current law, a consumer credit transaction that is entered into for

personal, family, or household purposes is generally subject to the Wisconsin

Consumer Act (WCA). A consumer credit transaction, which includes consumer

loans and consumer credit sales, means in part a transaction between a merchant

and a customer in which money or personal property is acquired on credit. A

merchant is defined to include a creditor or a seller of personal property on credit.

Like the UCC, the WCA includes provisions relating to enforcement of a merchant's

security interest in collateral resulting from a consumer credit transaction,

including provisions specifically applicable when the collateral is a motor vehicle.

Under the WCA, a merchant may repossess collateral that is a motor vehicle if

certain requirements are met, including giving notice to the debtor and law

enforcement, the elapse of at least 15 days since both the debtor's default and the

merchant's notice to the debtor, and repossession without breach of the peace.

This bill creates additional requirements under the WCA related to

repossession of a motor vehicle. Under the bill, at the time a motor vehicle is

repossessed, the person who repossesses the motor vehicle must make a written

inventory of all personal property within the motor vehicle. No later than 48 hours

after the repossession, the merchant or a person acting on behalf of the merchant

(merchant) must deliver to the debtor from whom the motor vehicle was repossessed

all personal property identified in this written inventory. The merchant may not

impose a fee on the debtor for delivery of this personal property. The merchant is also

responsible for safeguarding this personal property from the time of repossession to

the time it is delivered to the debtor and must deliver the personal property in as good

of a condition as it was in at the time the motor vehicle was repossessed. If a

merchant intentionally fails to deliver the debtor's personal property within 48

hours after the motor vehicle was repossessed, the merchant is subject to the penalty

for a Class A misdemeanor, which is a fine not exceeding $10,000 or imprisonment

not exceeding nine months or both.

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.