Assembly Bill 68

John Doe proceedings and providing a penalty. (FE)

Passed the Assembly, then stopped

The Assembly passed it on Oct 20, 2015, but the Senate never voted on it. A bill has to ⁠. To try again, a lawmaker would have to start a new bill.

Introduced, passed

Mar 5, 2015
Committee, passed

Approved
Assembly vote, passed

Passed Oct 20, 2015
Senate vote, stopped here

Stopped here. The Senate never voted on it.
Governor, not reached
Law, not reached

Latest entry in the official record, Apr 13, 2016: “Failed to concur in pursuant to ⁠”

Read the bill

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Terms on this page

Second chamber's vote

A bill has to pass both the Assembly and the Senate in the same form before it goes to the governor.

Official term: Concurrence. More in the glossary

Senate Joint Resolution 1

The session's calendar. Any bill not passed by its last voting day dies.

Official term: Failed to pass pursuant to SJR 1. More in the glossary

Legislative Reference Bureau

The Legislature's nonpartisan office that drafts bills and writes the summary at the top of each one.

Official term: LRB analysis. More in the glossary

Author

A lawmaker who formally puts a bill forward. The text itself is drafted by the Legislative Reference Bureau.

Official term: Author, coauthor. More in the glossary

Signed on in support

Lawmakers who back a bill without being one of its authors, often from the other chamber.

Official term: Cosponsor. More in the glossary

Cost estimate

A state agency's estimate of what a bill would cost or save.

Official term: Fiscal estimate. More in the glossary

Roll call

A vote where each lawmaker's yes or no is recorded by name.

Official term: Roll call vote. More in the glossary

What it would have done

Summary by the , the Legislature's nonpartisan drafting office. It's their wording, not ours.

Under current law governing John Doe hearings, if a district attorney requests a judge to convene a proceeding to make a determination of whether a crime has been committed, the judge must convene a proceeding to make the determination. If a person who is not a district attorney complains to a judge that he or she has reason to believe a crime has been committed, the judge must refer the complaint to a district attorney. The district attorney has 90 days to issue charges; if the district attorney does not issue charges, the district attorney must forward to the judge with jurisdiction all law enforcement reports, all records and cases files, and a written explanation for not issuing charges. If that judge determines a proceeding is necessary to determine if a crime has been committed, the judge must convene a proceeding.

Under current law, any conduct that is prohibited by state law and punishable by fine or imprisonment or both is a crime that may be investigated under a John Doe proceeding. Under this bill, the crimes that may be investigated under a John Doe proceeding are certain felonies under the Criminal Code or any conduct punishable by fine or imprisonment or both that is allegedly committed by an on-duty law enforcement officer, corrections officer, or state probation, parole, or extended supervision officer.

Read the full summary

Under current law, the judge who convenes a John Doe proceeding has discretion as to whether to keep the proceeding secret and may issue a secrecy order that extends to every participant in the proceeding. Under this bill, a judge may enter a secrecy order upon a showing of good cause by the district attorney, but the order may apply only to the judge, the district attorney or other prosecuting attorney, law enforcement personnel, interpreters, and reporters who make or transcribe a record of the proceeding. Any person who violates a secrecy order is subject to a fine of up to $10,000, imprisonment for up to nine months, or both.

This bill imposes a six-month time limit on a John Doe proceeding. This limit may be extended for additional six-month periods if a majority of judicial administrative district chief judges find good cause for each extension. This bill also provides that the same finding is required to add specified crimes to the original complaint. The vote of each judge must be available to the public.

Finally, under this bill, records reflecting the costs of John Doe investigations and proceedings are a matter of public record, temporary or permanent reserve judges are excluded from presiding over John Doe proceedings, and special prosecutors may be appointed to assist the district attorney in a John Doe proceeding only under certain conditions.

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.

Who's behind it

27 lawmakers are its ⁠. All 27 are Republicans.

9 more lawmakers ⁠.

See all 36 names

Authors (27)

Kathleen Bernier · Republican, Senate
Mark Born · Republican, Assembly
Janel Brandtjen · Republican, Assembly
David Craig · Republican, Senate
Mary Czaja · Republican, Assembly
Bob Gannon · Republican, Assembly
Cody Horlacher · Republican, Assembly
Rob Hutton · Republican, Senate
John Jagler · Republican, Senate
Chris Kapenga · Republican, Senate
Joel Kleefisch · Republican, Assembly
Dan Knodl · Republican, Assembly
Dean Knudson · Republican, Assembly
Dale Kooyenga · Republican, Senate
Jesse Kremer · Republican, Assembly
Mike Kuglitsch · Republican, Assembly
Bob Kulp · Republican, Assembly
Dave Murphy · Republican, Assembly
Adam Neylon · Republican, Assembly
Romaine Quinn · Republican, Senate
Rob Brooks · Republican, Assembly
Joe Sanfelippo · Republican, Assembly
Michael Schraa · Republican, Assembly
Ken Skowronski · Republican, Assembly
Gary Tauchen · Republican, Assembly
Jeremy Thiesfeldt · Republican, Assembly
Tyler Vorpagel · Republican, Assembly

Signed on in support (9)

Paul F. Farrow · Republican, Senate
Jarchow and Tittl
Mary Lazich · Republican, Senate
Devin LeMahieu · Republican, Senate
Steve Nass · Republican, Senate
Thomas Larson · Republican, Assembly
Thomas Tiffany · Republican, Senate
Leah Vukmir · Republican, Senate
Van Wanggaard · Republican, Senate

What it would cost

State agencies filed a . Each opens as a PDF from the Legislature.

Versions and amendments

Every text the Legislature printed for this bill, including proposed changes. Each opens on the Legislature's site.

How lawmakers voted

There were 11 votes on this bill. Taking a bill up right away needs two-thirds of the members, a higher bar than passing it, so that vote can draw more yeses than the final one.