SB 550

This bill raises from 17 to 18 the age at which a person who is alleged to have

violated a criminal law is subject to the procedures specified in the Criminal

Procedure Code and, on conviction, to sentencing under the Criminal Code if the

person has not been charged with committing certain violent offenses and has not,

after previously being convicted of a crime or adjudicated delinquent, been charged

with a crime.

Under current law, a person 17 years of age or older who is alleged to have

violated a criminal law is subject to the procedures specified in the Criminal

Procedure Code and, on conviction, is subject to sentencing under the Criminal Code,

which may include a sentence of imprisonment in the Wisconsin state prisons.

Currently, subject to certain exceptions, a person under 17 years of age who is alleged

to have violated a criminal law is subject to the procedures specified in the Juvenile

Justice Code and, on being adjudicated delinquent, is subject to an array of

dispositions under that code including placement in a juvenile correctional facility.

The bill raises from 17 to 18 the age at which a person who is alleged to have

violated a civil law or municipal ordinance is subject to the jurisdiction and

procedures of the circuit court or, if applicable, the municipal court if the person has

not been alleged, in a complaint or citation filed with the court, to have violated a civil

law or municipal ordinance after previously being convicted of a crime or adjudicated

delinquent.

Under current law, a person 17 years of age or older who is alleged to have

violated a civil law or municipal ordinance is subject to the jurisdiction and

procedures of the circuit court or, if applicable, the municipal court, while a person

under 17 years of age who is alleged to have violated a civil law or municipal

ordinance, subject to certain exceptions, is subject to the jurisdiction and procedures

of the court assigned to exercise jurisdiction under the Juvenile Justice Code.

The bill appropriates $5,000,000 in fiscal year 2018-19 to the Department of

Children and Families to reimburse counties for the cost of providing juvenile

delinquency-related services to 17-year-olds and requires DCF to work with county

departments to develop a plan to distribute the funds. The plan must be submitted

to the Joint Committee on Finance for passive review. If the cost to counties exceeds

$5,000,000, the bill requires DCF to request up to $5,000,000 in additional funding

from JCF in fiscal year 2018-19. The bill also requires DCF, in collaboration with

the counties, and by no later than October 30, 2019, to submit a report to JCF on the

cost of providing juvenile delinquency-related services to 17-year-olds during the

first year of implementation of the bill.