Skip to content

Bills · 2019-2020 Regular Session

AB 15

Died at session end Official bill text Atom feed

Relating to: requiring persons accused of violating traffic laws and ordinances related to driving while intoxicated to appear in person in court. (FE)

Court — Fee Court — Procedure Drunken driving Eau claire county Motor vehicle — Regulation Ordinance

  1. Introduced, stopped here
  2. Passes Assembly, not reached
  3. Passes Senate, not reached
  4. Governor signs, not reached
  5. Law, not reached

Unfamiliar terms? Glossary

What this bill does

Plain-language analysis by the nonpartisan Legislative Reference Bureau

This bill requires a person who receives a citation for a civil traffic violation

related to operating while intoxicated to appear in court to respond to the charge.

Under current law, generally, a first violation of operating a vehicle while under

the influence of an intoxicant, with a detectable amount of a restricted controlled

substance in one's blood, or with a prohibited alcohol concentration (OWI-related

violation), is a traffic violation punishable by a civil forfeiture. Current law allows

local units of government to enact ordinances in conformity with the state traffic law

that punishes most first OWI-related offenses as a civil violation.

Under current law, a person who receives a citation for an OWI-related civil

traffic violation or who receives a citation for an ordinance in conformity with the

OWI-related traffic violation may opt to appear in court to plead not guilty to the

violation or may opt to pay the forfeiture associated with the violation and avoid an

appearance in court. Generally, a person who pays the forfeiture associated with the

violation is considered to have pled guilty or no contest to the charge.

Under this bill, a person who receives a citation for an OWI-related civil traffic

violation or who receives a citation for an ordinance in conformity therewith is

required to appear in court to plead guilty, no contest, or not guilty to the charge. If

the person fails to appear in court, the court is required to enter a default judgment

against the person and impose the applicable penalties and a $300 surcharge for the

person's failure to appear.

What it would cost

Fiscal estimates filed by state agencies, as official PDFs

Sponsors

Introduced by: Anderson (D) , Horlacher (R) , Hutton (R) , Jagler (R) , Ott (R) , Plumer (R) , Quinn (R) , Sortwell (R) , Spiros (R) , Wichgers (R)

10 cosponsors

Bernier (R) , Carpenter (D) , Darling (R) , Jacque (R) , Kooyenga (R) , Larson (D) , Marklein (R) , Nass (R) , Rohrkaste (R) , Skowronski (R)

Votes

Assembly: Report Assembly Amendment 1 to Assembly Substitute Amendment 1 adoption recommended by Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety, Ayes 10, Noes 0

Passed 10–0 Jun 12, 2019 official source full page

No individual roll call was recorded for this vote. Committee votes and some older sessions record totals only.

Assembly: Report Assembly Substitute Amendment 1 adoption recommended by Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety, Ayes 10, Noes 0

Passed 10–0 Jun 12, 2019 official source full page

No individual roll call was recorded for this vote. Committee votes and some older sessions record totals only.

Assembly: Report passage as amended recommended by Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety, Ayes 11, Noes 0

Passed 11–0 Jun 12, 2019 official source full page

No individual roll call was recorded for this vote. Committee votes and some older sessions record totals only.

Assembly: Assembly Amendment 1 to Assembly Substitute Amendment 1 laid on table, Ayes 62, Noes 34

Passed 62–34 Jun 20, 2019 official source full page

No individual roll call was recorded for this vote. Committee votes and some older sessions record totals only.

Senate: Report concurrence recommended by Committee on Judiciary and Public Safety, Ayes 5, Noes 0

Passed 5–0 Sep 25, 2019 official source full page

No individual roll call was recorded for this vote. Committee votes and some older sessions record totals only.

Full history

  1. Feb 8, 2019 · Assembly

    Introduced by Representatives Ott, Horlacher, Anderson, Plumer, Quinn, Sortwell, Spiros, Wichgers, Jagler and Hutton; cosponsored by Senators Darling, Carpenter, Bernier, Jacque, Kooyenga, Larson, Marklein and Nass

  2. Feb 8, 2019 · Assembly

    Read first time and referred to Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety

  3. Feb 26, 2019 · Assembly

    Fiscal estimate received

  4. Feb 27, 2019 · Assembly

    Representative Skowronski added as a coauthor

  5. Feb 28, 2019 · Assembly

    Fiscal estimate received

  6. Mar 4, 2019 · Assembly

    Fiscal estimate received

  7. Mar 14, 2019 · Assembly

    Fiscal estimate received

  8. Mar 28, 2019 · Assembly

    Fiscal estimate received

  9. Apr 4, 2019 · Assembly

    Public hearing held

  10. Apr 30, 2019 · Assembly

    Assembly Substitute Amendment 1 offered by Representative Ott

  11. May 1, 2019 · Assembly

    Assembly Amendment 1 to Assembly Substitute Amendment 1 offered by Representatives Crowley, Spreitzer and Emerson

  12. May 10, 2019 · Assembly

    Fiscal estimate received

  13. May 30, 2019 · Assembly

    Executive action taken

  14. Jun 12, 2019 · Assembly

    Report Assembly Amendment 1 to Assembly Substitute Amendment 1 adoption recommended by Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety, Ayes 10, Noes 0

  15. Jun 12, 2019 · Assembly

    Report Assembly Substitute Amendment 1 adoption recommended by Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety, Ayes 10, Noes 0

  16. Jun 12, 2019 · Assembly

    Report passage as amended recommended by Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety, Ayes 11, Noes 0

  17. Jun 12, 2019 · Assembly

    Referred to committee on Rules

  18. Jun 18, 2019 · Assembly

    Placed on calendar 6-20-2019 by Committee on Rules

  19. Jun 19, 2019 · Assembly

    Representative Rohrkaste added as a coauthor

  20. Jun 20, 2019 · Assembly

    Read a second time

  21. Jun 20, 2019 · Assembly

    Assembly Amendment 1 to Assembly Substitute Amendment 1 laid on table, Ayes 62, Noes 34

  22. Jun 20, 2019 · Assembly

    Assembly Substitute Amendment 1 adopted

  23. Jun 20, 2019 · Assembly

    Motion to reconsider vote by which Assembly Amendment 1 to Assembly Substitute Amendment 1 tabled offered by Representative Steineke

  24. Jun 20, 2019 · Assembly

    Vote by which Assembly Amendment 1 to Assembly Substitute Amendment 1 tabled reconsidered

  25. Jun 20, 2019 · Assembly

    Assembly Amendment 1 to Assembly Substitute Amendment 1 adopted

  26. Jun 20, 2019 · Assembly

    Assembly Substitute Amendment 1 adopted

  27. Jun 20, 2019 · Assembly

    Ordered to a third reading

  28. Jun 20, 2019 · Assembly

    Rules suspended

  29. Jun 20, 2019 · Assembly

    Read a third time and passed

  30. Jun 20, 2019 · Assembly

    Ordered immediately messaged

  31. Jun 20, 2019 · Senate

    Received from Assembly

  32. Jun 24, 2019 · Senate

    Read first time and referred to committee on Judiciary and Public Safety

  33. Sep 4, 2019 · Senate

    Public hearing held

  34. Sep 25, 2019 · Senate

    Executive action taken

  35. Sep 25, 2019 · Senate

    Report concurrence recommended by Committee on Judiciary and Public Safety, Ayes 5, Noes 0

  36. Sep 25, 2019 · Senate

    Available for scheduling

  37. Apr 1, 2020 · Senate

    Failed to concur in pursuant to Senate Joint Resolution 1