AB 777

Grants for additional policing

This bill authorizes the Department of Administration to award one or more

grants to a city, village, town, or county for costs associated with additional policing

to address automobile theft and carjacking. DOA must give priority to cities,

villages, towns, or counties having a higher incidence of automobile theft or

carjacking. Grants may be used to cover up to four years of additional policing costs

but may not be used to supplant funding that is available from other sources.

The bill requires the governor to allocate at least $5,000,000 of the moneys

received under the federal American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 to the additional

policing grant program. Before DOA may award grants using the allocated money,

DOA must submit a plan for the program to the Joint Committee on Finance for

approval. The plan must ensure that the grants will be distributed throughout all

geographic areas of Wisconsin and in both urban and rural communities.

The bill also includes a requirement that grant recipients submit reports to

DOA describing in detail how grant moneys were expended and the results of the

expenditures, including any impact on the number of persons arrested and charged

for automobile theft or carjacking.

Grants for strategic planning

The bill further authorizes DOA to award one or more grants to a city, village,

town, or county for costs associated with strategic planning to combat crime. Grants

may be used to cover up to two years of strategic planning costs but may not be used

to supplant funding that is available from other sources.

The bill requires the governor to allocate at least $5,000,000 of the moneys

received under the federal American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 to the strategic

planning grant program. Before DOA may award grants using the allocated money,

DOA must submit a plan for the grant program to the Joint Committee on Finance

for approval. The plan must ensure that the grants will be distributed throughout

all geographic areas of Wisconsin and in both urban and rural communities.

The bill also includes a requirement that grant recipients submit a report to

DOA describing in detail how grant moneys were expended and the results of such

expenditures.

Grants for uniformed beat patrol and public safety goals

Under current law, the Department of Justice awards grants to cities to pay for

uniformed beat patrol law enforcement officers. The bill expands the grant program

to allow villages, town, and counties, in addition to cities, to apply for such grants and

to allow grant recipients to use grant funds to pay for law enforcement officers whose

primary duties relate to achieving a law enforcement or public safety goal. The bill

also eliminates the current-law cap of $150,000 per grant and eliminates the

requirement that DOJ award the grant to the applicants with the highest rates of

violent crime. The bill eliminates the current law that allows for grants to be