AB 837

This bill creates a grant program administered by the Department of Justice

to provide a signing bonus to law enforcement officers who have not previously

served as a law enforcement officer in Wisconsin. Under the bill, a new recruit

receives $5,000 as a signing bonus, plus an additional $1,000 per year of prior

out-of-state law enforcement experience, but the bill caps the total amount of a

bonus at $10,000. Under the bill, a law enforcement officer who receives a bonus

through this grant program is required to complete three continuous years of

employment as a law enforcement officer in this state.

The bill also provides for bonus payments to law enforcement officers. Under

the bill, each person in charge of a law enforcement agency must certify to DOJ the

number of full-time officers employed by the agency that will have at least one year

of employment as an officer with the agency by December 31, 2022. No later than

December 31, 2022, DOJ must award a grant to each agency in an amount equal to

the number of officers certified by the agency multiplied by $1,000. The law

enforcement agencies must then pay bonuses of $2,000 to qualifying officers as soon

as practicable after receiving the grant payments from DOJ.