(The Center Square) – Republicans at the Wisconsin Capitol continue to move through their to-do list. The latest was a slate of bills focusing on public safety.
The Assembly on recently approved:
● K9 Riggs Act – Increases penalties for causing injury to law enforcement animals. The bill is named after Kenosha County Sheriff Department K9 Riggs, who was shot by a criminal. Riggs survived and is now in retirement.
● Prosecution Reform – Requires approval from the court before prosecutors can dismiss serious charges.
● Parental Notification – Ensures parents are promptly notified of sexual misconduct in school.
● Criminal Case Database – Creates a new database of crimes in Wisconsin.
● Reckless Driving Crackdown – Allows for the impoundment of vehicles used in reckless driving offenses.
● Parole Revocation – Revokes extended supervision, parole, or probation if a person is charged with a new crime.
● Child Trafficking Penalties – Imposes life imprisonment for the crime of trafficking multiple children and requires restitution be paid to the victims.
● Theft Crimes – Increases the penalties for certain retail theft crimes.
● School Resource Officers – Ensures officers are put back into Milwaukee Schools.
“Cracking down on crime shouldn’t be a partisan issue, but in Madison, it has increasingly become so,” Assembly Majority Leader Tyler August said after Thursday’s votes.
Rep. Amanda Nedweski, R-Pleasant Prairie, authored the K9 Riggs Act, which was named after a Kenoha police dog who was shot and wounded by a suspect back in 2021.
“Riggs’s heroism united the community, galvanizing support for local law enforcement just a year after rioters in Kenosha protested against them,” Nedweski added. “These dogs are not only invaluable members of the department; they are also family to their partners.”
But not every lawmaker was on board with the Republicans’ public safety slate.
Milwaukee Rep. Ryan Clancy, D-Milwaukee, called the legislation “misleading and misguided.”
“Once again, the Wisconsin legislature was forced to spend our time and resources considering badly written, badly conceived bills that will harm people and waste public resources,” Clancy said in a statement. “It’s wildly irresponsible to even consider increasing penalties and interfering with the very few tools of leniency we have with a prison system holding 5,000 more people than intended. But here we are.”
The slate of legislation will head to the Senate.
