SB121: Bill Text

2025 - 2026 LEGISLATURE

LRB-2391/1

MJW:wlj

2025 SENATE BILL 121

March 7, 2025 - Introduced by Joint Legislative Council. Referred to Committee on Judiciary and Public Safety.

SB121,2,13 An Act to repeal 939.22 (21) (em), 940.198 (1) (intro.), 940.20 (title), 940.20 (2m) (a) (intro.), 940.20 (2m) (b) 3., 940.20 (3), 940.20 (4m) (a) (intro.), 940.20 (5) (a) (intro.), 940.201 (title), 940.201 (1) (intro.), 940.201 (1) (a), 940.201 (2), 940.203 (title), 940.203 (1) (intro.), 940.203 (1) (am), 940.203 (2) and (3), 940.204 (1) (intro.), 940.204 (1) (a), 940.204 (2) (c), 940.204 (3) (c), 940.205 (title) and (1), 940.205 (2) (c), 940.207 (title) and (1), 940.207 (2) (a), (b) and (c), 940.208 (3) and 941.38 (1) (b) 5m.; to renumber 940.19 (title), (1) and (2), 940.19 (4), (5) and (6), 940.195 (title), (1) and (2), 940.195 (4), (5) and (6), 940.198 (1) (a), 940.198 (2), (3) and (4), 940.20 (1m) (title), 940.20 (2m) (a) 1., 940.20 (2m) (a) 1m., 940.20 (2m) (a) 1o., 940.20 (4m) (title), 940.20 (4m) (a) 1., 940.20 (4m) (a) 2., 940.20 (4m) (a) 3., 940.20 (4m) (a) 4., 940.20 (5) (title), 940.20 (5) (a) 1., 940.20 (5) (a) 2., 940.20 (6) (title), 940.201 (1) (b), 940.203 (1) (ab), 940.203 (1) (ac), 940.203 (1) (b), 940.203 (1) (c), 940.203 (1) (d), 940.204 (1) (b) and 940.204 (1) (c); to renumber and amend 940.198 (title), 940.198 (1) (b), 940.20 (1), 940.20 (1g), 940.20 (2), 940.20 (2m) (title), 940.20 (2m) (a) 1p., 940.20 (2m) (a) 2., 940.20 (2m) (b) (intro.), 1. and 2., 940.20 (4), 940.20 (4m) (b), 940.20 (5) (b), 940.20 (6) (a), 940.20 (6) (b), 940.204 (title), 940.204 (4), 940.205 (2) (a) and (b) and 940.208 (intro.), (1), (2) and (2p); to consolidate, renumber and amend 940.20 (1m) (a) and (b), 940.204 (3) (intro.) and (2) (intro.), 940.204 (3) (a) and (2) (a), 940.204 (3) (b) and (2) (b) and 940.205 (2) (intro.) and 940.207 (2) (intro.); to amend 343.12 (7) (c) 9j., 939.22 (21) (e) and 941.38 (1) (b) 5.; to create 165.25 (22) (title), subchapter III (title) of chapter 940 [precedes 940.51], 940.51, 940.60 (intro.), 940.60 (1) (title), 940.60 (2) (title), 940.60 (3) (title), 940.61, 940.62, 940.65 (1) (title), 940.65 (2) (title), 940.65 (3) (title) and 947.016 of the statutes; relating to: recodification of battery statutes and providing a penalty.

Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau

This bill is explained in the Notes provided by the Joint Legislative Council in the bill.

Because this bill creates a new crime or revises a penalty for an existing crime, the Joint Review Committee on Criminal Penalties may be requested to prepare a report.

The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do enact as follows:

Joint Legislative Council prefatory note: This bill was prepared for the Joint Legislative Council’s Study Committee on Recodification of Battery Statutes.

Current law

Current law penalizes the act of causing bodily harm to another person (battery). The penalties for battery depend on the level of harm caused, the intent of the actor, and, under certain circumstances, whether the actor or the victim is a member of a category chosen by the legislature to receive particular consideration.

Section 940.19, stats.: Battery, substantial battery, and aggravated battery

Battery

A person who causes bodily harm to another, with the intent to cause bodily harm to that person or another and without the consent of the person harmed, is guilty of the crime of battery. Battery, sometimes referred to as “simple battery,” is a Class A misdemeanor.

Substantial battery

A person who causes substantial bodily harm to another, with the intent to cause bodily harm to that person or another, is guilty of the crime of substantial battery. Substantial battery is a Class I felony.

Aggravated battery

A person who causes great bodily harm to another is guilty of aggravated battery. Aggravated battery is a Class H felony if the actor intended to cause bodily harm to that person or another and a Class E felony if the actor intended to cause great bodily harm to that person or another.

Additionally, a person who causes bodily harm to another by conduct that creates a substantial risk of great bodily harm is guilty of aggravated battery. Aggravated battery under these circumstances is a Class H felony.

Sections 940.20 to 940.208, stats.: Special circumstances battery

Under current law, simple battery (causing bodily harm with the intent to cause bodily harm and without the consent of the victim) may be elevated to a Class H felony or a Class I felony if the battery is committed by a particular class of persons or committed against a particular class of persons. These batteries, called “special circumstances” batteries, are codified in ss. 940.20 to 940.208, stats.

Section 940.20, stats., contains several of the special circumstances batteries, including those committed by a particular class of persons and some of the special circumstances batteries committed against certain classes of persons. Other special circumstances are codified in ss. 940.201 to 940.208, stats.

Sections 940.195 and 940.198, stats.: Battery, substantial battery, and aggravated

battery to an unborn child and physical abuse of an elder person

Under current law, a person who causes bodily harm, substantial bodily harm, or great bodily harm to an unborn child is subject to the same penalties as under s. 940.19, stats. The intent of the actor may be to cause harm to the unborn child, the mother of the unborn child, or another.

A person who intentionally or recklessly causes bodily harm to an elder person is subject to penalties ranging from a Class I felony to a Class C felony, depending on the degree of harm to the elder person and the intent of the actor.

The bill

This bill recodifies the battery statutes found in ss. 940.19 to 940.208, stats., by moving them into a newly created subchapter III, entitled “Bodily security; battery,” in ch. 940, stats. In doing so, the bill generally reorganizes the various crimes of battery by 1) who the actor is; and 2) who the person harmed is. The bill does not change the penalty for any crime within the battery statutes that exists under current law. The bill also makes several changes to the battery statutes:

1. The bill moves most of the definitions that are specifically for the battery statutes to the beginning of the new subchapter specifically created for the battery statutes.

2. The bill renumbers the special circumstances batteries to two separate statutes: the first statute codifies special circumstances batteries on the basis of the identity of the actor. For example, this first statute includes battery caused by persons subject to certain injunctions and battery by prisoners or certain detained or committed persons. The second statute codifies special circumstances batteries on the basis of the identity of the victim. For example, this second statute includes battery to certain individuals involved with a court or legal system. In each statute, the offenses are separated on the basis of whether the penalty is a Class H felony or Class I felony.

3. The bill expands the definition of “family member” to also include a “grandparent” or “legal guardian.”

4. The bill adds the term “jail” to the crime of bodily harm caused by prisoners to clarify that this type of facility is included in this crime.

5. The bill combines the various threats to commit a battery into one crime, entitled “Threatening to cause bodily harm,” and moves it to ch. 947, stats., relating to crimes against public peace, order, and other interests. This chapter contains other criminal threats (e.g., bomb scares, terrorist threats, harassment, etc.).

6. With respect to the crimes of “battery, substantial battery, and aggravated battery to an unborn child” and “physical abuse of an elder person,” ss. 940.195 and 940.198, stats., respectively, the bill does the following: 1) changes the titles of these crimes to be consistent with other titles used in the bill; 2) moves them into the newly created subchapter; and 3) otherwise retains the structure of these crimes in their own separate statutes.

7. At the end of the bill is a table of each statute that cross-references one or more battery statutes and is affected by the bill. The table lists both the cross-references to the old battery statute and the new provision recreated in the bill.

SB121,1 Section 1. 165.25 (22) (title) of the statutes is created to read:

SB121,3,2 165.25 (22) (title) Post model language for health care facilities.

Note: This Section creates a new subsection entitled, “Post model language for health care facilities.” This subsection is placed in a section of statutes, s. 165.25, stats., that lists the duties of the Department of Justice (DOJ) because Section 70 moves language from the Criminal Code that requires DOJ to post certain language on its website to this list of duties. Specifically, Section 70 moves language that requires DOJ to post on its website model language relating to the penalties for causing bodily harm or threatening to cause bodily harm to a health care provider or staff to s. 165.25, stats.

SB121,2 Section 2. 343.12 (7) (c) 9j. of the statutes is amended to read:

SB121,3,5 343.12 (7) (c) 9j. Physical abuse of Battery to an elder person under s. 940.198 (2) 940.66 (2) or s. 940.198 (2), 2023 stats.

Note: Under current law, the Department of Transportation may not renew a school bus driver license endorsement if a person has been convicted of specified crimes, including “Physical abuse to an elder person.” This Section renumbers and changes the reference to this crime to “Battery to an elder person,” and renumbers this crime consistent with the changes made by this bill.

SB121,3 Section 3. 939.22 (21) (e) of the statutes is amended to read:

SB121,4,2 939.22 (21) (e) Battery, special circumstances by certain persons, as prohibited in s. 940.20 940.61 or s. 940.20, 2023 stats.; or battery to certain persons, as prohibited in s. 940.62, s. 940.20, 2023 stats., or s. 940.201, 2023 stats.; or threatening to cause bodily harm as prohibited in s. 947.016 (1) or (2).

SB121,4 Section 4. 939.22 (21) (em) of the statutes is repealed.

Note: The Criminal Code defines “pattern of criminal gang activity” generally to mean 2 or more specified crimes that have been committed within 3 years of one another, which must be committed either on separate occasions or, if committed on the same occasion, by 2 or more persons. This definition includes the following batteries: 1) battery, substantial battery, and aggravated battery; 2) battery to an unborn child, substantial battery to an unborn child, and aggravated battery to an unborn child; 3) special circumstance batteries; and 4) battery to a witness.

Section 3 updates the various cross-references to these batteries consistent with renumbering changes made by this bill. Section 4 repeals a separate cross-reference for battery to a witness, because, under the bill, this crime is now codified in s. 940.62, stats., which is listed in Section 3.

SB121,5 Section 5. 940.19 (title), (1) and (2) of the statutes are renumbered 940.60 (title), (1) and (2).

SB121,6 Section 6. 940.19 (4), (5) and (6) of the statutes are renumbered 940.60 (3) (a), (b) and (c).

Note: Sections 5 and 6 renumber s. 940.19, stats., entitled, “Battery; substantial battery; aggravated battery,” to s. 940.60, stats. As a result of the renumbering, the subtitle for s. 940.60 (1) is “battery” and the subtitle for sub. (2) is “substantial battery” under the bill. Similarly, Section 6 renumbers subs. (4), (5), and (6) so that the subtitle for these batteries is “aggravated batteries.”

SB121,7 Section 7. 940.195 (title), (1) and (2) of the statutes are renumbered 940.65 (title), (1) and (2).

SB121,8 Section 8. 940.195 (4), (5) and (6) of the statutes are renumbered 940.65 (3) (a), (b) and (c).

Note: Sections 7 and 8 renumber s. 940.195, stats., entitled, “Battery to an unborn child; substantial battery to an unborn child; aggravated battery to an unborn child,” to s. 940.65, stats. As a result of the renumbering, the subtitle for s. 940.65 (1) is “battery to an unborn child” and the subtitle for sub. (2) is “substantial battery to an unborn child.” Similarly, Section 8 renumbers subs. (4), (5), and (6) in such a way so that the subtitle for these batteries is “aggravated battery to an unborn child.”

SB121,9 Section 9. 940.198 (title) of the statutes is renumbered 940.66 (title) and amended to read:

Note: This Section amends the title of the crime “Physical abuse of an elder person” to “Battery to an elder person.” This Section also renumbers this crime so that it is codified in the new subchapter created by the bill for the various crimes of battery.

SB121,5,1 940.66 (title) Physical abuse of Battery to an elder person.

SB121,10 Section 10. 940.198 (1) (intro.) of the statutes is repealed.

SB121,11 Section 11. 940.198 (1) (a) of the statutes is renumbered 940.51 (6).

SB121,12 Section 12. 940.198 (1) (b) of the statutes is renumbered 940.66 (1) and amended to read:

SB121,5,8 940.66 (1) Recklessness. “Recklessly” Notwithstanding s. 939.24, in this section, “recklessly” means conduct that creates a situation of unreasonable risk of harm to and demonstrates a conscious disregard for the safety of the elder person.

Note: Sections 10, 11, and 12 relate to the definitions of “elder person” and “recklessly,” created specifically for the crime of “Physical abuse of an elder person,” which this bill renames “Battery to an elder person.” Collectively, these Sections move the definition of “elder person” to the definitions section of the new subchapter created by the bill and the definition of “recklessly” to the beginning subsection of the crime of “Battery to an elder person.”

SB121,13 Section 13. 940.198 (2), (3) and (4) of the statutes are renumbered 940.66 (2), (3) and (4).

Note: This Section renumbers the nondefinitional sections of the renamed crime of “Battery to an elder person,” from s. 940.198 (2) to (4), stats., to s. 940.66 (2) to (4), stats.

SB121,14 Section 14. 940.20 (title) of the statutes is repealed.

Note: This Section repeals the title, “Battery: special circumstances,” of the section of the statutes that presently lists several, but not all, special circumstance batteries. This bill recodifies the various batteries within this statute in the new subchapter created by the bill.

SB121,15 Section 15. 940.20 (1) of the statutes is renumbered 940.61 (2) (a) and amended to read:

SB121,6,3 940.61 (2) (a) Battery by prisoners. Any The person who causes the bodily harm is a prisoner confined to a state prison, a jail, or any other state, county, or municipal detention facility who and intentionally causes the bodily harm or a soft tissue injury, as defined in s. 946.41 (2) (c), to an officer, employee, visitor, or another inmate of such prison or institution, without his or her consent, is guilty of a Class H felony.

SB121,16 Section 16. 940.20 (1g) of the statutes is renumbered 940.61 (2) (b) and amended to read:

SB121,6,10 940.61 (2) (b) Battery by certain detained or committed persons. Any The person who causes the bodily harm is placed in a facility under s. 980.04 or 980.065 and who intentionally causes the bodily harm to an officer, employee, agent, visitor, or other resident of the facility, without his or her consent, is guilty of a Class H felony.

Note: Sections 15 and 16 codify the crimes of “Battery by prisoners” and “Battery by certain detained or committed persons” into one subsection. Section 15 also adds the term “jail” to the list of places where a prisoner who causes bodily harm to an officer, employee, visitor, or another inmate may be subject to a Class H felony. In placing the two crimes in one subsection, the language that is common between the two crimes (“without his or her consent, is guilty of a Class H felony”) is deleted and moved to the introductory clause preceding these 2 crimes, created by Section 85 of the bill.

SB121,17 Section 17. 940.20 (1m) (title) of the statutes is renumbered 940.61 (1) (title).

SB121,18 Section 18. 940.20 (1m) (a) and (b) of the statutes are consolidated, renumbered 940.61 (1) and amended to read:

SB121,7,3 940.61 (1) Any A person who causes bodily harm to another by an act done with intent to cause bodily harm to that person or another without the consent of the person so harmed is guilty of a Class I felony if the person who causes the bodily harm is subject to an injunction under s. 813.12 or 813.125 or a tribal injunction filed under s. 813.128 (3g) and who intentionally causes bodily harm to the petitioner who sought the injunction by an act done without the consent of the petitioner is guilty of a Class I felony. (b) Any person who is subject to an injunction under s. 813.125 and who intentionally causes the bodily harm to the petitioner who sought the injunction by an act done without the consent of the petitioner is guilty of a Class I felony.

Note: Sections 17 and 18 renumber and amend the crime of “Battery by persons subject to certain injunctions” (domestic abuse injunction, harassment injunction, or tribal injunction) to use the same grammatical style as the other recodified battery statutes.

SB121,19 Section 19. 940.20 (2) of the statutes is renumbered 940.62 (2) (d) and amended to read:

SB121,7,11 940.62 (2) (d) Battery to fire fighters firefighters and commission wardens. Whoever intentionally The person causes the bodily harm to a fire fighter, as defined in s. 102.475 (8) (b), firefighter or to a commission warden, acting in an official capacity and, who the person knows or has reason to know that the victim is a fire fighter firefighter or commission warden, by an act done without the consent of the person so injured, is guilty of a Class H felony.

Note: Section 19 renumbers and amends the crime of “Battery to fire fighters and commission wardens.” In doing so, the spelling of “fire fighter” is replaced with “firefighter.” The cross-reference to the definition of “firefighter” is deleted and instead codified in the definition section at the beginning of the new subchapter created by the bill.

SB121,20 Section 20. 940.20 (2m) (title) of the statutes is renumbered 940.62 (2) (b) (title) and amended to read:

SB121,7,15 940.62 (2) (b) (title) Battery to probation, extended supervision and, or parole agents, community supervision agents, and aftercare agents or their family members.