2023 Wisconsin Act 272

* Section 991.11, Wisconsin Statutes: Effective date of acts. “Every act and every portion of an act enacted by the legislature over the governor's partial veto which does not expressly prescribe the time when it takes effect shall take effect on the day after its date of publication.”

  Date of enactment: April 9, 2024
2023 Senate Bill 981   Date of publication*: April 10, 2024

2023 WISCONSIN ACT 272

An Act to renumber and amend 175.51 (1m) (a); to amend 165.785 (2m) (a) 1. and 2., 165.785 (2m) (b), 175.51 (title) and 175.51 (1m) (b); and to create 175.51 (1m) (a) 2. of the statutes; relating to: expanding alerts for missing adults to include certain missing children.

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

272,1 Section 1. 165.785 (2m) (a) 1. and 2. of the statutes are amended to read:

165.785 (2m) (a) 1. The department shall provide a form for reports of missing adults persons at risk under s. 175.51 (1m) and missing veterans at risk under s. 175.51 (1v) that law enforcement agencies can access through the integrated crime alert network.

2. The department shall train law enforcement officers on identifying reports of adults persons at risk that are appropriate for dissemination under sub. (1) (b) 2., using the form provided under subd. 1., and accessing the network to disseminate the report.

272,2 Section 2. 165.785 (2m) (b) of the statutes is amended to read:

165.785 (2m) (b) The department shall work directly with persons on the list maintained under par. (c) and with government agencies, broadcasters, and public and private organizations with missions focused on adults persons or veterans at risk to develop criteria for law enforcement officers to use to identify reports of missing adults persons or veterans at risk that are appropriate to disseminate under s. 175.51 (1m) or (1v), to determine the most effective methods and guidelines for the persons on the list maintained under par. (c) to use to broadcast or make public reports of missing adults persons or veterans at risk, and to receive feedback on the forms provided under par. (a) 1. and on the list maintained under par. (c).

272,3 Section 3. 175.51 (title) of the statutes is amended to read:

175.51 (title) Reports of missing adults persons and veterans at risk and of hit-and-run incidents.

272,4 Section 4. 175.51 (1m) (a) of the statutes is renumbered 175.51 (1m) (a) (intro.) and amended to read:

175.51 (1m) (a) (intro.) In this subsection, “adult “person at risk” means an one of the following:

1. An adult who has a developmental disability, who suffers from Alzheimer’s disease or dementia, or who suffers from or could, without access to medication, suffer from cognitive impairment if the impairment would likely render the adult incapable of getting to a familiar location without assistance.

272,5 Section 5. 175.51 (1m) (a) 2. of the statutes is created to read:

175.51 (1m) (a) 2. A person who has not attained the age of 18 years, whose location is unknown, and whose situation does not qualify for another alert and the person is believed to be incapable of returning home without assistance due to a physical or mental condition or disability or the person has not attained the age of 10 years.

272,6 Section 6. 175.51 (1m) (b) of the statutes is amended to read:

175.51 (1m) (b) If a law enforcement agency receives a report of a missing adult person at risk, the law enforcement agency shall use the form under s. 165.785 (2m) (a) 1. to disseminate the report using the integrated crime alert network.