Wisconsin 2025-2026 Regular Session

Wisconsin Assembly Bill AB19

Introduced

2/6/25

Refer

2/6/25

Report Pass

12/17/25

Refer

12/17/25

Engrossed

1/13/26

Refer

1/14/26

Enrolled

1/23/26

Chaptered

4/2/26

Passed

4/2/26

Caption

An Act to renumber 940.198 (1) (a) and 971.109 (1) (a); to renumber and amend 939.623 (1); to amend 343.12 (7) (c) 9j., 813.12 (5b), 813.123 (6g), 813.125 (5b), 911.01 (4) (c), 939.623 (title), 939.623 (2) (intro.), 939.623 (3), 940.198 (title), 940.198 (1) (b), 940.198 (2) (a), 940.198 (2) (b), 940.198 (2) (c), 940.198 (3) (a), 940.198 (3) (b), 940.198 (3) (c), 940.198 (4), 971.109 (title), 971.109 (2) (a) and 971.109 (2) (c); and to create 813.12 (1) (ab), 813.125 (1) (am) 2., 939.623 (1) (b), 940.198 (1) (ag), 940.225 (1) (e) and 971.109 (1) (ac) of the statutes; Relating to: increased penalties for crimes against adults at risk; restraining orders for adults at risk; freezing assets of a defendant charged with financial exploitation of an adult at risk; sexual assault of an adult at risk; and providing a penalty.

Summary

AB19 updates Wisconsin criminal and civil statutes to add explicit protections for “adults at risk” alongside existing protections for elder persons. The bill expands enhanced penalties for crimes against victims who are adults at risk, creates a new sexual assault offense category when the victim is an adult at risk and the defendant knew that status, and revises the battery-to-elder-person statute so it also applies to adults at risk. It also makes conforming changes to definitions and titles throughout the statutes so that the new category is consistently recognized. The bill also strengthens court-access and victim-protection procedures. It allows adults at risk who petition for restraining orders to appear by telephone or live audiovisual means, and it authorizes prosecutors to seek freezing of a defendant’s assets in financial exploitation cases involving adults at risk when the alleged loss exceeds $2,500. Those asset-freeze orders can be issued ex parte, are not governed by the rules of evidence at the hearing, and can bind financial institutions and third parties holding the property.

Impact

AB19 amends multiple sections of the Wisconsin Statutes, including criminal penalty provisions, restraining order procedures, evidence/procedure rules, and asset-freeze provisions for financial exploitation cases. It extends or mirrors existing elder-person protections to adults at risk, while in some provisions requiring actual knowledge that the victim is an adult at risk before enhanced penalties apply. The bill therefore broadens the class of protected victims and gives prosecutors and courts additional tools in abuse, assault, battery, and financial exploitation cases involving vulnerable adults.

Sentiment

The available record shows no committee transcript, recorded votes, or documented opposition, so there is no direct evidence of debate in the provided materials. Based on the bill’s structure and subject matter, the measure appears to be framed as a protective and victim-centered update, aimed at closing gaps in existing law and aligning adult-at-risk protections with elder-person protections. The absence of recorded controversy suggests the bill may have been noncontentious or at least not publicly debated in the materials provided.

Contention

The main policy distinction in the bill is between elder-person victims and adult-at-risk victims. For elder-person victims, some enhanced-penalty provisions apply regardless of the defendant’s knowledge of the victim’s age, while for adult-at-risk victims the bill often requires proof that the defendant had actual knowledge of that status. That knowledge requirement is a likely point of legal significance because it limits when the enhanced penalties and new offense provisions can be used. Another notable issue is the asset-freeze process in financial exploitation cases, which permits ex parte hearings and relaxes ordinary evidentiary rules; those features can raise due-process concerns, though no specific opposition is documented in the provided record.

Latest WI AB19 Activity

View All Events: WI 2025-2026 Regular Session AB19

Companion Bills

WI SB15

Crossfiled An Act to renumber 940.198 (1) (a) and 971.109 (1) (a); to renumber and amend 939.623 (1); to amend 343.12 (7) (c) 9j., 813.12 (5b), 813.123 (6g), 813.125 (5b), 911.01 (4) (c), 939.623 (title), 939.623 (2) (intro.), 939.623 (3), 940.198 (title), 940.198 (1) (b), 940.198 (2) (a), 940.198 (2) (b), 940.198 (2) (c), 940.198 (3) (a), 940.198 (3) (b), 940.198 (3) (c), 940.198 (4), 971.109 (title), 971.109 (2) (a) and 971.109 (2) (c); and to create 813.12 (1) (ab), 813.125 (1) (am) 2., 939.623 (1) (b), 940.198 (1) (ag), 940.225 (1) (e) and 971.109 (1) (ac) of the statutes; Relating to: increased penalties for crimes against adults at risk; restraining orders for adults at risk; freezing assets of a defendant charged with financial exploitation of an adult at risk; sexual assault of an adult at risk; and providing a penalty.

Previously Filed As

WI SB15

Increased penalties for crimes against adults at risk; restraining orders for adults at risk; freezing assets of a defendant charged with financial exploitation of an adult at risk; sexual assault of an adult at risk; and providing a penalty.

WI HB1297

A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 2.2-3802, 51.5-148, 63.2-1605, and 63.2-1606 of the Code of Virginia and to amend the Code of Virginia by adding in Article 5 of Chapter 14 of Title 51.5 sections numbered 51.5-148.1 and 51.5-148.2 and by adding sections numbered 63.2-1605.1, 63.2-1605.2, and 63.2-1605.3, relating to adult protective services; adult abuse, neglect and exploitation central registry.

WI HB0157

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 4-3-1205; Title 39, Chapter 17, Part 18; Title 52, Chapter 8; Section 68-1-904; Title 68, Chapter 11, Part 2 and Title 71, relative to services for adults.

WI SB0978

WI HB1179

Transportation; changes various provisions of existing funds, etc.

WI HB1179

A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 33.2-359, 33.2-371, 33.2-1526, 33.2-1526.1, 33.2-3102, 33.2-3401, 33.2-3402, 33.2-3403, 33.2-3502, 46.2-774, and 46.2-2099.48 of the Code of Virginia; to amend the Code of Virginia by adding in Article 2 of Chapter 19 of Title 33.2 a section numbered 33.2-1904.1, by adding in Article 11 of Chapter 19 of Title 33.2 a section numbered 33.2-1937, by adding in Chapter 24 of Title 33.2 a section numbered 33.2-2402, by adding in Chapter 7 of Title 46.2 a section numbered 46.2-775, by adding a section numbered 58.1-603.3, and by adding in Chapter 17 of Title 58.1 articles numbered 13, 14, and 15, consisting of sections numbered 58.1-1749, 58.1-1750, and 58.1-1751; and to repeal § 33.2-3100.1 of the Code of Virginia, relating to transportation funding.

WI HB217

An Act to amend and reenact §§ 15.2-915.5, 18.2-308.09, 18.2-308.2:1, 18.2-308.2:2, 18.2-308.2:3, 18.2-308.2:5, 18.2-308.7, and 19.2-386.28 of the Code of Virginia and to amend the Code of Virginia by adding sections numbered 18.2-287.4:1, 18.2-308.1:9, and 18.2-309.1, relating to purchase, sale, transfer, etc., of assault firearms and certain ammunition feeding devices prohibited; penalties.

WI HB642

An Act to amend and reenact §§ 2.2-2499.8, 2.2-2818, 2.2-2905, 2.2-3114, 2.2-3711, as it is currently effective and as it shall become effective, 2.2-3802, 2.2-4024, 3.2-4112, 3.2-4113, 3.2-4116, 3.2-4126, 3.2-5145.1, 3.2-5145.2:1, 3.2-5145.4, 4.1-103, 4.1-105, 4.1-352, 4.1-600, 4.1-601, 4.1-603, 4.1-604, 4.1-606, 4.1-607, 4.1-611, 4.1-614, 4.1-621, 4.1-1100, 4.1-1101, 4.1-1121, 4.1-1402, 4.1-1500, 4.1-1501, 4.1-1502, 4.1-1600 through 4.1-1603.2, 4.1-1604, 5.1-13, 9.1-1101, 15.2-912.4, 16.1-69.40:1, 16.1-260, 16.1-273, 16.1-278.9, 18.2-46.1, 18.2-247, 18.2-248, 18.2-248.01, 18.2-251, 18.2-251.03, 18.2-251.1:1, 18.2-251.1:2, 18.2-251.1:3, 18.2-252, 18.2-254, 18.2-255, 18.2-255.1, 18.2-255.2, 18.2-258, 18.2-258.02, 18.2-258.1, 18.2-265.1, 18.2-265.2, 18.2-265.3, 18.2-287.2, 18.2-308.012, 18.2-308.4, 18.2-371.2, 18.2-460, 18.2-474.1, 19.2-66, 19.2-81, 19.2-81.1, 19.2-83.1, 19.2-188.1, 19.2-303.01, 19.2-386.22 through 19.2-386.25, 19.2-389, as it is currently effective and as it shall become effective, 19.2-389.3, 19.2-392.02, 19.2-392.6 and 19.2-392.12:1, as they shall become effective, 22.1-206, 22.1-277.08, 23.1-1301, 46.2-105.2, 46.2-347, 48-17.1, 53.1-231.2, 54.1-2903, 54.1-3401, 54.1-3443, 58.1-301, and 59.1-200 of the Code of Virginia; to amend the Code of Virginia by adding in Subtitle II of Title 2.2 a part labeled D, containing a chapter numbered 61, consisting of a section numbered 2.2-6100, by adding in Chapter 6 of Title 4.1 sections numbered 4.1-629 and 4.1-630, by adding in Title 4.1 chapters numbered 7 through 10, consisting of sections numbered 4.1-700 through 4.1-1010, by adding sections numbered 4.1-1102 through 4.1-1105, 4.1-1106, 4.1-1106.1, 4.1-1113, 4.1-1114, 4.1-1115, 4.1-1117, 4.1-1118, and 4.1-1119, by adding in Title 4.1 a chapter numbered 12, consisting of sections numbered 4.1-1200 through 4.1-1206, by adding in Chapter 13 of Title 4.1 sections numbered 4.1-1300, 4.1-1301, and 4.1-1303 through 4.1-1309, by adding in Chapter 14 of Title 4.1 sections numbered 4.1-1403 through 4.1-1407, by adding a section numbered 4.1-1602.1, by adding in Title 4.1 a chapter numbered 17, consisting of sections numbered 4.1-1700 through 4.1-1705, by adding in Article 2 of Chapter 1 of Title 6.2 a section numbered 6.2-108, and by adding in Chapter 44 of Title 54.1 a section numbered 54.1-4426; and to repeal Article 4 (§§ 3.2-4122 through 3.2-4126) of Chapter 41.1 of Title 3.2 and §§ 3.2-5145.4:1, 4.1-1101.1, 4.1-1105.1, 18.2-248.1, and 18.2-251.1 of the Code of Virginia, relating to cannabis control; retail market; penalties.

WI HB483

An Act to amend and reenact § 32.1-276.7:1 of the Code of Virginia and to amend the Code of Virginia by adding in Title 32.1 a chapter numbered 7.3, consisting of sections numbered 32.1-276.12, 32.1-276.13, and 32.1-276.14, and by adding in Article 1 of Chapter 34 of Title 54.1 a section numbered 54.1-3431.1, relating to prescription drug affordability advisory panel established; maximum fair price; annual reports; civil penalties.

WI SB0113

Crimes: embezzlement; embezzlement from vulnerable adults and the estates of vulnerable adults; provide penalties and steps for property recovery. Amends sec. 174a of 1931 PA 328 (MCL 750.174a).

Similar Bills

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