Wisconsin Assembly Bill AB86

Wisconsin 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 2/28/25
• Refer: 2/28/25
• Report Pass: 3/11/25
• Refer: 3/11/25
• Engrossed: 3/13/25
• Refer: 3/14/25
• Enrolled: 3/25/26
• Chaptered: 4/3/26
• Passed: 4/3/26

Caption

An Act to renumber and amend 948.051 (1) and 948.051 (2); to amend 302.114 (1), 303.065 (1) (b) 2., 304.02 (5) and 973.014 (2); to create 948.051 (1) (b) and 948.051 (2) (a) and (b) of the statutes; Relating to: imposing the penalty of life imprisonment for the crime of child trafficking and providing a penalty. (FE)

Summary

AB86 increases criminal penalties for child trafficking in Wisconsin. The bill renumbers and amends the existing child trafficking statute, 948.051, to keep the base offense as a Class B felony but create a new aggravated form of the offense when the conduct involves at least three child victims. In that circumstance, the offense becomes a Class A felony punishable by life imprisonment without the possibility of extended supervision. The bill makes the same enhancement for a person who benefits from child trafficking when the violation involves at least three child victims. The bill also updates sentencing and corrections statutes so that a person sentenced to life imprisonment under the new child trafficking provisions is not eligible for extended supervision, parole, or work release. It amends related statutes governing inmate release and sentencing to align with the new mandatory life-without-release penalty. The act applies only to offenses committed on or after its effective date.

Impact

AB86 changes Wisconsin criminal law by creating aggravated child trafficking offenses and mandating life imprisonment without extended supervision for offenses involving at least three child victims. It also amends statutes governing extended supervision, parole, and work release to exclude persons sentenced under the new provisions, and it directs courts to impose life without extended supervision for the new Class A felony offenses. The bill applies prospectively only, to offenses committed on or after the effective date.

Sentiment

The available context suggests strong support for the bill’s goal of increasing punishment for child trafficking, with no recorded committee transcript opposition or recorded votes in the provided materials. The bill’s framing as a child-protection measure and its enactment as Wisconsin Act 187 indicate a generally favorable legislative posture. No dissenting arguments are documented in the supplied record.

Contention

The main policy issue embedded in AB86 is the severity of the penalty: it escalates child trafficking involving three or more child victims from a Class B felony to a Class A felony with mandatory life imprisonment without extended supervision. Potential points of contention would likely center on whether mandatory life sentences are appropriate, how broadly the enhancement should apply, and whether the same penalty should attach to those who benefit from trafficking as to direct traffickers. However, the provided materials do not include recorded objections or named opponents.