MADISON, WI…Bipartisan legislation authored by Senator André Jacque (New Franken) and Representative Rob Kreibich (New Richmond) to support victims and increase penalties for crimes committed against “adults at risk” was signed into law today by Governor Tony Evers as Act 149.
Wisconsin has a longstanding definition of an “adult at risk” which protects persons with a physical or mental disadvantage. Act 149 extends the same protections to at risk adults as those which currently apply to individuals over the age of 60, such as allowing courts to freeze their assets if the victim is threatened with financial exploitation. The law also now allows for greater prison time for those who victimize at risk adults, increases the severity of certain sexual crimes, and allows adults at risk to remotely participate in court proceedings when seeking a restraining order.
“Victimizing Wisconsin residents with mental or physical disadvantages must never be tolerated, and this new law strengthens protections for some of the most vulnerable in our society,” said Jacque.
The legislation passed the Senate Committee on Judiciary and Public Safety on a 7-1 vote and the Assembly Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee on a 13-1 vote, and both legislative chambers on the floor on voice votes. The change in state law has the support of the Alzheimer’s Association, the Wisconsin Nurses Association, the Wisconsin Board for People with Developmental Disabilities, and the Wisconsin Chapter of A-TEAM.
Senator André Jacque represents Northeast Wisconsin’s First Senate District, consisting of Door and Kewaunee Counties and portions of Brown, Calumet, Manitowoc, and Outagamie counties.
