2023 - 2024 LEGISLATURE
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2023 ASSEMBLY BILL 1051
February 2, 2024 - Introduced by Representatives STUBBS, BALDEH, SUBECK,
RATCLIFF, NEUBAUER, PALMERI, J. ANDERSON, JOERS, ANDRACA, CONLEY,
SHELTON, C. ANDERSON, ORTIZ-VELEZ, SINICKI, DRAKE and JACOBSON,
cosponsored by Senators L. JOHNSON, TAYLOR, ROYS, LARSON, WIRCH, SPREITZER
and AGARD. Referred to Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety.
1 AN ACT to create 15.253 (4), 20.923 (4) (c) 7., 165.29 and 230.08 (2) (wd) of the
2 statutes; relating to: creating an office of gun violence prevention in the
3 Department of Justice and making an appropriation.
Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau
This bill creates an office of gun violence prevention in the Department of
Justice. The office must collaborate with other organizations and experts to develop
a strategy to identify causes of gun violence and to improve social determinants of
health for communities most affected by gun violence. The office must submit to the
legislature a written plan of action every two years that details how DOJ will
incorporate a public health approach to gun violence prevention-related programs
and services.
For further information see the state fiscal estimate, which will be printed as
an appendix to this bill.
The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do
enact as follows:
4 SECTION 1. 15.253 (4) of the statutes is created to read:
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ASSEMBLY BILL 1051 SECTION 1
1 15.253 (4) OFFICE OF GUN VIOLENCE PREVENTION. There is created in the
2 department of justice an office of gun violence prevention. The director of the office
3 shall be appointed by the attorney general.
4 SECTION 2. 20.923 (4) (c) 7. of the statutes is created to read:
5 20.923 (4) (c) 7. Justice, department of: director of the office of gun violence
6 prevention.
7 SECTION 3. 165.29 of the statutes is created to read:
8 165.29 Office of gun violence prevention. (1) It is declared to be the policy
9 of the state that gun violence shall be recognized as a public health crisis and
10 addressed by utilizing a public health data-based approach and taking into
11 consideration all of the following:
12 (a) The specifics of gun violence and gun homicides in each community,
13 including identifying those most affected, identifying contributing factors, and
14 identifying factors that create greater safety for those most affected by gun violence
15 in each community.
16 (b) The root causes of gun violence in the community, including racism, poverty,
17 political neglect, lack of affordable housing, food insecurity, unemployment,
18 untreated trauma, and the evaluation of community conditions. The evaluation of
19 community conditions shall include the comparison of community conditions and
20 opportunities for communities with a high risk of gun violence and those with a lesser
21 risk of gun violence in order to identify and create greater safety for high-risk
22 communities through community surroundings. In this paragraph, “community
23 surroundings” includes streets, parks, schools, community-based organizations,
24 youth and community centers, and places of worship.
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ASSEMBLY BILL 1051 SECTION 3
1 (c) A commitment for gun violence prevention efforts to focus on addressing and
2 healing individual, interpersonal, and community trauma inflicted as a result of gun
3 violence.
4 (2) The office of gun violence prevention shall address gun violence in a manner
5 that is consistent with the policy in sub. (1) and shall do all of the following:
6 (a) Collaborate with the office of school safety and members of various
7 communities, including youth, community-based organizations, faith leaders,
8 grassroots organizers, political leaders, business owners, and other organizations
9 and individuals with expertise in the field to develop a strategy to identify causes of
10 gun violence in a community and to incorporate a public health approach to improve
11 social determinants of health for communities most affected by gun violence.
12 Research centers at higher educational institutions, to the extent that each
13 institution chooses to participate, and the department of health services, to the
14 extent that the department chooses to participate, shall act as advisors in developing
15 the strategy.
16 (b) Submit a written plan of action to the legislature every 2 years, starting no
17 later than July 1, 2024, detailing how the department of justice, as advised by
18 research centers and the department of health services, will incorporate a public
19 health approach to gun violence prevention-related programs and services. In
20 creating the plan of action, the office shall collaborate with those impacted by gun
21 violence, identify and evaluate innovative and successful community-based violence
22 prevention programs, and focus on how any proposed programs and services will
23 address trauma in communities with a high degree of gun violence.
24 SECTION 4. 230.08 (2) (wd) of the statutes is created to read:
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ASSEMBLY BILL 1051 SECTION 4
1 230.08 (2) (wd) The director of the office of gun violence prevention in the
2 department of justice.
3 SECTION 5.0Nonstatutory provisions.
4 (1) LEGISLATIVE INTENT. The legislature finds and declares all of the following:
5 (a) Gun violence is a public health crisis, leading to thousands of deaths and
6 injuries annually, and contributing to the harmful effects of post-traumatic stress
7 disorder and trauma thereafter.
8 (b) Gun violence rates in the United States increased during the COVID-19
9 pandemic.
10 (c) A commitment to ending gun violence is a commitment to racial justice.
11 (d) Gun violence is more than just a criminal justice and public safety issue.
12 It is also a public health crisis needing an urgent and holistic plan of action across
13 all relevant programs and services.
14 SECTION 6.0Fiscal changes.
15 (1) OFFICE OF GUN VIOLENCE PREVENTION; POSITION INCREASES. In the schedule
16 under s. 20.005 (3) for the appropriation to the department of justice under s. 20.455
17 (2) (a), the dollar amount for fiscal year 2023-24 is increased by $91,100 to increase
18 the authorized FTE positions by 1.0 GPR position for directing the office of gun
19 violence prevention. In the schedule under s. 20.005 (3) for the appropriation to the
20 department of justice under s. 20.455 (2) (a), the dollar amount for fiscal year
21 2024-25 is increased by $91,000 to provide funding for the position authorized under
22 this subsection.
23 (END)