This week, Republicans passed 10 bills that are tough on crime and also enhance school safety. Public safety shouldn't be partisan, yet Democrats still voted against many of the proposals, like increasing the punishment for reckless driving and placing more protections on police and fire K9s. Republicans support law enforcement and are fighting for safer streets and safer schools.

Here is a quick summary of each bill:

Assembly Bill 61: Increases the penalties for intentionally causing harm/death to police and fire animal from a Class H felony to a Class G felony. Everyone knows that law enforcement officers risk their lives every day in the line of duty, but we tend to forget that K9 dogs do the same. K9 dogs are vital to helping police get criminals off the street and this bill helps give them the support they need. In October of 2021, Kenosha County Sheriff Department K9 Riggs was shot in the head by a suspect as they were being apprehended. Miraculously, Riggs survived and made a full recovery, eventually returning to duty to keep the people of Kenosha County safe until he deservingly retired three years later.

Assembly Bill 66: Provides a check on prosecutors that embrace soft-on-crime philosophies and ensures criminals responsible for serious crimes actually face repercussions for their actions by requiring the court grant permission before a charge is dropped against a defendant. Crime rates, especially in Milwaukee, have not returned to pre-pandemic levels. Investigations in Milwaukee have found that 75% of felons arrested in possessions of a firearm do not go to prison and 37% are never charged. These felons are getting their charges dismissed as part of a plea bargain, so this added measure will ensure felons are held accountable and victims are not longer deprived of justice.

Assembly Bill 74: Requires parents are promptly notified if their child becomes a victim of sexual misconduct by a school employee. Currently, there is no timeline on notifying parents so this bill ensures they are alerted as soon as possible.

Assembly Bill 75: Creates an easily accessible database so citizens can view decisions made by judges. This holds both criminals and soft-on-crime judges accountable for their actions.

Assembly Bill 78: This legislation allows law enforcement to tow vehicles involved in reckless driving attempts and require all fines be paid before the vehicle is released. Currently, if someone steals a car and participates in reckless driving, they cannot be charged for reckless driving since they do not own the vehicle. This bill removes the requirement that the vehicle be owned by the perpetrator providing another tool for our officers.

Assembly Bill 85: Requires an individuals parole be recommended for revocation if they reoffend while on parole. Under current law, the parole officer has discretion whether or not to bring the individual before a judge if they reoffend. This bill makes it mandatory.

Assembly Bill 86: This legislation increases the penalty for child trafficking to a life sentence instead of a Class C felony. Child trafficking is a horrible reality and this legislation ensures human traffickers are never on our streets again.

Assembly Bill 87: Requires restitution to be paid immediately to human trafficking victims in Wisconsin once the perpetrator is convicted and before the felon's right to vote is fully restored. In criminal cases, the goal of restitution is to financially address the harm done to a person in order to "make them whole". For especially heinous crimes like human trafficking, restitution should be paid immediately using whatever means necessary.

Assembly Bill 89: Closes property theft loophole criminals use by allowing prosecutors to aggregate the value of stolen property over a six month period by habitual offenders instead of basing it on a single incident of theft. Retail theft is a growing concern and these are not one-off incidents. They are organized crime rings that coordinate which stores they target and how much to steal in order to be charged with a certain low-level class misdemeanor. This bill changes how the value of goods is calculated, increasing the total value of the stolen goods so they will be charged with a more serious misdemeanor.

Assembly Bill 91: Requires Milwaukee Public Schools to pay 50% of the cost of placing Student Resource Officers (SROs) in schools while the city of Milwaukee pays 50% of the cost. MPS continues to miss deadlines that have been generously and repeatedly extended as they drag their feet on hiring SROs. Their negligence continues to fail our students and it's time they start setting our students up for success instead of playing the blame game. It also creates a financial penalty for the district and city if the law is not followed.

View the press conference HERE