Placement of sexually violent persons on supervised release, the official text

2025 - 2026 LEGISLATURE
LRB-5897/1
CMH:skw

2025 SENATE BILL 814
January 13, 2026 - Introduced by Senator Hutton, cosponsored by Representatives Rodriguez and Sinicki. Referred to Committee on Judiciary and Public Safety.

An Act to amend 980.08 (4) (dm) 1. c. and 980.08 (4) (g); to create 980.08 (4) (fm) of the statutes; relating to: placement of sexually violent persons on supervised release.

Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau
Under current law, a person who has been found to be a sexually violent person may be involuntarily committed to the Department of Health Services for control, care, and treatment. If a person is committed and placed in institutional care, the person may periodically petition the court for supervised release into the community. If a court determines that supervised release is appropriate, the court must order the person’s county of residence to submit a report that identifies one appropriate residence for the person. Current law prohibits the person from being placed in a residence that, at the time of placement, is less than 1,500 feet from any school, child care facility, park, place of worship, or youth center; less than 1,500 feet from a nursing home or an assisted living facility if the person committed a crime against an adult at risk; or adjacent to a property with a child’s primary residence if the person committed a serious child sex offense. DHS must use the county report to prepare a supervised release plan and submit it to the court. The court then must review the plan and, if it complies with all conditions, approve it.
Under this bill, when DHS submits the plan to the court, DHS must notify the county. Then, before the court approves the plan, the county must conduct an assessment of the residence to ensure that the residence still complies with the restrictions and make a report to the court upon completing the assessment.
Current law specifies that, when determining if a property is adjacent to a property with a child’s primary residence, public or private roads separating the properties are disregarded if the living quarters on each property are not more than 1,500 feet apart. This bill provides that alleys also be disregarded if the living quarters on each property are not more than 1,500 feet apart.

The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do enact as follows:

Section 1. 980.08 (4) (dm) 1. c. of the statutes is amended to read:
980.08 (4) (dm) 1. c. If the person is a serious child sex offender, ensure that the person’s placement is into a residence that is not on a property adjacent to a property where a child’s primary residence exists. For the purpose of this subdivision, adjacent properties are properties that share a property line without regard to a public or private road or alley if the living quarters on each property are not more than 1,500 feet apart. A person is not in violation of a condition or rule of supervised release under sub. (7) (a) if a child establishes primary residence in a property adjacent to the person’s residence after the person is placed in the residence under this section.
Section 2. 980.08 (4) (fm) of the statutes is created to read:
980.08 (4) (fm) When the department submits the plan to the court under par. (f), the department shall notify the county. Prior to the court’s approval under par. (g), the county shall conduct an assessment of the residential option to ensure that the residential option complies with par. (dm) and shall report to the court when it completes the assessment.
Section 3. 980.08 (4) (g) of the statutes is amended to read:
980.08 (4) (g) The court shall review the plan submitted by the department
under par. (f). If the details of the plan adequately meet the treatment needs of the individual and the safety needs of the community, then the court shall approve the plan and determine that supervised release is appropriate. If the details of the plan do not adequately meet the treatment needs of the individual or the safety needs of the community, including an assessment under par. (fm) that the residential option does not comply with par. (dm), then the court shall determine that supervised release is not appropriate or direct the preparation of another supervised release plan to be considered by the court under this paragraph. If the plan is inadequate under this paragraph due to the residential option, the court shall order the county to identify and arrange to lease another residential option and to prepare a new report under par. (dm). If the plan is inadequate under this paragraph due to the treatment options, the court shall order the department to prepare another plan under par. (f).
Section 4. Initial applicability.
(1) This act first applies to plans that have not been approved under s. 980.08 (4) (g) on the effective date of this subsection.
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