Read the full stored bill text
Wisconsin Legislature: AB242: Bill Text
Skip navigation
Home
Documents
Senate
Assembly
Committees
Service Agencies
Docs
Options
Help
2025 Biennium
Statutes
Admin. Rules
Indices
Miscellaneous
Archives
Home
Bill, Rule, and Appointment Histories
Senators
Representatives
Committees
Text of Introduced Proposals
Amendment Text
Acts
Veto Messages
Enrolled Bills
Votes
Assembly and Senate Floor Calendars
Schedule of Committee Activities
Assembly and Senate Journals
Committee Records (ROCPs)
Legislative Rules
All Session-Related Documents
Subject Index to Acts
Subject Index to Legislation
Subject Index to Journals
Author Index to Legislation
Subject Index to Clearinghouse Rules
Miscellaneous Budget Documents
Executive Orders
Rulings of the Chair
Wisconsin Supreme Court Rules
Opinions of the Attorney General
Town Law Forms
Law
Districts
Session
Drafting Files
Feeds
Preferences
Show tree
Hide tree
Feedback
Help
Home
Senate Home
Senators
Committees
Session
Chief Clerk
Sergeant at Arms
Civics Education
Human Resources
Assembly Home
Representatives
Committees
Session
Chief Clerk
Sergeant at Arms
Human Resources
Schedule
Joint
Senate
Assembly
Study
Legislative Audit Bureau
Legislative Council
Legislative Fiscal Bureau
Legislative Human Resources Office
Legislative Reference Bureau
Legislative Technology Services Bureau
Menu
»
2025
»
Related Documents
»
Proposal Text
»
AB242: Bill Text
Up
Up
2025 - 2026 LEGISLATURE
LRB-2081/1
MJW:klm
2025 ASSEMBLY BILL 242
May 2, 2025 - Introduced by Representatives
Summerfield
,
Behnke
,
Callahan
,
Dittrich
,
Doyle
,
Green
,
Gundrum
,
Moses
,
Mursau
,
Penterman
,
Steffen
,
Subeck
and
Melotik
, cosponsored by Senators
James
,
Marklein
,
Nass
and
Pfaff
. Referred to Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety.
AB242,1,3
1
An Act
to amend
941.40 (1), 941.40 (2), 941.40 (3) and 941.40 (4) (b) of the
2
statutes;
relating to:
tampering with telecommunication or electric wires and
3
providing a penalty.
Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau
Under current law, misdemeanor penalties apply to a person who interferes with the wires, poles, or other property of any telegraph, telecommunications, electric light, or electric power company under a variety of circumstances. This bill applies the same prohibitions to video service and broadband service lines and property and increases certain misdemeanor penalties to be Class I felonies.
Under current law, it is a Class B misdemeanor for a person who has the right to alter certain property to which any telegraph, telecommunications, electric light, or electric power lines or wires are attached to do so without first giving the relevant company at least 24 hours’ notice. This bill applies this prohibition to video service and broadband service provider property.
Under current law, it is a Class B misdemeanor for a person, without the permission of the relevant company, to intentionally break down, interrupt, remove, destroy, disturb, interfere with, or injure any telegraph, telecommunications, electric light, or electric power line, wire, pole, or other property. This bill applies this prohibition to video service and broadband service provider property and increases the penalty from a Class B misdemeanor to a Class I felony.
Under current law, it is a Class A misdemeanor for a person, without the permission of the relevant company, to intentionally make a physical electrical connection with any wire, cable, conductor, ground, equipment, facility, or other property of any telegraph, telecommunications, electric light, or electric power company. This bill applies this prohibition to video service and broadband service provider property and increases the penalty from a Class A misdemeanor to a Class I felony.
Under current law, a Class B misdemeanor is punishable by a fine of up to $1,000 or imprisonment for up to 90 days or both, a Class A misdemeanor is punishable by a fine of up to $10,000 or imprisonment for up to nine months or both, and a Class I felony is punishable by a fine of up to $10,000 or imprisonment for up to three years and six months, or both.
Because this bill creates a new crime or revises a penalty for an existing crime, the Joint Review Committee on Criminal Penalties may be requested to prepare a report.
The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do enact as follows:
AB242,1
1
Section
1
.
941.40 (1) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB242,2,12
2
941.40
(1)
Except as provided under sub. (4), any person having the right so to
3
do who intentionally removes or changes any building or other structure or any
4
timber, standing or fallen, to which any telegraph, telecommunications,
video
5
service, broadband service,
electric light, or electric power lines or wires are in any
6
manner attached, or causes the same to be done, and consequently destroys,
7
disturbs, or injures the wires, poles, or other property of any telegraph,
8
telecommunications,
video service, broadband service,
electric light, or electric
9
power company, including a cooperative association organized under ch. 185,
10
transacting business in this state, without first giving the company, at its office
11
nearest the place of injury, at least 24 hours’ notice thereof, is guilty of a Class B
12
misdemeanor.
AB242,2
13
Section
2
.
941.40 (2) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB242,3,6
14
941.40
(2)
Any person who intentionally breaks down, interrupts, or removes
1
any telegraph, telecommunications,
video service, broadband service,
electric light,
2
or electric power line or wire including grounds or who destroys, disturbs, interferes
3
with, or injures the wires, poles, or other property of any telegraph,
4
telecommunications,
video service, broadband service,
electric light, or electric
5
power company, including a cooperative association organized under ch. 185, is
6
guilty of a Class
B misdemeanor
I felony
.
AB242,3
7
Section
3
.
941.40 (3) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB242,3,13
8
941.40
(3)
Any person who, for any purpose, intentionally makes or causes to
9
be made a physical electrical connection with any wire, cable, conductor, ground,
10
equipment, facility, or other property of any telegraph, telecommunications,
video
11
service, broadband service,
electric light, or electric power company, including a
12
cooperative association organized under ch. 185, is guilty of a Class
A misdemeanor
13
I felony
.
AB242,4
14
Section
4
.
941.40 (4) (b) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB242,3,19
15
941.40
(4)
(b) Subsections (2) and (3) do not apply to a person who acts with
16
the permission of the telegraph, telecommunications,
video service, broadband
17
service,
electric light, or electric power company, including a cooperative association
18
organized under ch. 185, that owns the wire, pole, cable, conductor, ground,
19
equipment, facility, or other property.
AB242,3,20
20
(end)
Down
Down
/2025/related/proposals/ab242
true
proposaltext
/2025/related/proposals/ab242
proposaltext/2025/REG/AB242
proposaltext/2025/REG/AB242
section
true
Menu
»
2025
»
Related Documents
»
Proposal Text
»
AB242: Bill Text
×
Details for
PDF view
Link
(Permanent link)
Bookmark this location
View toggle
Go to top of document
Search in this chapter
Search in this section
Search in this agency
Search in this chapter group
Search in this chapter
Search in this section
Cross references for section
Acts affecting this section
References to this
1970 Statutes Annotations
Appellate Court Citations
Administrative Code Index
Reference lines
Clear highlighting