Read the full stored bill text
Wisconsin Legislature: AJR145: Joint Resolution 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
»
AJR145: Joint Resolution Text
Up
Up
2025 - 2026 LEGISLATURE
LRB-6507/1
MPG:cdc
2025 ASSEMBLY JOINT RESOLUTION 145
March 19, 2026 - Introduced by Representatives
Clancy
,
Madison
,
Phelps
,
Tenorio
,
Moore Omokunde
and
Hong
. Referred to Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety.
AJR145,1,4
1
To amend
section 8 (2) of article I and section 8 (3) of article I of the constitution;
2
relating to:
establishing a presumption that persons accused of crimes are
3
eligible for pretrial release and ending cash bail in Wisconsin (first
4
consideration).
Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau
Under the Wisconsin Constitution, a person accused of a crime is eligible for release before conviction under reasonable conditions designed to assure the appearance of the accused in court, protect members of the community from serious harm, or prevent the intimidation of witnesses. Additionally, monetary bail may be imposed as a condition of release upon a finding that there is a reasonable basis to believe that it is necessary to assure the appearance of the accused in court or if the person is accused of a violent crime and the court finds that there is a reasonable basis to believe that monetary bail is necessary based on the totality of the circumstances, taking into account certain criteria specified in the constitution. Finally, under the constitution, the legislature is authorized to provide by law that a court may deny release to a person accused of certain serious felonies for specified periods of time depending on the circumstances.
This constitutional amendment, proposed to the 2025 legislature on first consideration, does all of the following:
1. Inserts the word “presumed” before “eligible” in the constitution to provide that all persons, before conviction, shall be “presumed eligible” for release under reasonable conditions designed to assure their appearance in court, protect members of the community from serious harm, or prevent the intimidation of witnesses.
2. Eliminates cash bail entirely.
3. Requires that if, as the constitution authorizes, the legislature provides by law that a court may deny release to a person accused of certain serious felonies for specified periods of time, that law must include a presumption that the person is eligible for release, which must be overcome by the prosecution in order for the court to deny the person release.
A proposed constitutional amendment requires adoption by two successive legislatures, and ratification by the people, before it can become effective.
AJR145,2,1
1
Resolved by the
assembly
, the
senate
concurring, That:
AJR145,1
2
Section
1
.
Section 8 (2) of article I of the constitution is amended to read:
AJR145,3,2
3
[Article I] Section 8 (2) All persons, before conviction, shall be
presumed
4
eligible for release under reasonable conditions designed to assure their appearance
5
in court, protect members of the community from serious harm as defined by the
6
legislature by law, or prevent the intimidation of witnesses. Monetary conditions of
7
release may
not
be imposed
at or after the initial appearance only upon a finding
8
that there is a reasonable basis to believe that the conditions are necessary to
9
assure appearance in court, or if the person is accused of a violent crime as defined
10
by the legislature by law, only upon a finding that there is a reasonable basis to
11
believe that the conditions are necessary based on the totality of the circumstances,
12
taking into account whether the accused has a previous conviction for a violent
13
crime as defined by the legislature by law, the probability that the accused will fail
14
to appear in court, the need to protect members of the community from serious
15
harm as defined by the legislature by law, the need to prevent the intimidation of
16
witnesses, and the potential affirmative defenses of the accused
. The legislature
1
may authorize, by law, courts to revoke a person’s release for a violation of a
2
condition of release.
AJR145,2
3
Section
2
.
Section 8 (3) of article I of the constitution is amended to read:
AJR145,4,2
4
[Article I] Section 8 (3) The legislature may by law authorize, but may not
5
require, circuit courts to deny release for a period not to exceed 10 days prior to the
6
hearing required under this subsection to a person who is accused of committing a
7
murder punishable by life imprisonment or a sexual assault punishable by a
8
maximum imprisonment of 20 years, or who is accused of committing or attempting
9
to commit a felony involving serious bodily harm to another or the threat of serious
10
bodily harm to another and who has a previous conviction for committing or
11
attempting to commit a felony involving serious bodily harm to another or the
12
threat of serious bodily harm to another. The legislature may authorize by law, but
13
may not require, circuit courts to continue to deny release to those accused persons
14
for an additional period not to exceed 60 days following the hearing required under
15
this subsection, if there is a requirement that there be a finding by the court based
16
on clear and convincing evidence presented at a hearing that the accused
17
committed the felony and a requirement that there be a finding by the court that
18
available conditions of release will not adequately protect members of the
19
community from serious bodily harm or prevent intimidation of witnesses. Any law
20
enacted under this subsection shall be specific, limited
,
and reasonable
and shall
21
include a presumption that an accused person is eligible for release, which must be
22
overcome by the prosecution in order for the court to deny the person release
. In
23
determining the 10-day and 60-day periods, the court shall omit any period of time
1
found by the court to result from a delay caused by the defendant or a continuance
2
granted which was initiated by the defendant.
AJR145,4,5
3
Be it further resolved, That
this proposed amendment be referred to the
4
legislature to be chosen at the next general election and that it be published for
5
three months previous to the time of holding such election.
AJR145,4,6
6
(end)
Down
Down
/2025/related/proposals/ajr145
true
proposaltext
/2025/related/proposals/ajr145
proposaltext/2025/REG/AJR145
proposaltext/2025/REG/AJR145
section
true
Menu
»
2025
»
Related Documents
»
Proposal Text
»
AJR145: Joint Resolution 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