Assembly votes to increase surcharges for felonies, misdemeanors

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Criminals would have to pay an additional $20 in court-imposed surcharges for each felony or misdemeanor count they are convicted of under a bill passed by the state Assembly on Thursday.

Assembly Bill 74, if passed by the Senate and signed by Gov. Scott Walker, would have the additional money put into crime-prevention funds maintained by counties. Once in the funds, the money would be distributed by county crime boards in the form of grants.

The boards would consist of the county’s circuit court judge, district attorney or a designee, sheriff, county executive and chief elected officer of its largest municipality, as well as appointees of the sheriff and the chiefs of local police departments and the county’s public defender’s office.

If AB 74 becomes law, the crime-victim and witness-assistance surcharges for criminals convicted of misdemeanors would increase from $67 to $87 and for felonies would increase from $92 to $112. Follow @TDR_WLJDan