Failed to pass both houses, will not become law this session
Under the bill, an individual could be charged with a Class A misdemeanor for “receiv[ing] a child runaway into his or her living quarters...[i]f the person knows[,] reasonably should know[,] discovers[,] or reasonably should have discovered that the child is a runaway” after the child arrives and the person fails to immediately notify law enforcement or child protective services. “Child runaway” is defined as “a child who is absent from the home of his or her parent or guardian without the consent of the parent or guardian and who does not intend to return home.”
While certainly well-intentioned, the overbroad language in the bill criminalizing countless scenarios wholly unrelated to child trafficking would place young people in Wisconsin at a greater safety risk.
