346.655 Driver improvement surcharge.

(1) If a court imposes a fine or a forfeiture for a violation of s. 346.63 (1) or (5), or a local ordinance in conformity therewith, or s. 346.63 (2) or (6) or 940.25, or s. 940.09 where the offense involved the use of a vehicle, it shall impose a driver improvement surcharge under ch. 814 in an amount of $435 in addition to the fine or forfeiture, plus costs, fees, and other surcharges imposed under ch. 814.

(2)

(a) Except as provided in par. (b), the clerk of court shall collect and transmit the amount under sub. (1) to the county treasurer as provided in s. 59.40 (2) (m). The county treasurer shall then make payment of 49.7 percent of the amount to the secretary of administration as provided in s. 59.25 (3) (f) 2.

(b) If the forfeiture is imposed by a municipal court, the court shall transmit the amount to the treasurer of the county, city, town, or village, and that treasurer shall make payment of 49.7 percent of the amount to the secretary of administration as provided in s. 66.0114 (1) (bm). The treasurer of the city, town, or village shall transmit the remaining 50.3 percent of the amount to the treasurer of the county.

(3)

(a) Except as provided in par. (b), all moneys collected from the driver improvement surcharge that are transmitted to the county treasurer under sub. (2) (a) or (b), except the amounts that the county treasurer is required to transmit to the secretary of administration under sub. (2) (a) or (b), shall be retained by the county treasurer and disbursed to the county department under s. 51.42 for services under s. 51.42 for drivers referred through assessment.

(b) If a person receives treatment from an approved tribal treatment facility, as defined in s. 51.01 (2c), in accordance with a driver safety plan under s. 343.30 (1q) (d), the county treasurer shall transmit the amount collected from the person's driver improvement surcharge except the amounts that the treasurer is required to transmit to the secretary of administration under sub. (2) (a) or (b), to the facility for treatment services for drivers referred through assessment.

(4) Any person who fails to pay a driver improvement surcharge imposed under sub. (1) is subject to s. 343.30 (1z).

History: 1981 c. 20; 1981 c. 314; 1983 a. 27 s. 2202 (20); 1985 a. 29, 337; 1987 a. 3, 27, 399; 1989 a. 31, 105; 1991 a. 39; 1993 a. 16; 1995 a. 27, 201; 1997 a. 27; 1999 a. 109; 1999 a. 150 s. 672; 2001 a. 16, 104; 2003 a. 30, 33, 139, 326; 2007 a. 111; 2009 a. 100; 2013 a. 20, 246.

Imprisonment or suspension of a license under s. 345.47 (1) (a) and (b) does not eliminate the liability of a defendant for payment of a surcharge under this section. 73 Atty. Gen. 24.