WI: Prioritize Housing and Treatment Over Further Criminalization!

We urge Governor Evers to veto SB610 / AB624, which would increase criminal penalties for certain controlled substance offenses occurring within 1,000 feet of a homeless shelter — this bill would have serious unintended consequences that undermine public safety, equity, and effective responses to substance use, such as:

This bill is likely to deter unhoused people from seeking shelter, especially during the winter months, when access to safe, warm spaces is literally a matter of life and death. For people who use drugs or fear police contact, this will discourage them from accessing shelters, outreach programs, and basic survival services at the very moment they are most vulnerable.
Evidence from other jurisdictions shows that expanding “drug-free zones” leads to police over-enforcement within designated zones and under-enforcement everywhere else. Rather than reducing drug activity, these laws concentrate policing around specific geographic areas — often shelters and service hubs — while simply displacing activity to surrounding neighborhoods.
Expanding “drug-free zone” enhancements to include homeless shelters would dramatically widen areas subject to harsher penalties — often covering entire urban neighborhoods — and create a two-tiered justice system based on geography rather than conduct.

Research consistently shows that these types of penalties do not deter drug activity and instead disproportionately impact people in densely populated cities. These laws often sweep low-level drug users into enhanced charges through “possession with intent to deliver,” which can be triggered by very small amounts of drugs, even when no sale is even occurring.

Rather than targeting high-level drug trafficking, SB610 / AB624 risks criminalizing people who are seeking shelter, treatment, or basic services, and discourages them from accessing these supports altogether out of fear of increased police contact. These enhanced penalties also limit judicial discretion and reduce access to diversion and treatment programs that are proven to reduce reincarceration and improve public health outcomes.

Decades of evidence show that housing, health care, and supportive services are the most effective and cost-efficient ways to improve safety and address substance use and homelessness.

For these reasons, we call on Governor Evers to veto SB610 / AB624 and pursue solutions that prioritize housing, treatment, and harm reduction over imprisonment. Sign the petition to send a message.

Tell Gov. Evers: Veto SB610 / AB624!

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Dear Governor Evers,

I write to express my strong opposition to SB610 / AB624, which would increase criminal penalties for certain controlled substance offenses occurring within 1,000 feet of a homeless shelter.

While protecting people seeking shelter is an important and shared goal, this bill would have serious unintended consequences that would undermine public safety, equity, and effective responses to substance use and homelessness.

First, this legislation is likely to deter unhoused people from seeking shelter, particularly during the winter months, when access to safe and warm spaces is literally a matter of life and death. By expanding enhanced criminal penalties around shelters, the bill sends a clear message that entering the vicinity of lifesaving services carries heightened legal risk. For people who use drugs or fear police contact, this will discourage them from accessing shelters, outreach, and basic survival services at the very moment they are most vulnerable.

Second, experience from other jurisdictions shows that expanding “drug-free zones” leads to police over-enforcement within designated zones and under-enforcement in surrounding areas. Rather than reducing drug activity, these laws concentrate policing around shelters and service hubs while displacing activity elsewhere. This results in inconsistent enforcement, strains community–police relations, and undermines trust in public institutions without improving public safety.

More broadly, expanding drug-free zone enhancements to include homeless shelters would dramatically widen the areas subject to harsher penalties, often covering entire urban neighborhoods, and create a two-tiered justice system based on geography rather than conduct.

Research consistently shows that drug-free zone penalty enhancements do not deter drug activity and instead disproportionately impact people in densely populated cities. These laws often sweep low-level drug users into enhanced charges through “possession with intent to deliver,” which can be triggered by very small amounts of drugs, even when no sale is occurring and no protected population is present.

Rather than targeting high-level trafficking, SB-610 / AB 624 risks criminalizing people who are seeking shelter, treatment, or basic services, or discouraging them from accessing these supports altogether out of fear of increased police contact. Enhanced penalties also limit judicial discretion and reduce access to diversion and treatment programs that are proven to reduce recidivism and improve public health outcomes.

Decades of evidence demonstrate that housing, health care, and supportive services, not expanded criminal penalties, are the most effective and cost-efficient ways to improve safety and address substance use and homelessness.

For these reasons, I urge you to veto SB610 / AB624 and to pursue solutions that prioritize housing, treatment, and harm reduction over further criminalization.

Thank you for your time and consideration.