Walker Signs Bills On Hit-And-Run Prosecution, Plastic Bag Bans

Gov. Scott Walker signed 56 bills into law on Wednesday, including measures that make changes to hit-and-run prosecution, prohibit flying drones over state prisons and bar local governments from banning plastic bags.

Under the new hit-and-run law, drivers involved in an accident must stop to investigate what they hit. If they determine the accident caused injury, death or damage, they have to provide information and assistance. The law is designed to prevent people who commit hit-and-runs from using the defense that they didn’t know what they hit.

Jeff Kennedy and his wife, Colleen, of Green Bay lost their son, John, in a hit-and-run accident in 2011. The driver left the scene, saying later he thought he drove into a trash can in the street.

“One witness testified he was able to see John flying through the air, illuminated by the headlights of the F-150,” Jeff Kennedy said during a legislative hearing on the bill earlier this month.

The new law, which goes into effect Friday, also removes a requirement that a prosecutor must prove the driver knew they hit a person.

Meanwhile, the new law barring plastic bag bans comes as such bans have become more popular across the country. Proponents say the bans are good for the environment, while opponents contend they’re bad for business.

“We’ve noticed that the Legislature tends to listen to industry who gets concerned about activity happening in other parts of the country,” said Curtis Witynski, assistant director of League of Wisconsin Municipalities, after a hearing on the bill earlier this month.

In a similar “ban on bans” vein, another new law prohibits local fire marshals from blocking the placement of natural Christmas trees in churches or the state Capitol rotunda. Some small communities had previously banned natural Christmas trees in places where people assemble because of fire hazard concerns.

The governor also signed a bill barring people from operating drones over state correctional institutions. In some states, drones have been used to deliver contraband items like drugs or pornography into prisons.