Robin Vos wants to let the “Dog” out in Wisconsin

Among the policy provisions slipped into the state’s 2011-2013 biennial budget by Republicans on the Joint Finance Committee is a provision introduced in the dead of night on Friday, June by Republican State Rep. Robin Vos that would allow commercial bail bondsmen like reality-TV star Dog the Bounty Hunter to obtain licenses from the state Department of Regulation and Licensing to ply their “trade” here in Wisconsin. Currently state law prevents commercial bail bondsmen from operating in Wisconsin, but under Vos’ proposal anyone who wanted to be a commercial bail bondsman would simply have to pay the state $1,000 per license to be able to operate as a commercial bail bondsman.

Explaining why he introduced the provision, Rep. Vos claimed Wisconsin courts waste money when a defendant doesn’t show up in the courtroom and that commercial bail bondsmen would ensure defendants show up in court. “It’s a huge cost to local governments,” Vos told the members of the Joint Finance Committee as he defended his proposal, but not surprisingly Vos neglected to back up his statement with any facts or figures indicating the cost of defendants not showing up in court.

However, since Robin Vos is so keen on seeing a return of commercial bail bondsmen to Wisconsin, let’s take a look at what we have to look forward to:

• Washington State: Alleged child rapist “bail shops,” gets out after posting only $3,000 of $190,000 bail, promptly kills 4 police officers
• Las Vegas, Nevada: Bail bondsman arrested in murder-for-hire plot
• Louisiana: Judge Impeached Over Bail Bonds Corruption
• Huntsville, Alabama: Huntsville Police Arrest Local Bail Bondsman For Murder
• St. Louis, Missouri: The strange and violent world of St. Louis’ bail bondsmen

I’m not sure about you, but stories like these don’t exactly instill confidence that a return of commercial bail bondsmen to the state of Wisconsin is a good thing.