Wisconsin Statutes
Wis. Stat. § 301.21 (2026)
Contracts for the transfer and confinement of Wisconsin prisoners in other states
✓ current as of July 2026
Find cases:
SyfertCases citing this section
WI-LEGdocs.legis.wisconsin.gov
JustiaChapter on Justia
CornellLII Search
CasesGoogle Scholar
301.21(1m)(a)(a) The department may enter into one or more contracts with another state or a political subdivision of another state for the transfer and confinement in that state of prisoners who have been committed to the custody of the department. Any such contract shall provide for all of the following:
301.21(1m)(a)2.2. Provisions concerning the costs of prisoner maintenance, extraordinary medical and dental expenses and any participation in or receipt by inmates of rehabilitative or correctional services, facilities, programs or treatment, including those costs not reasonably included as part of normal maintenance.
301.21(1m)(a)3.3. Provisions concerning any participation in programs of inmate employment if any, the disposition or crediting of any payments received by inmates on account of employment, and the crediting of proceeds from or disposal of any products resulting from employment.
301.21(1m)(a)5.5. Waiver of extradition by Wisconsin and the state to which the prisoners are transferred.
301.21(1m)(a)7.7. Regular reporting procedures concerning Wisconsin prisoners by officials of the state or political subdivision with which the department is contracting.
301.21(1m)(a)8.8. Provisions concerning procedures for probation, parole, extended supervision and discharge.
301.21(1m)(a)9.9. The same standards of reasonable and humane care as the prisoners would receive in an appropriate Wisconsin institution.
301.21(1m)(a)10.10. Any other matters as are necessary and appropriate to fix the obligations, responsibilities and rights of Wisconsin and the state or political subdivision with which the department is contracting.
301.21(1m)(b)(b) Inmates from Wisconsin state prisons while in an institution in another state are subject to all provisions of law and regulation concerning the confinement of persons committed for violations of the laws of that state, except as otherwise provided for by any contract entered into under this subsection.
301.21(1m)(c)(c) Any hearing to consider parole to which an inmate confined under this contract may be entitled by the laws of Wisconsin will be conducted by the Wisconsin parole commission under rules of the department.
301.21(1m)(d)(d) Sections 16.75 and 301.08 (2) do not apply to contracts entered into under this subsection.
301.21(1m)(e)(e) The provisions of this subsection are severable, as provided in s. 990.001 (11). The provisions of any contract entered into under this subsection are severable. If any provision of such a contract is invalid, or if the application of a provision of the contract to any person or circumstance is invalid, the invalidity does not affect other provisions or applications which can be given effect without the invalid provision or application.
301.21(2m)(a)(a) The department may enter into one or more contracts with a private person for the transfer and confinement in another state of prisoners who have been committed to the custody of the department. Any such contract shall provide for all of the following:
301.21(2m)(a)2.2. Provisions concerning the costs of prisoner maintenance, extraordinary medical and dental expenses and any participation in or receipt by prisoners of rehabilitative or correctional services, facilities, programs or treatment, including those costs not reasonably included as part of normal maintenance.
301.21(2m)(a)3.3. Provisions concerning any participation in programs of prisoner employment if any, the disposition or crediting of any payments received by prisoners on account of employment, and the crediting of proceeds from or disposal of any products resulting from employment.
301.21(2m)(a)5.5. Regular reporting procedures concerning Wisconsin prisoners by the private person with which the department is contracting.
301.21(2m)(a)6.6. Provisions concerning procedures for probation, parole, extended supervision and discharge.
301.21(2m)(a)7.7. The same standards of reasonable and humane care as the prisoners would receive in an appropriate Wisconsin institution.
301.21(2m)(a)8.8. Any other matters as are necessary and appropriate to fix the obligations, responsibilities and rights of Wisconsin and the private person with which the department is contracting.
301.21(2m)(b)(b) While in an institution in another state covered by a contract under this subsection, Wisconsin prisoners are subject to all provisions of law and regulation concerning the confinement of persons in that institution under the laws of that state.
301.21(2m)(c)(c) Any hearing to consider parole to which a prisoner confined under a contract under this subsection may be entitled by the laws of Wisconsin shall be conducted by the Wisconsin parole commission under rules of the department.
301.21(2m)(e)(e) The provisions of any contract entered into under this subsection are severable. If any provision of such a contract is invalid, or if the application of a provision of the contract to any person or circumstance is invalid, the invalidity does not affect other provisions or applications which can be given effect without the invalid provision or application.
301.21(6)(6) Contracts under this section are subject to approval under s. 302.26, except that for purposes of s. 302.26 this section constitutes legislative approval of contracts between the department and the state of Minnesota.
301.21 HistoryHistory: 1981 c. 20; 1983 a. 27; 1989 a. 31 s. 965; Stats. 1989 s. 301.21; 1995 a. 344; 1997 a. 27, 283; 2009 a. 28; 2011 a. 38.
301.21 AnnotationThat this section does not, apart from the authority to contract for out-of-state placements, grant specific authority to transfer prisoners to out-of-state prisons does not mean that the Department of Corrections is without authority to so transfer prisoners without their consent. Prisoners do not have a constitutionally protected liberty interest in not being transferred from one prison to another. Evers v. Sullivan, 2000 WI App 144, 237 Wis. 2d 759, 615 N.W.2d 680, 00-0127.
301.21 AnnotationThe Department of Corrections has the authority under sub. (2m) to delegate to employees at a private correctional facility in another state the responsibility for conducting reviews and making recommendations on the security classifications and program assignments of Wisconsin prisoners incarcerated in that facility. State ex rel. Treat v. Puckett, 2002 WI App 58, 252 Wis. 2d 404, 643 N.W.2d 515, 00-2712.
301.21 AnnotationThe state is not required to use the extradition process whenever and wherever prisoners are transported through noncontracting states on their way to incarceration in a contracting state. State ex rel. Jones v. Smith, 2002 WI App 94, 253 Wis. 2d 712, 643 N.W.2d 548, 01-1673.
301.21 AnnotationThe reference to “provisions of law and regulation concerning the confinement of persons” in sub. (2m) (b) means the conditions of confinement and procedures used in the out-of-state institution. Sentence credit under the law of the state where the prison is located are not laws concerning confinement but are an element of that state’s sentencing system and do not apply to a prisoner serving a Wisconsin sentence. State ex rel. Griffin v. Litscher, 2003 WI App 60, 261 Wis. 2d 694, 659 N.W.2d 455, 02-1704.
301.21 AnnotationTransferring inmates from Wisconsin prisons to out-of-state facilities does not violate state law. Lambert v. Sullivan, 35 F. Supp. 2d 1131 (1999).
301.21 AnnotationA prisoner has no liberty interest in avoiding transfer to any prison, whether within or without the state. Berdine v. Sullivan, 161 F. Supp. 2d 972 (2001).
301.21 AnnotationA Wisconsin prisoner’s income while imprisoned in an out-of-state institution is not subject to Department of Corrections rules, but instead is subject to the rules of the host state. Doty v. Doyle, 182 F. Supp. 2d 750 (2002).
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 19
cases, 1999–2019 · leading case: State Ex Rel. Treat v. Puckett, 2002 WI App 58 (Wis. Ct. App. 2002).
State Ex Rel. Treat v. Puckett, 2002 WI App 58 (Wis. Ct. App. 2002). “We conclude the circuit court correctly decided that the Wisconsin Department of Corrections (DOC) has the authority under Wis. Stat. § 301.21 (2m) (1999-2000) 1 to delegate to employees at a private correctional facility in another state the responsibility of conducting reviews…”
Evers v. Sullivan, 2000 WI App 144 (Wis. Ct. App. 2000). “See Wis. Stat. §§ 301.21 (6) and 302.26. 8 Had the legislature wished to restrict the department's authority to implement the contracts authorized under § 301.”
State Ex Rel. Griffin v. Litscher, 2003 WI App 60 (Wis. Ct. App. 2003). “The Department of Cor *700 rections contracts with CCA to house Wisconsin prisoners in out-of-state institutions pursuant to Wis. Stat. § 301.21 (2m) (2001-02). 1 ¶ 3.”
Doty v. Doyle, 182 F. Supp. 2d 750 (E.D. Wis. 2002). “Wis.Stat. § 301.21(2m) authorizes the DOC to contract with private out-of-state prisons to house Wisconsin prisoners, and (the state courts have found) to transfer Wisconsin prisoners to such institutions.”
State Ex Rel. Myers v. Swenson, 2004 WI App 224 (Wis. Ct. App. 2004). “Myers argues that Wis. Stat. §§ 301.21 (2m)(b) 6 and 302.18(5), 7 provisions which establish that inmates housed out of state are subject to the laws and regulations of the host state with regard to conditions of confinement, violate the equal protection clause.”
State Ex Rel. Curtis v. Litscher, 2002 WI App 172 (Wis. Ct. App. 2002). “See Wis. Stat. §§ 301.21 (2m)(b) 3 and 302.02(3t) (1999-2000).”
Gibson v. Puckett, 82 F. Supp. 2d 992 (E.D. Wis. 2000). “A program review committee recommended Gibson for transfer pursuant to Wis. Stat. Ann. § 301.21 (2m)(a) (West 1999).”
State v. Parker, 2001 WI App 111 (Wis. Ct. App. 2001). “Parker further suggests that because he was sentenced prior to the adoption of Wis. Stat. §§ 301.21 (1m) and (2m) (1999-2000), 2 and the trial court was not aware of the law at sentencing, his transfer pursuant to the statute is a breach of his plea agreement.”
Malone v. Corr. Corp. of Am., 553 F.3d 540 (7th Cir. 2009). “See also Wis. Stat. § 301.21 (2m)(b). It is possible to read these statutes as addressing only the substantive rules that apply within the prison, and not the rules for litigation about what happened in the prison, but Wisconsin’s courts have read them broadly to mean that all…”
Healy v. State of Wisconsin, 65 F. App'x 567 (7th Cir. 2003). “1999), that Wisconsin’s transfer of prisoners to private, out-of-state prisons pursuant to Wis. Stat. Ann § 301.21(2m) does not violate the Constitution.”
Pischke v. Litscher, 178 F.3d 497 (7th Cir. 1999). “Wis. Stat. Ann. § 301.21 (2m). Some of the petitioners have already been transferred pursuant to the statute and the others have been notified that they soon will be.”
Lambert v. Sullivan, 35 F. Supp. 2d 1131 (E.D. Wis. 1999). “” He claims he was never committed to the custody of the so-called “Wisconsin Department of Corrections” (“DOC”) and that any attempt by that entity to transfer him to a facility which is not a “Wisconsin State Prison” violates both his sentence and Wis.Stat. § 301.21(2m)(a). 1…”
— Wis. Stat. § 301.21(1m)(a) — 1 case
State Ex Rel. Jones v. Smith, 2002 WI App 94 (Wis. Ct. App. 2002).
— Wis. Stat. § 301.21(2m) — 4 cases
Doty v. Doyle, 182 F. Supp. 2d 750 (E.D. Wis. 2002). “Wis.Stat. § 301.21(2m) authorizes the DOC to contract with private out-of-state prisons to house Wisconsin prisoners, and (the state courts have found) to transfer Wisconsin prisoners to such institutions.”
Healy v. State of Wisconsin, 65 F. App'x 567 (7th Cir. 2003). “1999), that Wisconsin’s transfer of prisoners to private, out-of-state prisons pursuant to Wis. Stat. Ann § 301.21(2m) does not violate the Constitution.”
State Ex Rel. Griffin v. Litscher, 2003 WI App 60 (Wis. Ct. App. 2003). “The Department of Cor *700 rections contracts with CCA to house Wisconsin prisoners in out-of-state institutions pursuant to Wis. Stat. § 301.21 (2m) (2001-02). 1 ¶ 3.”
State Ex Rel. Speener v. Gudmanson, 2000 WI App 78 (Wis. Ct. App. 2000).
— Wis. Stat. § 301.21(2m)(a) — 2 cases
State Ex Rel. Treat v. Puckett, 2002 WI App 58 (Wis. Ct. App. 2002). “We conclude the circuit court correctly decided that the Wisconsin Department of Corrections (DOC) has the authority under Wis. Stat. § 301.21 (2m) (1999-2000) 1 to delegate to employees at a private correctional facility in another state the responsibility of conducting reviews…”
Lambert v. Sullivan, 35 F. Supp. 2d 1131 (E.D. Wis. 1999). “” He claims he was never committed to the custody of the so-called “Wisconsin Department of Corrections” (“DOC”) and that any attempt by that entity to transfer him to a facility which is not a “Wisconsin State Prison” violates both his sentence and Wis.Stat. § 301.21(2m)(a). 1…”
— Wis. Stat. § 301.21(2m)(b) — 5 cases
Doty v. Doyle, 182 F. Supp. 2d 750 (E.D. Wis. 2002). “Wis.Stat. § 301.21(2m) authorizes the DOC to contract with private out-of-state prisons to house Wisconsin prisoners, and (the state courts have found) to transfer Wisconsin prisoners to such institutions.”
State Ex Rel. Myers v. Swenson, 2004 WI App 224 (Wis. Ct. App. 2004). “Myers argues that Wis. Stat. §§ 301.21 (2m)(b) 6 and 302.18(5), 7 provisions which establish that inmates housed out of state are subject to the laws and regulations of the host state with regard to conditions of confinement, violate the equal protection clause.”
State Ex Rel. Curtis v. Litscher, 2002 WI App 172 (Wis. Ct. App. 2002). “See Wis. Stat. §§ 301.21 (2m)(b) 3 and 302.02(3t) (1999-2000).”
State Ex Rel. Barksdale v. Litscher, 2004 WI App 130 (Wis. Ct. App. 2004).
State Ex Rel. Griffin v. Litscher, 2003 WI App 60 (Wis. Ct. App. 2003). “The Department of Cor *700 rections contracts with CCA to house Wisconsin prisoners in out-of-state institutions pursuant to Wis. Stat. § 301.21 (2m) (2001-02). 1 ¶ 3.”
— Wis. Stat. § 301.21(2m)(c) — 1 case
State Ex Rel. Treat v. Puckett, 2002 WI App 58 (Wis. Ct. App. 2002). “We conclude the circuit court correctly decided that the Wisconsin Department of Corrections (DOC) has the authority under Wis. Stat. § 301.21 (2m) (1999-2000) 1 to delegate to employees at a private correctional facility in another state the responsibility of conducting reviews…”
— Wis. Stat. § 301.21(lm) — 2 cases
Evers v. Sullivan, 2000 WI App 144 (Wis. Ct. App. 2000). “See Wis. Stat. §§ 301.21 (6) and 302.26. 8 Had the legislature wished to restrict the department's authority to implement the contracts authorized under § 301.”
State Ex Rel. Speener v. Gudmanson, 2000 WI App 78 (Wis. Ct. App. 2000).
— Wis. Stat. § 301.21(lm)(a) — 1 case
Evers v. Sullivan, 2000 WI App 144 (Wis. Ct. App. 2000). “See Wis. Stat. §§ 301.21 (6) and 302.26. 8 Had the legislature wished to restrict the department's authority to implement the contracts authorized under § 301.”
— Wis. Stat. § 301.21(lm)(c) — 1 case
Evers v. Sullivan, 2000 WI App 144 (Wis. Ct. App. 2000). “See Wis. Stat. §§ 301.21 (6) and 302.26. 8 Had the legislature wished to restrict the department's authority to implement the contracts authorized under § 301.”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the
Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and
treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.