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State Rep. Bill Kramer, R-Waukesha, reported to jail Thursday to begin serving a five-month sentence after pleading no contest last month to reduced charges of two misdemeanor counts of fourth-degree sexual assault.

But Kramer will continue to collect his legislative salary from his jail cell.

“It does not affect his receiving compensation from the state,” Assembly Chief Clerk Patrick Fuller said in an email. “He remains a member of the Assembly until (Jan. 5).”

Kramer can serve the remainder of his time in the Assembly because he was ultimately convicted of a misdemeanor, not a felony.

Kramer is not the first Wisconsin lawmaker to receive paychecks from the state while doing time. For example, former State Rep. Jeff Wood, a Chippewa Falls Republican-turned-independent, served time in 2010 for impaired driving. In late 2010, Wood convinced a judge to release him from jail long enough to travel to Madison to vote in the Democrats’ messy lame duck session on union contracts.