WISCONSIN CATHOLIC CONFERENCE
Capitol Update
|
|
Contents
1. WI Catholic Bishops Welcome Afghan Refugees
2. Governor Signs Law Enforcement Reform
3. Governor Signs E-Cycling Expansion
4. WCC Supports Parental Notification on Orientation and Gender
5. WCC Supports Safe Place for Newborns
6. Senate Passes Born Alive Protection
7. Senate Passes Police Training and Employment Reform
8. Senate Passes School Security Funding
9. Assembly Passes Civic Education Mandate
10. Assembly Passes School Credit Recovery Course Mandate
11. New Bills of Interest
|
|
On September 17, the Wisconsin Bishops issued a statement on welcoming Afghan refugees at Ft. McCoy and announcing an initial donation of $30,000 to assist them. Catholics are strongly encouraged to make their own donations on the La Crosse Catholic Charities Afghanistan Refugee Assistance website, https://cclse.org/Afghanistan-refugee-assistance, or to local diocesan or parish collections designed to serve the Afghan refugees.
Governor Signs Law Enforcement Reform
On August 9, Governor Evers signed SB-120 (Wanggaard, Van) as 2021 Wisconsin Act 75, which provides standards for the use of physical force by law enforcement officers and provides requirements for and protection to law enforcement officers who report the use of noncompliant force. The WCC registered in support.
Governor Signs E-Cycling Expansion
On August 9, the Governor signed SB-248 (Cowles, Rob), as 2021 Wisconsin Act 79, which expands the state electronic waste recycling program to include all public, tribal, private, and charter elementary or secondary schools. The WCC registered in support.
WCC Supports Parental Notification on Orientation and Gender
On September 16, the WCC testified in support of AB-562 (Cabral-Guevara, Rachael), which requires public school boards and operators of independent charter schools to give notice to parents or guardians regarding any programs related to sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, or gender expression. The committee took no further action.
WCC Supports Safe Place for Newborns
On September 17, the WCC registered in support of SB-555 (Ballweg, Joan) and companion AB-560 (Novak, Todd), which require a school board that provides a human growth and development instructional program to include an explanation of how a parent can safely relinquish a newborn to medical staff or police. AB 560 passed unanimously out of committee and is available for a floor vote.
Senate Passes Born Alive Protection
On September 28, by a vote of 19-12, the Senate passed SB-16 (Roth, Roger), which requires that health care providers exercise the same degree of professional skill, care, and diligence to preserve the life and health of the child who survives an attempted abortion as they would render to any other child born alive at the same gestational age. It would also ensure that the child born alive is immediately transported and admitted to a hospital. The bill now awaits action in the Assembly. The WCC testified in support.
Senate Passes Police Training and Employment Reform
On September 28, on a voice vote, the Senate passed AB-190 (Tusler, Ron), which makes certain changes to the responsibilities of the Law Enforcement Standards Board (LESB, the entity that regulates the training of law enforcement officers) to train officers and to ensure that their employment files are made available to future policing and corrections agencies when a former employee applies for a new job. The bill now awaits the Governor’s action. The WCC registered in support.
Senate Passes School Security Funding
On September 28, the Senate unanimously passed SB 449 (Wanggaard, Van), which provides grants to public and private schools so that they can provide critical incident mapping data to law enforcement agencies to enhance school security and assist first responders. The bill now awaits action in the Assembly. The WCC registered in support.
Assembly Passes Civic Education Mandate
On September 28, on a vote of 61-37, the Assembly passed AB-563 (Vos, Robin), which, as amended, requires public and private schools participating in parental choice programs to provide instruction in civic education in the elementary and high school grades. The bill now awaits action in the Senate. The WCC registered in opposition because it impinges on the freedom of private schools to choose their own curricula and educational resources.
Assembly Passes School Credit Recovery Course Mandate
On September 28, on a vote of 60-38, the Assembly passed
AB-561 (Duchow, Cindi), which, as amended, requires school districts, charter schools, and private schools participating in parental choice programs to report information regarding credit recovery courses to the Department of Public Instruction (DPI). A “credit recovery course” is a program or course that allows a student to retake a course or make up credit for a course the student took but did not pass and that is required for high school graduation. The DPI must then compile the information and submit a report to the Assembly and Senate Committees on Education by January 1st of each year. The bill now awaits action in the Senate. The WCC registered in opposition because it imposes additional reporting requirements on private schools.
|
New Bills of Interest
SB-454 Reading Readiness (Bernier, Kathy) Reading readiness assessments and granting rule-making authority. Referred to Senate Education / AB-446 (Kitchens, Joel) Referred to Assembly Education
SB-459 Voter Education (Roys, Kelda) Requiring voter education instruction in the elementary and high school grades and incorporating voter education instruction into the state model social studies standards. Referred to Senate Education / AB-460 (Hintz, Gordon) Referred to Assembly Education
SB-464 Gender-Neutral Terms (Carpenter, Tim) Adopting gender-neutral terminology and incorporating gender-neutral marriage and parentage rights. Referred to Senate Government Operations, Legal Review & Consumer Protection / AB-484 (Spreitzer, Mark) Referred to Assembly Family Law
SB-470 Law Enforcement (Cowles, Rob) Requiring prospective law enforcement officers to complete a psychological examination prior to employment as a law enforcement officer and granting rule-making authority. Referred to Senate Judiciary & Public Safety / AB-331 (Steineke, Jim) Referred to Assembly Criminal Justice and Public Safety
SB-471 Law Enforcement (Cowles, Rob) Crisis training for law enforcement officers. Referred to Senate Judiciary & Public Safety / AB-332 ( Steineke, Jim) Referred to Assembly Criminal Justice and Public Safety
SB-472 No-Knock Warrants (Wimberger, Eric) Reporting the use of no-knock entry in the execution of a search warrant. Referred to Senate Judiciary & Public Safety / AB-329 ( Steineke, Jim) Referred to Assembly Criminal Justice and Public Safety
SB-473 Camera Grants (Roth, Roger) Grants to law enforcement agencies for body cameras. Referred to Senate Judiciary & Public Safety / AB-335 ( Steineke, Jim) Referred to Assembly Criminal Justice and Public Safety
SB-474 Resource Officers (Roth, Roger) School resource officers. Referred to Senate Judiciary & Public Safety / AB-330 (Steineke, Jim) Referred to Assembly Criminal Justice and Public Safety
SB-475 Crisis Program Grants (Wanggaard, Van) Crisis program enhancement grants. Referred to Senate Judiciary & Public Safety / AB-333 ( Steineke, Jim) Referred to Assembly Criminal Justice and Public Safety
SB-476 Law Enforcement (Wanggaard, Van) Drug testing of law enforcement officers involved in certain critical incidents while on duty. Referred to Senate Judiciary & Public Safety / AB-334 (Steineke, Jim) Referred to Assembly Criminal Justice and Public Safety
SB-477 Law Enforcement (Larson, Chris) Grants for law enforcement officers to use risk assessment tools prior to making an arrest and making an appropriation. Referred to Senate Judiciary & Public Safety
SB-478 Law Enforcement (Agard, Melissa) Investigations of officer-involved deaths. Referred to Senate Judiciary & Public Safety
SB-479 Body Cameras (Taylor, Lena) Requiring the use of body cameras by law enforcement and providing a penalty. Referred to Senate Judiciary & Public Safety
SB-483 Birth Records (Jacque, Andre) Access to an original impounded birth record. Referred to Senate Human Services, Children & Families / AB-502 (Tittl, Paul) Referred to Assembly Children and Families
SB-484 Firearm Possession (Jacque, Andre) Possession of a firearm in a vehicle on school grounds by a person with a license to carry a concealed weapon. Referred to Senate Judiciary & Public Safety / AB-495 (Brooks, Rob) Referred to Assembly Criminal Justice and Public Safety
SB-493 Breast Feeding (Ballweg, Joan) Requiring an employer to provide reasonable break time and accommodation for an employee who is breast-feeding the employee's child to express breast milk for the child. Referred to Senate Labor & Regulatory Reform / AB-476 (Subeck, Lisa) Referred to Assembly Labor and Integrated Employment
SB-503 Abortion (Stroebel, Duey) Certification of abortion providers under the Medical Assistance program. Referred to Senate Government Operations, Legal Review & Consumer Protection / AB-493 (Dittrich, Barbara) Referred to Assembly Health
SB-504 Abortion (Jacque, Andre) Certification of abortion providers under the Medical Assistance program. Referred to Senate Human Services, Children & Families / AB-528 (Brandtjen, Janel) Referred to Assembly Health
SB-512 Law Enforcement (Johnson, LaTonya) Law enforcement training on use-of-force options and making an appropriation. Referred to Senate Judiciary & Public Safety
SB-513 Law Enforcement (Johnson, LaTonya) Reporting of law enforcement use-of-force incidents and making an appropriation. Referred to Senate Judiciary & Public Safety
SB-514 Law Enforcement (Johnson, LaTonya) Prosecution decisions following deaths involving law enforcement officers. Referred to Senate Judiciary & Public Safety
SB-515 Law Enforcement (Johnson, LaTonya) Law enforcement agency policies on the use of force. Referred to Senate Judiciary & Public Safety
SB-541 Law Enforcement (Larson, Chris) Decertification of law enforcement, tribal law enforcement, jail, or juvenile detention officers. Referred to Senate Judiciary & Public Safety / AB-523 (Moore Okomunde, Supreme) Referred to Assembly Corrections
SB-555 Human Growth Instruction (Ballweg, Joan) Required subjects in a human growth and development instructional program. Referred to Senate Education / AB-560 (Novak, Todd) Referred to Assembly Education
SB-562 Medical Assistance (Ballweg, Joan) Extension of eligibility under the Medical Assistance program for postpartum women. Referred to Senate Insurance, Licensing & Forestry
SB-564 Corrections Vendors (Wanggaard, Van) Vendors at state correctional institutions Referred to Senate Judiciary & Public Safety / AB-565 (Schraa, Michael) Referred to Assembly State Affairs
SB-565 Broadband (Wimberger, Eric) Broadband mapping and the use of certain federal funds for wireless broadband and cellular service expansion grants. Referred to Senate Utilities, Technology & Telecommunications / AB-573 (Steffen, David) Referred to Assembly Energy and Utilities
SB-567 School Board Reporting (Darling, Alberta) Requiring school boards to report information regarding credit recovery courses. Referred to Senate Education / AB-561 (Duchow, Cindi) Referred to Assembly Education
SB-569 Nonprofit Tax Exemption (Ballweg, Joan) The sales tax exemption for entertainment admission sales by nonprofit organizations. Referred to Senate Financial Institutions & Revenue / AB-574 (Petersen, Kevin) Referred to Assembly Ways and Means
SB-584 Firearm Possession (Roth, Roger) Possession of a firearm by a licensee in a place of worship located on the grounds of a private school. Referred to Senate Judiciary & Public Safety
SB-585 Crime Reporting (Jagler, John) Reporting certain crimes and other incidents that occur on school property or school transportation and granting rule-making authority. Referred to Senate Judiciary & Public Safety
AB-477 Minimum Wage (Subeck, Lisa) A state minimum wage, allowing the enactment of local minimum wage ordinances, and granting rule-making authority. Referred to Assembly Labor and Integrated Employment
AB-482 School Grants (James, Jesse) Grants to schools to provide critical incident mapping data to law enforcement agencies. Referred to Assembly Criminal Justice and Public Safety
AB-562 Gender Identity (Cabral-Guevara, Rachael) Gender identity and sexual orientation programs in public schools. Referred to Assembly Education
AB-563 Civic Education (Vos, Robin) Required instruction in civic education in the elementary and high school grades; high school graduation requirements; and requiring the exercise of rule-making authority. Referred to Assembly Education
AB-564 Covid Funds (Plumer, Jon) Reports concerning state agency expenditure of federal coronavirus relief funds and allocating federal American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 funding for grants to school districts, independent charter schools, and private schools for mental health programs. Referred to Assembly Mental Health
AB-583 Vaccinating Minors (Hintz, Gordon) Vaccination of minors without parental consent. Referred to Assembly Constitution and Ethics
|
Websites of Interest
Wisconsin Eye – Independent, nonpartisan video coverage of state government proceedings.
|
|
Capitol Update is a periodic e-mail on legislative issues from the Wisconsin Catholic Conference.
|
|
Wisconsin Catholic Conference
© 2021
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
