WISCONSIN CATHOLIC CONFERENCE
Capitol Update
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Contents
1. Governor Vetoes Unborn Protections
2. Governor Signs School Security Funding
3. WCC Opposes Concealed Carry in Worship Spaces
4. WCC Supports Parental Choice Program Early Admission
5. WCC Supports Increased Access to Clean Water
6. WCC Opposes Eliminating Required Concealed Carry Licensure
7. WCC Supports Visitation in Care Settings
8. WCC Supports TAD Grants for Mental Health Treatment
9. Upcoming Hearings of Interest Terminated
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Governor Vetoes Unborn Protections
On December 3, Governor Evers vetoed five bills that would have protected unborn children from abortion, all of them supported by the WCC:
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SB-16 (Roth, Roger) requires that health care providers exercise the same degree of care 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. Veto.
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SB-503 (Strobel, Duey) prohibits the DHS from certifying as a Medicaid provider a person or nonprofit entity that provides abortion services or is an affiliate of a person or nonprofit entity that provides abortion services. Veto.
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SB-591 (Kapenga, Chris) requires abortion providers to inform women that their chemical abortions may be reversed. Veto.
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SB-592 (Testin, Patrick) requires that physicians who administer a prenatal or postnatal test for a congenital condition ensure that the parent of the child with a positive test result receives current, evidence-based educational resources on the congenital condition. Veto.
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SB-593 (Testin) prohibits a person from performing an abortion if the person knows the woman is seeking an abortion solely because of the race, color, national origin, ancestry, or sex of the child or because the child has been diagnosed with Down syndrome or another congenital disability. Veto.
Governor Signs School Security Funding
On December 3, the Governor signed SB-449 (Wanggaard, Van) into law as Wisconsin Act 109, which provides grants to public and private schools so they can provide critical incident mapping data to law enforcement agencies. The WCC registered in support.
WCC Opposes Concealed Carry in Worship Spaces
On December 8, the WCC submitted testimony in opposition to AB-597 (Pronschinske, Treig), which allows a person who has a concealed carry license to bring a firearm into a place of worship located on school grounds. The bill passed out of committee and is available for a floor vote in both houses.
WCC Supports Parental Choice Program Early Admission
On December 15, the WCC registered in support of AB-617 (Rodriguez, Jessie), which permits early admission to kindergarten and first grade at a private school participating in a Parental Choice Program. The committee took no further action.
WCC Supports Increased Access to Clean Water
On December 16, the WCC registered in support of SB-678 (Cowles, Robert) and AB-728 (Kitchens, Joel), which expand eligibility for nitrate-contaminated wells under the well compensation grant program and expand eligibility for watershed protection grants, lake protection grants, and river protection grants. The amended Senate bill unanimously passed out of committee. On January 5, the Assembly bill received a public hearing, but the committee took no further action.
WCC Opposes Eliminating Required Concealed Carry Licensure
On January 11, the WCC registered against SB-619 (Felzkowski, Mary), which eliminates the prohibition against going armed with a concealed weapon without a license, also known as a concealed carry license. The amended bill passed out of committee and is available for a floor vote.
WCC Supports Visitation in Care Settings
On January 12, the WCC testified in support of AB-215 (Sanfelippo, Joe), which allows a nursing home or assisted living facility resident or hospital patient to designate an “essential visitor.” The bill also requires that assisted living facilities, nursing homes, and hospitals allow at least one member of the clergy to visit a resident or patient. The committee took no further action.
WCC Supports TAD Grants for Mental Health Treatment
On January 18, the WCC testified in support of AB-815 (Tittl, Paul), which would allow Treatment Alternatives and Diversion (TAD) grants to be used for the treatment of mental health conditions. The committee took no further action.
Upcoming Hearings of Interest Terminated
The WCC will no longer provide notice of upcoming hearings of interest as the publication schedule for the bi-weekly Capitol Update does not accommodate any hearing scheduled with less than two weeks’ notification. For those who would like to follow legislative activity on a particular subject, proposal, committee, agency, state statute chapter, author, or administrative rule, the Legislature provides update notifications via email at https://notify.legis.wisconsin.gov.
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New Bills of Interest
SB-619 Right to Carry (Felzkowski, Mary) Right to carry a weapon in this state. Referred to Senate Insurance, Licensing & Forestry / AB-669 (Brooks, Rob) Referred to Assembly State Affairs
SB-687 Hospital Services (Kooyenga, Dale) Hospital services provided in a home setting. Referred to Senate Health / AB-679 (Loudenbeck, Amy) Referred to Assembly Health
SB-721 Covid Vaccines (Nass, Steve) Employer liability under worker's compensation for mandatory or coerced COVID-19 vaccines. Referred to Senate Labor & Regulatory Reform / AB-681 (Sortwell, Shae) Referred to Assembly State Affairs
SB-746 Abuse Prevention Education (Petrowski, Jerry) Requiring sexual abuse prevention education. Referred to Senate Education / AB-764 (Spiros, John) Referred to Assembly Education
SB-784 Maternity Coverage (Roys, Kelda) Coverage of maternity and newborn care and requiring the exercise of rule-making authority. Referred to Senate Insurance, Licensing & Forestry / AB-803 (Vining, Robyn) Referred to Assembly Health
SB-790 Marijuana Possession (Bernier, Kathy) Penalties for possession of marijuana, employer liability for not drug testing employees and prospective employees, and providing a penalty. Referred to Senate Judiciary & Public Safety / AB-812 (Sortwell, Shae) Referred to Assembly Criminal Justice and Public Safety
SB-791 TAD Programs (Jacque, Andre) Expanding the treatment alternatives and diversion programs. Referred to Senate Judiciary & Public Safety / AB-815 (Tittl, Paul) Referred to Assembly Corrections
SB-796 Human Growth Instruction (Jacque, Andre) Human growth and development instruction requirements and granting rule-making authority. Referred to Senate Human Services, Children & Families /AB-823 (Sortwell, Shae) Referred to Assembly Health
SB-797 Abortion Informed Consent (Jacque, Andre) Requiring the showing of a video for informed consent for an abortion and granting rule-making authority. Referred to Senate Human Services, Children & Families / AB-822 (Sortwell, Shae) Referred to Assembly Health
SB-811 Theft Acts (Stroebel, Duey) Multiple acts of theft committed in concert and providing a penalty. Referred to Senate Judiciary & Public Safety / AB-827 (Vos, Robin) Referred to Assembly Judiciary
SB-841 Financial Literacy (Ballweg, Joan) Requiring one credit of personal financial literacy for high school graduation. Referred to Senate Education
SB-850 Mandatory Minimums (Stroebel, Duey) Mandatory minimum sentence for three or more convictions for retail theft and providing a penalty. Referred to Senate Judiciary & Public Safety / AB-829 (Brandtjen, Janel) Referred to Assembly Judiciary
SB-851 Earned Release (Jacque, Andre) Earned release from parole or extended supervision and discharge from probation. Referred to Senate Judiciary & Public Safety / AB-842 (Wichgers, Chuck) Referred to Assembly Judiciary
SB-852 Firearm Possession (Jacque, Andre) Prosecuting a violent felon for the crime of illegal possession of a firearm. Referred to Senate Judiciary & Public Safety / AB-841 (Wichgers, Chuck) Referred to Assembly Judiciary
SB-853 Private Security (Wanggaard, Van) Private security persons practicing without a permit and carrying firearms. Referred to Senate Insurance, Licensing & Forestry
SB-854 Law Enforcement Curriculum (Jacque, Andre) Model curriculum for pupils in grades 5 to 12 on interacting with law enforcement and granting rule-making authority. Referred to Senate Education / AB-830 (Murphy, Dave) Referred to Assembly Education
SB-855 Corrections Compensation (Marklein, Howard) Additional compensation and recruitment and retention benefits for correctional officers, youth counselors, and psychiatric care technicians. Referred to Senate Judiciary & Public Safety / AB-828 (Born, Mark) Referred to Assembly Corrections
SB-856 Bail (Bradley, Julian) Bail for criminal defendants who have a previous conviction for a felony or violent misdemeanor. Referred to Senate Judiciary & Public Safety / AB-838 (Wichgers, Chuck) Referred to Assembly Judiciary
SB-857 DOJ Bond Data (Bradley, Julian) Department of Justice collection of data on the use of appearance bonds and cash in lieu of appearance bonds. Referred to Senate Judiciary & Public Safety / AB-839 (Wichgers, Chuck) Referred to Assembly Judiciary
SB-858 Bail (Bradley, Julian) Bail for criminal defendants who have a previous conviction for bail jumping. Referred to Senate Judiciary & Public Safety / AB-840 (Wichgers, Chuck) Referred to Assembly Judiciary
SB-862 Sentencing for Crimes (Johnson, LaTonya) Sentencing for crimes committed by a person who is under the age of 18. Referred to Senate Veteran and Military Affairs & Constitution and Federalism
AB-712 Medical Information (Hong, Francesca) Medically accurate information. Referred to Assembly Health
AB-713 Abortion Choice (Hong, Francesca) Right to choose an abortion and elimination of certain abortion-related regulations. Referred to Assembly Health
AB-728 Nitrates (Kitchens, Joel) Nitrates under the well compensation program; eligibility for producer-led watershed, lake, and river protection grants; and the annual allocation plan for county conservation grants. Referred to Assembly Agriculture
AB-834 Search Warrants (Tusler, Ron) No-knock search warrants and certain expenditures of federal moneys by first class cities. Referred to Assembly Criminal Justice and Public Safety
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Websites of Interest
Wisconsin Eye – Independent, nonpartisan video coverage of state government proceedings.
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Capitol Update is a periodic e-mail on legislative issues from the Wisconsin Catholic Conference.
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Wisconsin Catholic Conference
© 2021
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