SUMMARY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIVITY
2021-22 SESSION
The following summarizes bills of interest to the Wisconsin Catholic Conference, where it either took a position and/or the bills were signed into law. Legislation is listed by general topic: life issues, children and families, education, health care, social concerns, criminal justice, stewardship, and religious liberty. Under each topic, bills are listed in numerical order, with Senate bills preceding Assembly bills. If only one bill is listed, then there was no companion bill. Where WCC testimony was identical for companion bills, the link provided is to the Senate testimony.
STATE BUDGET
WCC Position/Activity: Supported proposals related to pregnant and parenting women, affordable housing, Medicaid, student mental health, juvenile justice, Earned Income Tax Credit, broadband, immigrant driver’s cards, special education, school nutrition, and clean water. Opposed funding for abortion providers, gender-neutral statutory language, gender identity employment provisions, and restricting parental choice in education.
WCC 2021-2023 State Budget Issue Brief
LIFE ISSUES
SB-16 (Roth, Roger, R-Appleton)/AB-6 (Steineke, Jim, R-Kaukauna) require 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.
SB-75 (Roys, Kelda, D-Madison)/
AB-106 (Subeck, Lisa, D-Madison) eliminate certain abortion prohibitions.
WCC Position/Activity: Opposed
Status: Failed to pass
SB-228 (Testin, Patrick, R-
Stevens Point)/
AB-207 (Novak, Todd, R-Dodgeville) allow the dissolution of a deceased person through
alkaline hydrolysis.
Status: Failed to pass
SB-245 (Darling, Alberta, R-River Hills)/
AB-185 (Billings, Jill, D-La Crosse) prohibit a person who is under the age of 18 from being prosecuted for committing an act of prostitution.
WCC Position/Activity: Supported
Status: Failed to pass
SB-260 (
Jacque, André, R-De Pere)/
AB-370 (Murphy, David, R-Greenville) prohibit the University of Wisconsin (UW), hospitals, and clinics from allowing employees to perform or assist in the performance of an elective abortion outside of a hospital.
Status: Failed to pass
SB-261 (Jacque) requires the State to collect information about each abortion, including the visible sex and disability of the child, as well as the facility where the abortion took place.
Status: Failed to pass
AB-262 (Wichgers, Chuck, R-Muskego) requires a hospital, clinic, or other facility in which an induced abortion is performed to report the following additional information in its required report to the Department of Health Services (DHS): the sex of the aborted unborn child if determined by visual inspection, whether the aborted unborn child had a fetal anomaly, the nature of the fetal anomaly if there was one, and the name of the hospital, clinic, or other facility at which the induced abortion was performed. The name of the patient and abortionist remains confidential.
Status: Failed to pass
SB-503 (Strobel, Duey, R-Saukville)/
AB-493 (Dittrich, Barbara, R-Oconomowoc) prohibit 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, with exemptions for rape, incest, grave health, and life of the mother.
SB-504 (Jacque)/
AB-528 (Brandtjen, Janel, R-Menomonee Falls) prohibit 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, without exceptions for rape, etc.
Status: Failed to pass
SB-555 (Ballweg, Joan, R-Markesan)/
AB-560 (Novak) 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.
WCC Position/Activity: Supported
SB-562 (Ballweg)/
AB-592 (Loudenbeck, Amy, R-Clinton) require the Wisconsin Department of Health Services to seek approval from the federal Department of Health and Human Services to extend the amount of time that postpartum women can receive Medical Assistance benefits to 365 days. The current limit is 60 days.
WCC Position/Activity: Supported
Status: Failed to pass
SB-591 (Kapenga, Chris, R-Delafield)/
AB-593 (Vos, Robin, R-Rochester) require abortion providers to inform women that their chemical abortions may be reversed.
SB-592 (Testin)/
AB-594 (Dittrich) require 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.
SB-593 (Testin)/
AB-595 (Dittrich) prohibit 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.
SB-796 (Jacque)/
AB-823 (Sortwell, Shae, R-Two Rivers) require a school board that elects to provide an instructional program in human growth and development to present, when age appropriate, a state-approved animated video of part or all of an abortion procedure.
WCC Position/Activity: Opposed
Status: Failed to pass
SB-797 (Jacque)/ AB-822 (Sortwell) require that women obtaining abortions be shown a state-approved video that depicts an animation or other illustration of the type of abortion procedure they will undergo.
WCC Position/Activity: Opposed
Status: Failed to pass
SB-836 (Jacque)/
AB-897 (Wichgers) seek to prevent human trafficking from occurring in adult-entertainment establishments.
WCC Position/Activity: Supported
Status: Failed to pass
SB-923 (Bradley, Julian, R-Franklin)/
AB-1065 (Rozar, Donna, R-Marshfield) prohibit performing or inducing an abortion before determining if the unborn child has a detectable fetal heartbeat, except if a medical emergency exists.
Status: Failed to pass
SB-1013 (Agard, Melissa, D-Madison)/
AB-1078 (Pope, Sondy, D-Mt. Horeb) permit certain qualified individuals to make a request for medication for the purpose of ending their lives.
WCC Position/Activity: Opposed
Status: Failed to pass
SB-1015 (Nass, Stephen, R-Whitewater)/
AB-1007 (Moses, Clint, R-Menomonie) allow health care providers to express health or medical opinions or guidance without penalty from an employer or the state's Medical Examining Board, even when these actions violate employer policies or medical best practices.
WCC Position/Activity: For information/
Testimony
Status: Failed to pass
CHILDREN AND FAMILIES
SB-595 (Stroebel)/
AB-627 (Dittrich) create a new ground for terminating parental rights based on the parent’s incarceration.
WCC Position/Activity: Opposed
Status: Failed to pass
SB-671 (Stroebel)/
AB-692 (Penterman, William, R-Columbus) allow certain married individuals to claim the EITC (Earned Income Tax Credit).
Status: Failed to pass
SB-821 (Agard)/
AB-868 (Snodgrass, Lee, D-Appleton) prohibit sending unsolicited obscene or sexually explicit images by electronic means and establishes a private civil cause of action for sending such images.
WCC Position/Activity: Supported
Status: Failed to pass
EDUCATION
SB-41(Kooyenga, Dale, R-Brookfield)/
AB-59 (Dittrich) lift Wisconsin Parental Choice Program (WPCP) income eligibility for the 2021-2022 school year to the same income eligibility limits used by the state’s two other parental choice programs.
WCC Position/Activity: Supported
SB-69 (Darling)/
AB-55 (Plumer, John, R-Lodi) require instruction of the Holocaust and other genocides in social studies curricula.
SB-221 (Bradley)/
AB-160 (Rodriguez, Jessie, R-Oak Creek) require the Milwaukee Board of School Directors to honor school transportation contracts made to provide busing or other transportation services for Milwaukee resident students attending in-person learning at a private school.
WCC Position/Activity: Supported
Status: Failed to pass
SB-302 (Stroebel)/
AB-261 (Wittke, Robert, R-Racine) extend the Wisconsin of Department of Public Instruction's (DPI) current authority to waive certain school regulatory and compliance requirements in light of the pandemic, including certain requirements for private schools participating in the parental choice and Special Needs Scholarship programs.
WCC Position/Activity: Supported
SB-322/
AB-196 and
SB-323/
AB-195 (Bernier, Kathleen, R-Chippewa Falls, and Dittrich) requires male, female, and coed designated teams in schools and higher education.
Status: Failed to pass
SB-449 (Wanggaard, Van, R-Racine)/
AB-482 (James, Jesse, R-Altoona) provide school grants to send critical incident mapping data to law enforcement agencies.
WCC Position/Activity: Supported
SB-584 (Roth)/
AB-597 (Pronschinske, Treig, R-Mondovi) allow a person to concealed carry a firearm in a worship site located on school grounds.
SB-597 (Wanggaard)/AB-617 (Rodriguez) permit early admission to kindergarten and first grade at a private school participating in a parental choice program.
WCC Position/Activity: Supported
SB-598 (Jacque)/
AB-562 (Cabral-Guevara, Rachael, R-Appleton) 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.
Status: Failed to pass
SB-608 (Jagler, John, R-Watertown)/
AB-621 (Schraa, Michael, R-Oshkosh) make it easier for students enrolled in the Racine Parental Choice Program or the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program to transfer to a school in the statewide Wisconsin Parental Choice Program.
WCC Position/Activity: Supported
SB-974 (Roth)/AB-970 (Wittke) eliminate income and participation limits for parental choice programs.
WCC Position/Activity: Supported
SB-1004 (Darling)/
AB-975 (Thiesfeldt, Jeremy, R-Fond du Lac) expand access to substitute teacher permits issued by the DPI to certain students in teacher preparatory programs.
WCC Position/Activity: Supported
AB-561 (Duchow, Cindi, R-Town of Delafield) amended to include private schools in recovery course credit reporting.
WCC Position/Activity: Opposed but took no position on the unamended companion,
SB-567 (Darling).
Status: Failed to pass
AB-563 (Vos) imposes civic instruction requirements on schools, including private schools.
WCC Position/Activity: Opposed
Status: Failed to pass
AB-971 (Wittke) directs when schools, including parental choice program schools, may promote pupils from the third grade to the fourth grade. It also eliminates the parental opt-out from statewide examinations for students in kindergarten through third grade.
WCC Position/Activity: Opposed
Status: Failed to pass
HEALTH CARE
SB-30 (Felzkowski, Mary, R-Irma)/
AB-36 (Kitchens, Joel, R-Sturgeon Bay) allow pharmacists to prescribe contraceptives.
Status: Failed to pass
SB-230 (Kooyenga)/
AB-215 (Sanfelippo, Joe, R-New Berlin) allow nursing home or assisted living facility residents or hospital patients to designate an “essential visitor.” And requires that at least one member of the clergy be allowed to visit a resident or patient.
Status: Failed to pass
SOCIAL CONCERNS
SB-67 (Jacque)/
AB-58 (Thiesfeldt) allow residential tenants to terminate their rental leases if they fear imminent violence by remaining on the premises.
WCC Position/Activity: Supported
Status: Failed to pass
SB-293 (Kooyenga)/
AB-270 (Wittke) reforms marriage license requirements and allows more forms of documentation from foreign countries.
WCC Position/Activity: Supported
SB-877 (Roth)/
AB-607 (Penterman) authorizes the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority to make low-interest or no-interest loans for the rehabilitation of workforce housing if the rehabilitation consists of structural improvements or the removal of lead paint.
WCC Position/Activity: Supported
SB-902 (Testin)/
AB-935 (Born, Mark, R-Beaver Dam) require resuming enforcement of FoodShare work requirements and seeking federal approval of drug testing and FoodShare Employment and Training requirements.
SB-905 (Stafsholt, Rob, R-New Richmond)/
AB-934 (Penterman) require determination of an individual’s Medicaid eligibility every six months.
SB-912 (Kapenga)/
AB-936 (Callahan, Calvin, R-
Tomahawk) take away Medicaid eligibility from able-bodied, adult Medicaid participants up to age 65 who do not accept an offer of legal employment or an offer of increased work hours or wages.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE
SB-8 (Wanggaard) prohibits the Wisconsin Department of Health Services from prioritizing an incarcerated person for vaccination.
Status: Failed to pass
SB-78 (Darling)/
AB-69 (Steffen, David, R-Green Bay) give individuals more opportunities to have their criminal records expunged.
Status: Failed to pass
SB-120 (Wanggaard)/
AB-108 (Spiros, John, R-Marshfield) require each law enforcement agency to publicly state its use-of-force policy and the duty of officers to report noncompliant use of force, while being protected for whistle-blowing.
SB-121 (Wanggaard)/
AB-134 (Spiros) mandate that law enforcement agencies may not authorize the use of choke holds, except in life-threatening situations or in self-defense.
SB-122 (Wanggaard)/
AB-110 (Spiros) require a law enforcement agency to post its use-of-force policy on its website, including how to obtain a free copy.
SB-123 (Wanggaard)/
AB-109 (Spiros) require the Wisconsin Department of Justice (DOJ) to collect data and publish an annual report on law enforcement use-of-force incidents.
SB-165 (Testin)/
AB-190 (Tusler, Ron,
R-Harrison) makes certain changes to the responsibilities of the Law Enforcement Standards Board (LESB) to regulate jail and juvenile detention officer recruitment and training standards, and to share employment files when a former employee applies to another law enforcement agency for a job.
WCC Position/Activity: Supported
SB-470 (Cowles, Rob, R-Green Bay)/AB-331 (Steineke) require prospective law enforcement officers to complete a psychological examination prior to employment as a law enforcement officer and granting rule-making authority.
WCC Position/Activity: Supported
Status: Failed to pass
SB-471 (Cowles)/AB-332 (Steineke) require crisis training for law enforcement officers.
WCC Position/Activity: Supported
Status: Failed to pass
SB-472 (Wimberger, Eric, R-Green Bay)/AB-329 (Steineke) require reporting the use of no-knock entry in the execution of a search warrant.
WCC Position/Activity: Supported
SB-473 (Roth)/AB-335 (Steineke) provide grants to law enforcement agencies for body cameras.
WCC Position/Activity: Supported
SB-474 (Roth)/AB-330 (Steineke) require training standards, a certified training program, and a database for school resource officers.
WCC Position/Activity: Supported
Status: Failed to pass
SB-475 (Wanggaard)/AB-333 (Steineke) provide grants to establish and enhance law enforcement and behavioral health services emergency response collaboration programs.
WCC Position/Activity: Supported
SB-476 (Wanggaard)/AB-334 (Steineke) require drug testing of law enforcement officers involved in certain critical incidents while on duty.
WCC Position/Activity: Supported
Status: Failed to pass
SB-619 (Felzkowski)/
AB-669 (Brooks, Robert, R-Saukville) eliminate the prohibition against going armed with a concealed weapon without a concealed carry license.
WCC Position/Activity: Opposed
Status: Failed to pass
SB-791 (Jacque)/
AB-815 (Tittl, Paul, R-Manitowoc) allows Treatment and Alternatives and Diversion (TAD) grants to be used for the treatment of mental health conditions.
Status: Failed to pass
Petition and proposed rule before the Wisconsin Supreme Court, creating a uniform court procedure that prohibits the use of restraints on children in court, except when necessary.
Status: Approved
STEWARDSHIP OF CREATION
SB-84 (Jacque)/
AB-123 (Krug, Scott, R- Nekoosa) provide grant funds to replace or rehabilitate private on-site wastewater treatment systems.
WCC Position/Activity: Supported
SB-152 (Cowles)/
AB-131 (Kitchens) prohibit the sale and use of coal tar-based and high polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) sealant products.
WCC Position/Activity: Supported
Status: Failed to pass
SB-156 (Cowles)/
AB-140 (Ramthun, Timothy, R-Campbellsport) expands the Wisconsin Clean Sweep program to mandate the collection of unused fire fighting foams containing perfluoroalkyl or polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) that have been voluntarily surrendered.
WCC Position/Activity: Supported
Status: Failed to pass
SB-248 (Cowles)/
AB-254 (Mursau, Jeff, R-Crivitz) expand the state electronic waste recycling program, known as “E-Cycle Wisconsin," to include all public, tribal, private, and charter elementary or secondary schools.
WCC Position/Activity: Supported
SB-678 (Cowles)/
AB-728 (Kitchens) regulate 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.
WCC Position/Activity: Supported
Status: Failed to pass
RELIGIOUS LIBERTY
AB-1 (Vos) Limiting state government response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including placing limitations on DHS and local health officer authority over gatherings in places of worship.
WCC Position/Activity: Supported
SB-7 (Jacque)/
AB-24 (Thiesfeldt) prohibit local health officers from closing or forbidding gatherings in places of worship during Covid-19 pandemic.
