WISCONSIN CATHOLIC CONFERENCE
Capitol Update
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Contents
1. Governor Evers’ State Budget
2. Senate Passes Protections for Religious In-Person Gatherings
3. Senate Passes Vaccine Deprioritization for Incarcerated Persons
4. WCC Supports Tenant Safety
5. WCC Supports Holocaust and Genocide Education
6. Upcoming Hearings of Interest
7. New Bills of Interest
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Governor Evers’ State Budget
Governor Tony Evers' state budget has been introduced as companion bills Senate Bill 111 and Assembly Bill 68 and referred to the Wisconsin Legislature's Joint Committee on Finance (JCF). The WCC will summarize items of interest in a future edition of the Update.
Wisconsin’s next biennial budget will run from July 2021 through June 2023. The Governor proposes a budget in February, which is introduced as a bill in the Legislature and sent to the Joint Committee on Finance (JCF). While the JCF is comprised of members from both parties, the majority party holds the greatest number of JCF seats.
The JCF begins its work in March by holding informational budget hearings with state agency heads. These are followed by April public hearings around the state where interested citizens and advocacy groups can express their opinions. Following these public hearings, the JCF amends the budget, sometimes significantly transforming the Governor’s original proposal.
Usually in June, the JCF sends its amended budget to either the Senate or the Assembly for further debate, possible amendment, and eventual passage. The first house then sends the bill to the second house for the same process. If each house passes a budget that is different from the other house, a Conference Committee is formed to reconcile the differences.
Once the budget passes both houses, it goes back to the Governor for final action. The Wisconsin Governor has line-item veto authority and can eliminate entire sections of the bill, even striking out dollar values, thereby significantly altering what the Legislature passed. In response, the Legislature can override the Governor’s vetoes with a two-thirds vote of both houses.
If a new budget is not enacted by July 1, state spending continues as directed under the current budget.
Senate Passes Protections for Religious In-Person Gatherings
On February 16, the Senate passed SB-007 (Jacque, Andre) on a voice vote. The bill prohibits the closure and forbidding of gatherings in places of worship. The WCC registered in support. The bill now awaits action in the Assembly.
Senate Passes Vaccine Deprioritization for Incarcerated Persons
On February 16, on a voice vote, the Senate passed SB-008 (Wanggaard, Van), which prohibits prioritizing incarcerated persons for COVID-19 vaccination. The WCC registered in opposition. The bill now awaits action in the Assembly.
WCC Supports Tenant Safety
On February 22, the WCC registered in favor of SB-067 (Jacque, Andre), which allows residential tenants to terminate their rental tenancies if they fear imminent violence by remaining on the premises. The committee took no further action on the bill.
WCC Supports Holocaust and Genocide Education
On February 22, the WCC submitted written testimony in support of SB-069 (Darling, Alberta), which requires instruction on the Holocaust and other genocides in social studies curricula. The committee took no further action on the bill.
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Upcoming Hearings of Interest
(N.B. Only bills of interest are flagged. In most cases, committees will be considering other bills as well.)
Assembly Education, 9:30 am, Thu, Mar 4, 412-E
AB-059 Education (Dittrich, Barbara) Applications for the full-time open enrollment program in the 2020-21 and 2021-22 school years and the family income requirement for the Wisconsin Parental Choice Program in the 2021-22 school year.
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New Bills of Interest
SB-106 Court Records (Jacque, Andre) Judicial notice of certain court records relating to domestic violence or child abuse. Referred to Senate Judiciary & Public Safety AB-102 (Brooks, Rob) Referred to Assembly Judiciary
SB-111 / AB-068 Executive Budget (Joint Finance) State finances and appropriations, constituting the executive budget act of the 2021 legislature. Referred to Joint Finance
SB-114 License Waiver (Larson, Chris) Waiving the Foundations of Reading test licensure requirement during a national health emergency declared in response to COVID-19. Referred to Senate Insurance, Licensing & Forestry AB-072 (Myers, Lakeshia) Referred to Assembly Education
SB-117 Law Enforcement (Wanggaard, Van) Boards of police and fire commissioners and protective services departments in populous cities. Referred to Senate Judiciary & Public Safety AB-114 (Brandtjen, Janel) Referred to Assembly Criminal Justice and Public Safety
SB-118 Law Enforcement (Wanggaard, Van) The creation of an independent use of force review advisory board. Referred to Senate Judiciary & Public Safety AB-112 (James, Jesse) Referred to Assembly Criminal Justice and Public Safety
SB-119 Shared Revenue (Wanggaard, Van) Decreasing shared revenue payments to municipalities based on decreased funding for law enforcement officers. Referred to Senate Judiciary & Public Safety AB-111 (Spiros, John) Referred to Assembly Local Government
SB-120 Law Enforcement (Wanggaard, Van) Law enforcement agency policies on the use of force. Referred to Senate Judiciary & Public Safety AB-108 (Spiros, John) Referred to Assembly Government Accountability and Oversight
SB-121 Law Enforcement (Wanggaard, Van) Prohibiting use of choke holds by law enforcement officers in use of force policies. Referred to Senate Judiciary & Public Safety
SB-122 Law Enforcement (Wanggaard, Van) Public access to policies regarding the use of force by law enforcement. Referred to Senate Judiciary & Public Safety AB-110 (Spiros, John) Referred to Assembly Government Accountability and Oversight
SB-126 Earned Income Tax Credit (Ringhand, Janis) Adopting for state tax purposes federal changes to the earned income tax credit. Referred to Senate Financial Institutions & Revenue AB-080 (McGuire, Tip) Referred to Assembly Ways and Means
SB-127 Informed Consent (Jacque, Andre) Requiring informed consent before performing a pelvic exam on a patient who is under general anesthesia or unconscious. Referred to Senate Health
SB-131 Insurance (Bewley, Janet) Coverage of COVID-19 testing and vaccination without cost sharing. Referred to Senate Government Operations, Legal Review & Consumer Protection
SB-132 SeniorCare (Bewley, Janet) Coverage of vaccinations under SeniorCare. Referred to Senate Government Operations, Legal Review & Consumer Protection
SB-133 Medical Assistance (Bewley, Janet) Medical Assistance coverage of COVID-19 testing and vaccine administration by pharmacies. Referred to Senate Government Operations, Legal Review & Consumer Protection
SB-134 Medical Assistance (Bewley, Janet) Medical Assistance payments for outpatient services provided by hospitals. Referred to Senate Government Operations, Legal Review & Consumer Protection
SB-135 Medical Assistance (Bewley, Janet) Medical Assistance payments to hospitals for nursing facility care. Referred to Senate Government Operations, Legal Review & Consumer Protection
SB-139 Unemployment (Bewley, Janet) Payment of unemployment insurance benefits under a work-share program. Referred to Senate Government Operations, Legal Review & Consumer Protection
SB-140 Unemployment (Bewley, Janet) Charging of unemployment insurance benefits related to a public health emergency. Referred to Senate Government Operations, Legal Review & Consumer Protection
SB-141 Unemployment (Bewley, Janet) The unemployment insurance waiting period. Referred to Senate Government Operations, Legal Review & Consumer Protection
SB-148 Block Grants (Bewley, Janet) Supplementary funding from the federal child care and development fund block grant. Referred to Senate Government Operations, Legal Review & Consumer Protection
SB-150 Immunization Mail (Bernier, Kathy) Immunization-related mail. Referred to Senate Government Operations, Legal Review & Consumer Protection
SB-152 Sealant Products (Cowles, Rob) Prohibiting the sale and use of coal tar-based sealants and high PAH sealant products. Referred to Senate Natural Resources & Energy
SB-153 Sexual Assault (Jacque, Andre) Creating a sexual assault victim bill of rights. Referred to Senate Judiciary & Public Safety
SB-156 PFAS (Cowles, Rob) Expanding the clean sweep program to include collection of certain fire fighting foams and making an appropriation. Referred to Senate Natural Resources & Energy
SB-159 Tax Credit (Darling, Alberta) Creating a refundable individual income tax credit for the parent of a stillbirth and making an appropriation. Referred to Senate Financial Institutions & Revenue
AB-069 Courts (Steffen, David) Expungement of records of certain crimes and discrimination based on expunged conviction. Referred to Assembly Criminal Justice and Public Safety
AB-106 Abortion (Subeck, Lisa) Eliminating certain abortion prohibitions. Referred to Assembly Health
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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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