The last regular floorperiod ended on March 11, 2004. This was the last
general business floorperiod of the 2003-2004 legislative session.
The legislature ended an extraordinary session on March 25. Bills which did
not pass by March 25 died. The governor has now signed or vetoed all bills passed
by the legislature this session. The legislature may call itself into extraordinary session again or the governor may call a special session at any time before the new legislative session begins in January 2005.
Legislation signed into law
CIVIL RIGHTS
AB 169: Requires public libraries to disclose the library records of a child who is under the age of 16 to the child’s parent or guardian, upon request.
ECONOMIC SECURITY
SB 512: Restores a property tax exemption for non-profit organizations that provide housing to low-income tenants.
HEALTH CARE
SB 71: Specifies that the minimum coverage limits required for mental health care and alcoholism and other drug abuse problems do not include costs incurred for prescription drugs and diagnostic testing.
AB 351: Creates a voluntary tax check-off option for state taxpayers to designate any amount towards breast cancer research; funds will be split evenly between the UW Medical School and the Medical College of Wisconsin.
POLITICAL PARTICIPATION
AB 600, AB 601: Implements the requirements of the Help America Vote Act of 2002.
AB 932: Enables Wisconsin to receive federal funding needed to implement the election administration reforms required in the Help America Vote Act of 2002.
VIOLENCE
AB 265: Domestic Violence Prevention Act. Broadens the definition of "substantial bodily harm" so that it includes a broken nose and a laceration that requires staples or tissue adhesive.
AB 279: Child Custody Bill: Creates a rebuttable presumption against awarding a parent joint or sole legal custody if the court finds that the parent has engaged in a pattern or serious incident of abuse.
AB 341: Authorizes counties to use the marriage license fee for purposes related to domestic violence and increasing the assessment imposed on persons convicted of domestic abuse offenses.
AB 738: Closes several loopholes in Wisconsin’s stalking law.
AB 652: Victims Protection Act: Prohibits law enforcement personnel from requesting, requiring, or suggesting that a person who alleges that she or he is the victim of sexual assault submit to any form of lie detector test.
Constitutional Amendment
AJR 66/SJR 63: Would define marriage as between one man and one woman in the state Constitution. AJR 66 passed both Senate and Assembly. To take effect, also needs to pass in the next legislative session, then in a statewide referendum. The governor can’t veto a constitutional amendment.
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Legislation that didn’t pass by the end of the session
CHILD CARE
AB 965: Expand BadgerCare to provide health care to low-income child care workers.
AB 966: Creates a nonrefundable tax credit for child and dependent care expenses that is equal to 50% of the amount claimed by an individual under this federal credit.
AB 967: Creates a program of child care worker loan repayment assistance.
CIVIL RIGHTS
AB 357: Creating a Remedy for Scholastic Use of Indian and other Ethnic Names, Nicknames, Logos, and Mascots. If a resident of a school district objects to the use of a nickname, mascot or logo, the State Superintendent of Schools would be required to conduct a hearing on that complaint, and if found in favor of the complainant, school board must end its use.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE
AB 353: It would not be employment discrimination to refuse to hire a person with a felony record, whether or not the circumstances of the felony substantially relate to the job.
AB 923: Provide grants to counties for alternatives to prosecution and incarceration for persons who abuse alcohol and other drugs.
EDUCATION
AB 208/SB 85: Add a second student seat, to be held by a nontraditional student at least 24 years old, to the UW Board of Regents.
AB 363: Would require instruction in public schools on the history of organized labor in America.
AB 387: Requires human growth and development instruction to be medically accurate.
AB 95: Would grant undocumented students in-state tuition if they have graduated, or received a GED, from a Wisconsin high school.
EMPLOYMENT
AB 269: Creates a crime victim's leave program requiring an employer that employs at least 50 individuals on a permanent basis in this state to permit an employee who is the victim of a crime to take leave for certain purposes.
AB 318: Equal Pay Enforcement Act: To strengthen existing pay equity law and call for a study of wage disparities.
AB 416: Creates standards for the awarding of subsidies to business and requires aid recipients to provide specific performance reports to the Legislative Audit Bureau.
AB 761 /SB 389: American Jobs Act: Would require all contractual services purchased by executive branch agencies to be performed in the United States.
HEALTH CARE
AB 229/ SB 90: Establishes publicly financed universal health plan for Wisconsin.
AB 348/SB 169: Death with Dignity: Allows a mentally competent, terminally ill adult to make a written request to their physician for medication to end his or her life.
AB 355: Creates a prescription drug program purchasing pool for those without prescription drug coverage.
AB 389: Requires health plans to inform enrollees and prospective enrollees that some hospitals and other providers do not provide reproductive health care services that may be covered under the plan.
SB 72: Increases the minimum amount of coverage that must be provided for mental health care and alcoholism and other drug abuse problems.
AB 192: Sets minimum staffing standards in nursing homes.
AB 451/SB 177: Ban on Mandatory Overtime: Bars hospitals and nursing homes from requiring nurses and health care workers to work overtime except in unforeseen emergencies.
AB 979/SB 544: Women’s Health and Education Act: To prevent sexually transmitted infections and reduce unintended pregnancies by improving access to contraceptives and promoting comprehensive sexuality education.
SB493: To create a Breast Cancer Awareness license plate; annual contribution of $25 per plate would go to the Susan G. Komen Foundation.
POLITICAL PARTICIPATION
AB 47: Permits a voter in a partisan primary election to vote for candidates for each office regardless of party affiliation.
SB 68: Requires voters to present a valid WI driver’s license, valid WI identification card, university, college, or technical college ID card that contains a photograph of the elector, or a birth certificate copy in order to vote at a polling place.
AB 911: Would allow Preference Voting, or Instant Runoff Voting in local non-partisan elections.
AB 849: Would ban the use of electronic voting machines in Wisconsin that do not leave a paper trail.
REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS
AB 63/SB 21: Allows pharmacists to refuse to fill any prescription if they believe that it may be used for abortions or to cause the end of life.
AB 170/SB 99: Requires hospitals providing emergency care to inform sexual assault victims of FDA-approved emergency contraception, the victim’s option to receive emergency contraception, and to dispense it upon request.
AB 186: Creates an eight foot zone of separation between a protestor and an individual entering a health care facility when they are within 100 feet from a facility's entrance.
AB 231/SB 84: Defunding of Family Planning Programs. Bans the use of public funds to organizations that provide all-options pregnancy counseling, provide patients with information on abortion providers; advocate for reproductive freedom; or engage speakers who do so; pay dues to a group that advocates for reproductive freedom; or offer abortion services using their own private funds.
AB 383/SB 186: Would prohibit young women ages 15-17 from participating in the Medicaid Family Planning Waiver program, which provides reproductive health care services to women ages 15 – 44 whose income is below 185% of the federal poverty level.
AB 634: Would prohibit women ages 15 – 17 from participating in the Medicaid Family Planning Waiver program.
SB 27: Provides legal immunity to individuals who withhold certain information from women if doing so contributed to their decision to forego abortion.
SB 28: Expands state-mandated lecture on abortion to include information about immunity from liability for baby abandonment within 72 hours after birth.
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