This Week in the Legislature: January 25, 2016

As has been the case the last two weeks, there continues to be a significant number of public hearings and executive sessions scheduled for this week. Legislators are trying to get their bills heard and on the calendar prior to the last day of session, which, for the Wisconsin State Assembly, could be as early as February 18.

The Speaker's Task Force on Alzheimer's and Dementia released a series of 10 bills on Wednesday of last week. A public hearing on all 10 of the bills is scheduled for this morning at 9:00 a.m. For a list of the bills, please see the hearing schedule below.

Committee Hearings for the Week of January 25, 2016
Note: The Committee hearings and bills listed below reflect action on legislation impacting county government.  See a complete listing of weekly hearings here.

Monday, January 25, 2016

Assembly Committee on Mental Health Reform, 9:00 a.m.

Assembly Bill 783 - funding for a virtual dementia tour license and making an appropriation. WCA is monitoring this bill.

Assembly Bill 784 - funding for the Alzheimer's Disease Research Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and making an appropriation. WCA is monitoring this bill.

Assembly Bill 785 - dementia specialist certification program. WCA is monitoring this bill.

Assembly Bill 786 - report on dementia crisis unit pilot program and placement of individuals with dementia. WCA is monitoring this bill.

Assembly Bill 787 - funding for respite care under the Alzheimer's Family and Caregiver Support Program and making an appropriation. WCA supports this bill.

Assembly Bill 788 - funding for dementia care specialists in aging and disability resource centers and making an appropriation. WCA supports this bill.

Assembly Bill 789 - continuing legal and judicial education on elder law-related issues. WCA is monitoring this bill.

Assembly Bill 790 - dementia training grants for mobile crisis teams and making an appropriation. WCA supports this bill.

Assembly Bill 791 - informed consent for psychotropic medication in nursing homes and community-based residential facilities. WCA is monitoring this bill.

Assembly Bill 792 - referrals for subjects of alerts for missing adults and operator's license review. WCA is monitoring this bill.

Tuesday, January 26, 2016

Senate Committee on Labor and Government Reform, 10:00 a.m.

Senate Bill 521 - forfeiture of property seized in relation to a crime. WCA is monitoring this bill.

Senate Bill 385 - the establishment of a family and medical leave insurance program; family leave to care for a grandparent, grandchild, or sibling for the active duty of a family member; the employers that are required to permit an employee to take family or medical leave; granting rule-making authority; making an appropriation; and providing a penalty. WCA is monitoring this bill.

Assembly Committee on Energy and Utilities, 10:00 a.m.

Assembly Bill 490 - utility aid payments to towns and counties for production plants that generate electricity from wind power. WCA opposes this bill.

Senate Committee on Elections and Local Government, 1:00 p.m.

Senate Bill 527 - notice of unclaimed funds held by a county treasurer. WCA supports this bill.

Senate Bill 533 - regulating the production and use of photo identification cards by local units of government. WCA opposes this bill.

Wednesday, January 27, 2016

Assembly Committee on Children and Families, 10:00 a.m.

Assembly Bill 749 - surplus retention limitations for providers of rate-based services purchased by the Department of Children and Families, the Department of Corrections, the Department of Health Services, or a county department of human services, social services, community programs, or developmental disabilities services. WCA opposes this bill.

Assembly Bill 674 - visitation of residents of certain facilities by adult children. WCA is monitoring this bill.

Assembly Bill 737 - the crime of child sex trafficking, the inclusion of child sex trafficking in the definition of child abuse, the investigation of a child abuse report in which a person who is not a caregiver of the child is suspected of permitting, allowing, or encouraging the child to engage in prostitution or of child sex trafficking for purposes of a commercial sex act, and providing a penalty. WCA is monitoring this bill.

Assembly Bill 745 - notification of a local law enforcement agency and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children when a child over whom the Department of Children and Families, the Department of Corrections, a county department of human services or social services, or a licensed child welfare agency has placement, care, or supervision responsibility is missing and granting rule-making authority. WCA is monitoring this bill.

Senate Committee on Judiciary and Public Safety, 1:00 p.m.

Senate Bill 497 - using a drone to commit a crime and providing a criminal penalty. WCA is monitoring this bill.

Senate Bill 498 - the operation of drones over state correctional institutions, the authority of political subdivisions to designate areas over which the operation of drones is limited, and providing a penalty. WCA supports this bill.

Thursday, January 28, 2016

Assembly Committee on Judiciary, 1:00 p.m.

Assembly Bill 673 - creating a program to protect the confidentiality of addresses for victims of domestic abuse, sexual assault, or stalking; providing an exemption from emergency rules procedures; and requiring the exercise of rule-making authority. WCA is monitoring this bill.

Assembly Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety, 10:00 a.m.

Assembly Bill 537 - forfeiture of property seized in relation to a crime. WCA is monitoring this bill.

Assembly Bill 604 - suspension of operating privilege for failure to pay monetary judgment. WCA is monitoring this bill.

Assembly Bill 621 - expungement of deoxyribonucleic acid from crime laboratories if person not adjudicated guilty or delinquent. WCA is monitoring this bill.

Assembly Bill 670 - the operation of drones over state correctional institutions, the authority of political subdivisions to designate areas over which the operation of drones is limited, and providing a penalty. WCA supports this bill.

Assembly Bill 671 - using a drone to commit a crime and providing a criminal penalty. WCA is monitoring this bill.

Assembly Committee on Corrections, 11:00 a.m.

Assembly Bill 497 - residency requirements for sexually violent persons on supervised release. WCA is monitoring this bill.

Assembly Bill 128 - classifying misdemeanors, repealing or modifying obsolete misdemeanors, and changing procedure and discovery in certain civil actions. WCA is monitoring this bill.

For a listing of all bills impacting county government and WCA's positions on those bills, please visit the WCA website here

WCA Upcoming Meetings
See a complete listing of upcoming WCA meetings here.

January 26 - WCA Taxation and Finance Steering Committee
February 2-3 - WCA Legislative Exchange 

Questions? Contact Our Government Affairs Team  
If you have any questions about anything happening at the state level, please feel free to contact any member of the WCA Government Affairs Team at 866.404.2700 or via email:

Kyle Christianson - Director of Government Affairs 
Sarah Diedrick-Kasdorf - Deputy Director of Government Affairs 
Daniel Bahr - Government Affairs Associate 
 
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