Gov. Evers Takes Action on 21 Bills

MADISON — Gov. Tony Evers today took action on 21 bills. The bills signed by the governor today include expanding eligibility for the Alzheimer’s Family and Caregiver Support Program, protecting patient privacy by requiring informed written consent for educational pelvic exams, increasing penalties for individuals who batter or threaten jurors and their family members, among others.

Today, the governor signed 16 bills, including:

Senate Bill 152, now 2025 Wisconsin Act 21:

Allows counties greater flexibility in supporting caregivers by repealing the financial eligibility requirement of the Alzheimer’s Family and Caregiver Support Program; and
Ensures that the Alzheimer’s Family and Caregiver Support Program funds are eligible to meet the 25 percent state match requirement to receive National Family Caregiver Support Program funding.

“It’s no secret that serving as a caregiver for a loved one living with Alzheimer’s disease requires a considerable amount of care, time, resources, and energy, so I was glad to sign this bill today to ensure that, regardless of income, the over 200,000 unpaid caregivers who take care of their loved ones with this horrible disease have the resources and support they need to continue providing that care,” said Gov. Evers. “From adult day care to in-home help to nutrition supplements and meal delivery services, with expanded eligibility for our Alzheimer’s Family and Caregiver Support Program, more families are going to be able to access the resources they need.”

Senate Bill 14, now 2025 Wisconsin Act 22:

Requires hospitals to ensure written informed consent is obtained from a patient before a pelvic examination is performed on the patient solely for educational purposes while the patient is under general anesthesia or otherwise unconscious.

“I am glad to be signing this bipartisan legislation today that brings Wisconsin in line with the majority of other states and that codifies practices already happening at healthcare providers across the state to require written, informed consent for educational pelvic exams,” said Gov. Evers. “This bill has been many years in the making, and I am grateful for the dedicated work of several bipartisan legislators, healthcare professionals, and stakeholders to get this done to protect the rights and privacy of patients.”

Senate Bill 31, now 2025 Wisconsin Act 18:

Extends certain protections to physician assistants and advanced practice nurses who provide services without compensation for local health departments or school districts.

Senate Bill 43, now 2025 Wisconsin Act 19:

Authorizes advanced practice nurse prescribers to pronounce the date, time, and place of a patient’s death for purpose of preparing a death record.

Assembly Bill 45, now 2025 Wisconsin Act 20:

Ratifies and enters Wisconsin into the Dietitian Licensure Compact, allowing dietitians to be eligible to practice in member states.

Senate Bill 98, now 2025 Wisconsin Act 23:

Allows a healthcare cooperative to convert into a service insurance corporation; and
Requires the insurance commissioner to approve any submitted plan of conversion unless the commissioner concludes, after a hearing, that the plan does not meet the list of allocated requirements.

Senate Bill 121, now 2025 Wisconsin Act 24:

Recodifies the state’s battery statutes by moving them into a newly created subchapter entitled “Bodily Security; Battery”; and
Reorganizes the various crimes of battery but does not change the penalty for any crime within the battery statutes that exists under current law.

Senate Bill 169, now 2025 Wisconsin Act 25:

Makes several changes to provisions included in 2023 Wisconsin Act 235, which generally provided privacy protections for judicial officers.

Senate Bill 5, now 2025 Wisconsin Act 26:

Creates a separately identified form of battery or threats to jurors and their family members and makes it a Class H felony.

Senate Bill 278, now 2025 Wisconsin Act 27 :

Extends the Community-Oriented Policing House Program from July 1, 2025, to July 1, 2027; and
Changes the program’s funding appropriation from biennial to continuing.

Assembly Bill 61, now 2025 Wisconsin Act 28:

Increases the penalties for intentionally harassing a police or fire animal that results in its injury or death.

Senate Bill 235, now 2025 Wisconsin Act 29:

Adds trespassing at a campground or campground resort to the crime of criminal trespass; and
Provides that the landlord-tenant laws do not apply to licensed campgrounds or campground resorts.

Assembly Bill 242, now 2025 Wisconsin Act 30:

Adds video service, broadband service, and wireless service to the crime of tampering with telecommunications or electric wires; and
Increases the penalty for intentionally breaking down, interrupting, or removing any telegraph, telecommunication, power or light lines, or destroying or interfering with or injuring the wires or other property of such companies to a Class I felony.

Senate Bill 255, now 2025 Wisconsin Act 31:

Makes changes to the statutes regulating the Chippewa and Flambeau Improvement Company to allow tolls to be levied to pay for costs beyond maintenance and allow negotiable interest-bearing bonds issued by the company to fund more than half of the cost of acquiring dams, reservoirs, and rights.

Senate Bill 172, now 2025 Wisconsin Act 32:

Helps prevent predatory practices involving real estate by protecting Wisconsinites against non-improvement contracts.

Assembly Bill 232, now 2025 Wisconsin Act 33:

Transfers the adjudicatory functions for disputed worker’s compensation claims from the Division of Hearings and Appeals in the Department of Administration to the Department of Workforce Development, which housed these functions prior to 2015 Wisconsin Act 55;
Shifts all positions in the Division of Hearings and Appeals that primarily perform worker’s compensation duties to the Department of Workforce Development;
Makes amendments to the statutes to reflect this structural shift, ensuring that the Department of Workforce Development is responsible for conducting hearings, issuing decisions, and overseeing related administrative proceedings for such claims; and
Consolidates worker’s compensation nonappellate adjudication functions in the Department of Workforce Development.

In addition to signing the above bills, Gov. Evers also vetoed several bills. The governor’s veto message is available below.

Veto Message for Senate Bill 4
Veto Message for Assembly Bill 73
Veto Message for Assembly Bill 85
Veto Message for Assembly Bill 87
Veto Message for Assembly Bill 269

An online version of this release is available here.

Gov. Evers Takes Action on 21 Bills

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