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The 2009-2010 Legislative Session has come to an end. Here are some highlights of WCCF-supported bills that were passed and signed into law by Governor Doyle. Bills That Passed Senate Bill 141 – Day Care Van Alarm Bill requires child care providers and contractors to install safety alarms in the rear of child care vehicles. The alarms would need to be manually disarmed each time the vehicle’s engine stops, forcing drivers to physically search the entire day care van. SB 141 was authored by Sen. Spencer Coggs (D-Milwaukee) and Rep. Tamara Grigsby (D-Milwaukee). Senate Bill 362 – Mental Health Parity Bill requires all group health plans that cover mental illness to provide these benefits at the same level as other types of health care. The legislation will allow businesses under 10 employees to opt out. Federal legislation applies only to companies with 50 or more employees. SB 362 was authored by Sen. David Hansen (D-Green Bay) and Rep. Sandy Pasch (D-Whitefish Bay). Senate Bill 271 – BPA-Free Kids Act will prohibit the manufacture or sale at the wholesale or retail level of children’s bottles or cups that contain bisphenol-A, and will require that manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers clearly label children’s bottles and cups as bisphenol-A free. The legislation will provide the same penalties for manufacturers and wholesalers as those in Wisconsin’s Hazardous Substances Act, and will allow a surcharge from the fines to be used for the administration of the program. SB 271 was authored by Sen. Julie Lassa (D-Stevens Point) and Rep. Kelda Helen Roys (D-Madison). Senate Bill 200 - Regulates the sale of products to which mercury is added during production, which will protect the public and the environment from this known toxin. It will also encourage manufacturers to find a safe alternative to mercury. SB 200 was authored by Sen. Robert Jauch (D-Poplar) and Rep. Chris Danou (D-Trempealeau). Senate Bill 181 – Statewide Smoking Ban requires all bars, restaurants and other workplaces to be smoke-free starting July 1, 2010. SB 181 was authored by Sen. Fred Risser (D-Madison) and Rep. Jon Richards (D-Milwaukee). Senate Bill 27 – Health Insurance Coverage for Children’s Hearing Aids bill requires that all children up to the age of 18 who are diagnosed as deaf or hearing impaired by a physician or licensed audiologist be able to receive hearing aids or cochlear implants through their parents’ insurance. SB 27 was authored by Sen. Julie Lassa (D-Stevens Point) and Rep. David Cullen (D-Milwaukee). Assembly Bill 458 – Healthy Youth Act requires that classrooms that choose to teach human growth and development courses provide comprehensive, medically accurate, unbiased and age-appropriate information to students. The bill ensures that teens are taught about the potential negative consequences of their choices and how to identify abuse. AB 458 was authored by Rep. Tamara Grigsby (D-Milwaukee) and Sen. Lena Taylor (D-Milwaukee). Senate Bill 257 – Emergency Assistance Grants bill will require the Department of Children and Familes to establish the maximum amount of aid to be granted to needy persons in cases of fire, flood, natural disaster, energy crisis or impending homelessness, to better meet the needs of Wisconsin families. SB 257 was authored by Sen. Robert Jauch (D-Poplar) and Rep. Tamara Grigsby (D-Milwaukee). Senate Bill 280 – Personal Liability of Child Care Providers will dramatically improve the way the state can collect money owed to Wisconsin Shares when an incorporated or limited liability corporation (LLC) provider goes out of business. SB 280 was authored by Sen. Robert Jauch (D-Poplar) and Rep. Tamara Grigsby (D-Milwaukee). Senate Bill 530 – Payday Lending Regulation – Gov. Doyle invoked his partial veto power to close a number of loopholes in SB 530 and ban the predatory practice of Auto Title Lending in the State of Wisconsin. Some of the loopholes closed by Doyle include: ensuring that affiliates of banking institutions are not exempt from regulations; including all payday and auto title loans in the regulation regardless of their length; and requiring an installment repayment plan be offered to every customer on every loan if they are unable to repay. SB 530 was authored by Sen. Jim Sullivan (D-Wauwatosa and Rep. Jason Fields (D-Milwaukee). There were also some bills supported by WCCF that did not pass the legislature, including those listed below. We will continue to work on these issues next session. Bills That Did Not Pass Assembly Bill 732 – Raise the Age Legislation would return 17 year olds to the juvenile justice system. Juvenile jurisdiction would be raised from 16 to 17 years of age, starting with less serious cases in 2011 and moving all 17 year-olds to juvenile court as of July 1, 2012. AB 732 was authored by Representative Fred Kessler (D-Milwaukee) and Senator Lena Taylor (D-Milwaukee). Senate Bill 209 – Raise the Beer Tax would have increased the tax on fermented malt beverages to fund law enforcement grants and alcohol and drug abuse treatment and prevention programs. Currently, we pay 0.6 cents tax per 12 oz. bottle of beer. SB 209 would have increased the beer tax to 3 cents per 12 oz. bottle of beer. SB 209 was authored by Sen. Fred Risser (D-Madison) and Rep. Terese Berceau (D-Madison). Senate Bill 1 – Raise and Index the Minimum Wage would have increased the minimum wage from $6.50 to $7.60 per hour - an increase that officials at the Department of Workforce Development estimated would help about 225,000 workers. It also would have automatically adjusted the minimum wage every year for inflation. SB 1 was authored by Sen. Russ Decker (D-Wausau) and Rep. Cory Mason (D-Racine). Assembly Bill 265 – Refund Anticipation Loans Regulation would have enhanced disclosure requirements on those providing Refund Anticipation Loans (RALs). RALs are an unnecessary drain on the pocketbooks of low-income consumers throughout Wisconsin. They appear to increase the incidence of tax fraud, and they have brought unqualified vendors into the tax preparation field. AB 265 was authored by Rep. Kelda Helen Roys (D-Madison) and Sen. Julie Lassa (D-Stevens Point). Assembly Bill 392 – Rate Cap Regulation of Payday Loans would have required a 36% rate cap to combat the predatory practices of payday and auto title lending. A rate cap forces lenders to offer products that are more affordable and give borrowers a reasonable amount of time to pay off the loan. This type of regulation of payday loans would have been the easiest and strongest regulation of payday loans in Wisconsin. SB 530, which did pass and was signed into law (see above) is a good start, but a rate cap is what is really needed. AB 392 was authored by Rep. Gordon Hintz (D-Oshkosh) and Sen. David Hansen (D-Green Bay).
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