2021-22 Assembly Insurance Committee Recap

As the Chairman of the Assembly Committee on Insurance, I have facilitated numerous committee hearings and hundreds of stakeholder meetings this legislative session. These meetings are pivotal for my committee to hear, learn, and make decisions regarding insurance-related legislation here in Madison. The purpose of this committee is to develop fine-tuned, polished bills that are ready to be voted on by the entire assembly. Here are some of the bills that were passed out of the Insurance Committee:

AB 34: This legislation ensures that no matter what happens at the national level, here in Wisconsin our residents won’t be denied access to life-saving treatment or necessary healthcare just because of challenges they’ve already faced or continue to deal with in their health history.

AB 483: This legislation creates a separate process for owner-occupied homes that suffer a loss covered by the insurance policy. In these situations,  before issuing a raze order (the ordered demolition of a building) the municipality would have to provide notice to the owner of the dwelling, conduct an on-site inspection, consider materials establishing the damage and cost of repairs, and conclude it is not reasonable to repair the building.

AB 491: The proposed legislation would create an efficient, effective regulatory framework for travel insurance by clarifying current law to regulate the travel insurance industry in a manner that benefits consumers, empowers regulators, and ensures the marketplace operates fairly. 

Connecting our Communities

About seven years ago, the area's villages and the Oneida Nation started holding monthly meetings to share, learn, and collaborate on municipal issues. This group, known as HALO (Hobart, Howard, Ashwaubenon, Lawrence, Oneida), has been a wonderful opportunity for legislators like me to attend and learn about the issues our smaller communities are facing.

This month's meeting was heavily focused on the negative impact of high energy costs, workforce shortages, broadband needs, and record-breaking violent crime increases in the area. There is certainly more work for us state legislators to do on these challenges. However, I was encouraged to know that my legislative priorities this last session were consistent with what our local communities are asking for. I look forward to working over the next six months to produce a series of bills to address many of these issues come January.