Assembly Floor
Activity
After breaking for the holidays, the
Assembly reconvened on Tuesday, January 14. The Assembly passed a
number of bills introduced by the Law Revision Committee and also
ratified several state employee labor contracts. More
significantly, though, the Assembly passed a package of bipartisan bills
that are intended to address Wisconsin's growing problem with heroin
addiction.
Assembly
Bill 445 generally requires a photo ID to pick up a prescription that
includes Schedule II
or III controlled substance or to have such a prescription delivered.
Pharmacies would report these dispensations or deliveries through the
Prescription Drug Monitoring Program, which was created a number of years
ago to identify possible prescription abuses. Heroin itself is a
Schedule I substance, while Schedules II and III contain opioids that are in
the same "family" as heroin but have at least some medical value.
Assembly
Bill 446 makes it easier for EMTs to obtain naloxone and other "opioid
antagonists" (antidotes) and to administer them to individuals who have
overdosed on heroin or similar substances.
Assembly
Bill 447 is a "Good Samaritan" law that grants limited immunity from
criminal prosecution to individuals who are in possession of a controlled
substance but who nevertheless call 911 in the event of someone else
overdosing or bring that person to the emergency room. (The immunity
extends only to possession, not to delivery, manufacture, or distribution if
those crimes are involved in the incident.) The goal of AB 447 is to
encourage people to get help when someone has overdosed.
Lastly,
Assembly
Bill 448 authorizes the Wisconsin Department of Justice and local
governments to establish drug disposal programs to collect prescription
drugs from legal possessors who have no further need of them and to dispose
of them properly. This will help ensure that prescription drugs stay
out of the water supply and out of the hands of potential abusers or
accidental users.
Each of these four bills passed with
bipartisan support and has been sent to the Senate for further
consideration. The Assembly will meet again next
Tuesday, January 21.
Committee Activity
The
Legislature's committees were very busy this week. On Wednesday alone,
I attended three committee meetings as a member (Family
Law,
Energy and Utilities, and
Transportation) and testified at a fourth (Education).
The Assembly
judiciary
committee, of which I am also a member, held a hearing on Thursday.
The
Assembly's family law committee, which I chair, held a hearing on
Assembly
Bill 581, which addresses a number of issues that have been raised
regarding adoption advertising, delegations of parental authority, and
unauthorized interstate placements of children. AB 581 also recommends
that the Joint Legislative Council study "adoption disruption and
dissolution" in Wisconsin.
Also
on Wednesday, I had the opportunity to testify on behalf of
Assembly
Bill 616, a bill I introduced that prohibits a school district from
collecting students' biometric data without a parent or guardian's written
consent. Examples of biometric data include fingerprint
identification, retinal scans, and hand or palm geometry. AB 616 came
out of testimony the Assembly Select Committee on Common Core Standards, of
which I am a member,
heard in the course of its hearings around the state in October. No
Wisconsin schools currently collect biometric data (and even the Common Core
Standards do not require or authorize the collection of such data), but the
select committee thought it best to take a proactive approach to this issue, given
how fast technology can evolve.
Free Fishing
Weekend; Office Closed Monday
As I mentioned in my last E-Update, this
weekend, January 18 and 19, is Wisconsin's
winter 2014 free fishing weekend! Residents and nonresidents alike
will be able to fish Wisconsin's waters without a license or trout stamp.
As part of the weekend, the Chippewa Valley Family YMCA is sponsoring an
event at Glen Loch Flowage north of Chippewa Falls on Saturday, January 18,
from noon to 4:00 p.m. (additional details are in the above link).
My Capitol office will be closed Monday,
January 20, for the Martin Luther King, Jr., Day holiday. You may
still send e-mails or leave voicemail messages, and we will see them
when we reopen Tuesday, January 21. |
