Rep. Darrin Madison

Maddy summaryAB 725 requires state prisons and county jails to notify designated family members within 24 hours when an inmate faces restrictions affecting visits or communication (like solitary confinement). It also mandates an online public dashboard updated every 48 hours, showing current restrictions (with reasons and duration), solitary confinement numbers broken down by reason, and total inmate counts. The bill funds these systems with $780,000 for fiscal year 2025-26 and $275,000 for 2026-27, plus temporary staff to implement them. These changes directly affect inmates, their families, and correctional facilities by increasing transparency around restrictive practices.

Maddy summaryAB 726 requires all inmates in state correctional institutions and county jails to be paid a minimum wage of at least the hourly rate specified in statute 104.035(3)(a)1, with an immediate $2.33 per hour increase effective upon enactment. The bill mandates that wages must be based on productivity but cannot fall below this minimum rate, applies to all labor performed by inmates, and prohibits wage reductions without board approval. It also appropriates $58.9 million for 2025-26 and $88.4 million for 2026-27 to cover the increased inmate wages in state facilities, plus smaller sums for correctional enterprises. The law directly affects incarcerated individuals by guaranteeing a minimum wage for their labor, while ensuring funds are allocated to cover these new payment obligations.

Maddy summaryAB 729 requires all state correctional institutions and county jails to install transparent windows in inmate cells by October 2030 that are at least 1.5 square feet and provide 92% visibility to the outdoors. It mandates that every inmate must have access to view outdoors through such windows for at least 3 hours daily (unless in lockdown or solitary), achievable via time outdoors, in-cell viewing, or shared facility windows. The bill directly affects all state prisons and county jails in the state, requiring physical modifications to cell structures. Funding of $500,000 for 2025-26 and $3 million for 2026-27 is allocated specifically for window installation under this law.

Maddy summaryAB 741 requires state correctional facilities and county jails to provide inmates with access to essential personal hygiene products at capped prices based on a leading retail chain's sales. It mandates commissaries to sell 18 standard items (like soap, toothpaste, and razors) at no more than 125% of retail price, plus culturally specific items (e.g., hair products for diverse hair types and cocoa-butter lotion) at no more than 100% of retail price. The bill also provides a $25 monthly stipend for state inmates immediately and for county jail inmates after 91 days of confinement to purchase these products. This legislation, funded by a $6.45 million annual appropriation, directly affects all inmates in state prisons and county detention facilities.

Maddy summaryAB 745 creates a new eligibility category for state reimbursement of military funeral honors costs, specifically for individuals who were naturalized under the federal Hmong Veterans’ Naturalization Act of 2000 and were residing in the state at the time of death. It requires the state department to reimburse certified veteran organizations for providing military funeral honors, with a maximum payment of $85 per funeral (adjusted annually for inflation based on the U.S. consumer price index). The bill directly affects families of qualifying Hmong veterans who served in the U.S. military and were naturalized under the 2000 federal law. This establishes a clear reimbursement mechanism for organizations providing these honors, replacing the previous $50 limit with an inflation-adjusted $85 cap.

Maddy summaryAB 731 requires state and county correctional facilities to provide inmates and juveniles with minimum weekly telecommunications access at no cost, including 180 minutes of phone calls, 60 minutes of video calls, and 100 text messages. It directly affects individuals in state prisons, juvenile correctional facilities, and county jails by mandating these service levels, which must be maintained or improved from existing access levels. The bill establishes funding through specific appropriations ($4.46 million for adult inmates, $517,500 for juveniles) and requires counties to join a state telecommunications contract or report why they don’t, with the state reimbursing counties for costs if they opt out. It also prohibits using telecom services to replace in-person visitation and bans charging inmates for services beyond the minimums.

Maddy summaryAB 780 replaces Wisconsin's dry cleaner environmental response program with the "Revitalize Wisconsin program," which provides $3 million annually to help clean up contaminated properties. The program directly assists property owners (called "innocent landowners") who didn't cause pollution at sites known as "brownfields" (abandoned or underused properties with environmental risks). It funds cleanup costs, waste removal, and sampling to address health and environmental threats, with funds drawn from the environmental fund. The bill also repeals outdated provisions and creates new rules for administering these cleanup grants.

Maddy summaryAB 771 increases annual funding by $5 million for the University of Wisconsin System's freshwater collaborative for fiscal years 2025-26 and 2026-27. This bill directly affects the University of Wisconsin System's freshwater collaborative research program by providing new state funding. The key mechanism is a specific budget appropriation added to existing funding under Section 20.285 (1) (ar). The bill does not change program requirements or create new regulations, only adjusting the financial allocation. The funding supports collaborative research on freshwater resources across the UW System.

Maddy summaryAB 772 requires companies that sell packaged products (called "producers") to pay fees to fund recycling programs. It creates a "producer responsibility program" where businesses must cover costs for reducing packaging waste and ensuring packaging is recyclable or made with post-consumer recycled materials. The bill defines key terms like "recyclable" (must sort easily and have market demand) and "post-consumer recycled material" (recovered from consumer waste, excluding advanced recycling methods). This directly affects manufacturers, brands, importers, and retailers selling packaged goods in the state, with fees collected by a nonprofit organization to support statewide recycling infrastructure.

Maddy summaryAB 765 creates a state bonding program to fund lead service line replacement for private water users connected to public water systems. It authorizes up to $274.95 million in state bonds (increasing previous limits) and allocates $200 million from bond proceeds to provide forgivable loans covering up to 50% of replacement costs for homeowners. The bill directly affects private residents with lead pipes by reducing their financial burden for replacing hazardous infrastructure. Key provisions include the new bonding authority and the specific allocation for forgivable loans to address public health concerns related to lead in drinking water.