Rep. Lori Palmeri

Maddy summaryAB 782 bans restaurants and food vendors from serving food or beverages in foam polystyrene containers, directly affecting retail food businesses like restaurants, cafes, and vending machine operators. The bill includes exemptions for containers pre-sealed outside the state and raw meat/fish packaging for off-premise consumption. Businesses violating the ban after receiving written notice face fines up to $250 for the first offense and $500 for repeated violations. A waiver may be granted for undue hardship, but it cannot extend beyond 13 months after the effective date. The law aims to reduce single-use plastic waste while allowing limited exceptions for practical food handling needs.

Maddy summaryAB 753 creates a state program to provide matching grants to Wisconsin counties for investments they make in their healthcare, public health, and care provider workforce. Counties can receive state funds equal to their previous fiscal year's spending on recruitment, retention, mental health, trauma care, and wellness programs for workers in health care, public health, child care, and long-term care. The grant amount for each county is capped at $1.11 multiplied by the county's population. This bill establishes the funding mechanism and sets the maximum grant level, requiring the state to appropriate funds for these matching grants annually.

Maddy summaryAB 756 repeals a specific statute (252.03(2j)) that granted local health officers the authority to mandate business closures to control communicable diseases. This bill directly affects local health officials, removing their existing legal power to order such closures, and impacts businesses that could have been subject to these mandates. The key mechanism is simply the removal of this statutory provision, with no new requirements or processes added. As a procedural repeal, it does not create new obligations but eliminates a specific existing authority.

Maddy summaryAB 781 allocates $3.525 million annually (for 2025-26 and 2026-27) to fund wolf monitoring and nonlethal management programs under the Department of Natural Resources. It creates a new budget line item (20.370 js) specifically for these purposes, continuing existing funding without introducing new regulations or policy changes. The bill directly affects the state's wildlife management operations and does not target specific communities or landowners. This is a procedural budget appropriation, not a substantive legislative change.

Maddy summaryAB 770 allocates $500,000 annually from the general fund for the Groundwater Coordinating Council's activities, specifically for the Department of Natural Resources and the University of Wisconsin System. The bill creates a new statutory funding line (20.370 (4) (cf)) to support ongoing council operations under existing laws (ss. 15.347(13) and 160.50). This appropriation applies to both the 2025-26 and 2026-27 fiscal years, directly funding the council's coordination work related to groundwater management. The bill does not change groundwater regulations but ensures dedicated funding for the council's existing responsibilities.

Maddy summaryAB 769 creates a new grant program to fund food waste reduction pilot projects, allocating $100,000 annually for fiscal years 2025-26 and 2026-27. The grants support projects focused on preventing food waste, redirecting surplus food to hunger relief organizations, and composting food waste. The Department of Agriculture must prioritize proposals serving low-income census tracts (below statewide median income) without grocery stores. The bill also authorizes the department to create rules for administering the program. This directly affects local pilot projects and hunger relief organizations in underserved communities.

Maddy summaryAB 777 designates the week containing November 11 (Veterans Day) as "Veterans Benefits Education Week" each year. The bill requires the governor to issue an annual proclamation highlighting veterans' entitlements during this week. This procedural measure directly informs veterans about available benefits and establishes an annual observance, with no changes to actual benefit programs. (AB 777, introduced December 17, 2025)

Maddy summaryThis is a symbolic resolution (not a law) that formally recognizes November 20, 2025, and 2026, as Wisconsin’s Transgender Day of Remembrance. It does not create new policies or affect any specific group directly - it simply asks the Wisconsin Legislature to acknowledge the day through a formal proclamation. The resolution cites the purpose of memorializing transgender and nonbinary people killed due to transphobic violence and aligns with the established international observance. As a procedural resolution, it has no legal force but serves to affirm the state’s recognition of this day.

Maddy summaryAB 783 repeals statute 66.0419, which previously governed local regulations on certain containers. This bill removes an existing legal provision but does not create new regulations or directly affect residents, businesses, or local governments. It is a procedural repeal with no new policy changes or implementation mechanisms.

Maddy summaryAB 710 expands Wisconsin's child care subsidy program (Wisconsin Shares) to include tribal-regulated child care providers operating under tribal authority in Indian country. It creates a new eligibility category for providers who meet federal child care standards, have a tribal regulatory attestation, and have an agreement with the state. This change allows families to choose these tribal providers when accessing state-funded child care assistance, directly affecting tribal child care programs and families seeking subsidized care. The bill modifies existing statutes to ensure these providers can receive state payments under the same terms as other licensed providers.