Rep. Elijah Behnke

Maddy summaryAB 103 requires all school boards to adopt policies by July 2026 governing changes to a student’s legal name or pronouns in official school records. It mandates that students under 18 need parental consent (with documentation or an affidavit for name changes), while students 18+ can use an affidavit verifying legal name change and consistent use of new name. School staff must use a minor’s legally provided name/pronouns unless parents provide written authorization for exceptions (e.g., shortened names), and schools must notify parents before approving name changes for minors. The bill aims to balance student privacy, parental rights, and school record accuracy while aligning with federal student privacy laws.

Maddy summaryAB 102 requires University of Wisconsin and technical college athletic programs to designate intercollegiate and club sports teams exclusively for "males" or "females" based on birth sex as recorded on a student's birth certificate. It prohibits students assigned male at birth from participating on teams designated for females or using female-designated locker rooms. The bill creates legal remedies for female students denied participation or harmed by violations, and for institutions facing penalties for compliance. It applies to all such teams starting in the first semester after the law takes effect, overriding existing anti-discrimination protections for these specific athletic contexts.

Maddy summaryAB 104 prohibits health care providers from performing or referring minors under 18 for medical interventions intended to change their physical characteristics to match a gender different from their biological sex. It specifically bans surgeries (like hysterectomy or orchiectomy), mastectomies, puberty-blocking drugs, and high-dose cross-sex hormone treatments. Exceptions apply for genetic disorders of sex development, treating complications from prior procedures, or immediate life-threatening conditions. Violations could result in license revocation for health care providers by the licensing board.

Maddy summaryAssembly Bill 202 primarily removes residential rental agreements from the scope of the Wisconsin Consumer Act. It changes how certain problematic provisions in residential leases are handled, allowing tenants to elect to void the entire agreement or sever only the voidable clauses, rather than the agreement being automatically void. Such voidable clauses include those that authorize landlords to take action against tenants for contacting law enforcement or health services, or for being a victim of a crime. If a tenant voids the agreement, it converts to a periodic tenancy under similar terms, or if a provision is severed, the rest of the agreement remains in effect. Tenants who suffer financial loss due to these voidable provisions can sue for double damages, costs, and attorney fees, excluding rent payments.

Maddy summaryAB 24 requires Wisconsin county sheriffs to verify the immigration status of individuals jailed for felony offenses by requesting specific documentation (such as passports, birth records, or immigration documents) to confirm lawful presence in the U.S. If verification fails, sheriffs must notify federal Homeland Security and comply with federal detainer requests. Sheriffs must annually report compliance and maintain records of individuals found unlawfully present, with data shared with the state justice department. Counties failing to comply face a 15% reduction in state funding for the following year. The bill directly affects felony inmates, sheriffs, and state-local funding relationships.

Maddy summaryAB 1 standardizes how Wisconsin schools and districts are evaluated by requiring consistent assessment metrics. It mandates that the state department use the same cut scores and performance categories for English/language arts and math tests in grades 3-8 that align with national National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) standards. For high school grades 9-11, it requires using the same metrics applied in the 2021-22 school year. This directly affects all public schools and districts in Wisconsin by changing how their accountability reports are calculated. The bill aims to create uniformity in school performance evaluations across the state.

Maddy summaryAB 554 requires clear labeling for food products containing lab-grown meat, directly affecting food manufacturers, restaurants, and state institutions. It mandates that "lab-grown meat" appear in prominent, contrasting text on labels (at least as large as other text), with full ingredient lists and separate labeling for multi-component products. The bill prohibits serving lab-grown meat as a meat substitute in public eateries without customer order or in state institutions (like prisons or hospitals) without specific health authorization. Violations carry fines of $100-$500 for first offenses and up to $1,000 for repeat violations. The law takes effect January 1, 2027.

Maddy summaryAB 549 updates rules for manufactured home sales and title certificates in the state. It directly affects manufactured home dealers, buyers, and county offices handling title records. Key changes include requiring dealers to provide receipts for title payments, preventing dealers from listing themselves as owners on title applications when reselling, and mandating that title records include the home's location by county. The bill also clarifies when title applications are considered submitted and specifies details required on title documents, such as the home's address and identification number.

Maddy summaryAB 5 requires Wisconsin school boards to make textbooks, curricula, and instructional materials available for inspection by school district residents. School boards must post a list of adopted textbooks on their website and provide access to these materials within 14 days of a written request at no cost. The bill mandates that school boards establish procedures to ensure timely access to materials, while clarifying that this does not infringe on copyright law or override existing resident rights to access school records under other statutes. This directly affects school district residents (including parents and community members) and school boards in Wisconsin.

Maddy summaryAB 39 requires most Wisconsin state employees to work at their agency's office for at least 80% of their regularly scheduled work hours each month. This applies to all state agencies, including departments and boards, but excludes employees whose duties were performed off-site before March 1, 2020, and staff from the investment board. The law mandates in-office work during standard hours, with exceptions for pre-pandemic remote work patterns. It takes effect on December 31, 2025, and does not apply to legislative or judicial staff.