Rep. Tip McGuire

Maddy summaryAB 1055 creates a grant program to fund crime victim protective services, including temporary housing, for law enforcement agencies and prosecutors' offices. It allocates $2,572,900 for the 2025-26 fiscal year (with $2,574,100 for 2026-27) from the Justice Department's budget. The Department of Justice will administer the program, developing grant criteria without needing formal rulemaking, and will add one full-time staff position to manage it. This bill directly affects agencies providing support to individuals who have been victims of crime.

Maddy summaryAB 1056 is a comprehensive rewrite of Wisconsin's criminal justice laws that creates new funding streams for community policing ($10 million), officer recruitment/retention ($5 million), and violence prevention ($5 million). The bill reorganizes legal provisions related to firearm transfers, domestic violence, sexual assault, hate crimes reporting, and victim services, while establishing specific funding amounts for the address confidentiality program ($180,200). It modifies reimbursement processes for counties providing victim-witness services and creates new alternatives to prosecution for individuals with substance use disorders. The legislation directly affects law enforcement agencies, victims' services providers, and individuals seeking substance use treatment instead of traditional criminal prosecution.

Maddy summaryAB 859 adjusts the state reimbursement rate for special education and school-age parent program costs. It sets the reimbursement rate at 42% of eligible costs for the 2025-26 school year, increasing to 45% for the 2026-27 school year and all subsequent years. The bill applies to costs covered under sections 115.88(1m)-(3), (6), (8), 115.93, and 118.255(4), which include services for students in hospitals, convalescent homes, and school programs. This change directly affects school districts and programs providing these services by altering the state's financial contribution toward their expenses. The bill amends statutes to ensure state funds are distributed according to these revised percentages.

Maddy summaryAB 797 creates a $2.5 million grant program to help counties, cities, and towns test privately owned wells for water quality and map well locations. It provides up to $10,000 per grant for well testing, groundwater assessment, and geologic studies, plus separate grants for county health departments to offer well-testing education. The bill also requires municipalities with private wells to inform residents about testing importance and exempts the department from standard emergency rule procedures for implementing this program. The law appropriates funds for fiscal years 2025-26 and 2026-27 to support these concrete actions.

Maddy summaryAB 812 amends a state statute to allow up to 50% of a tax incremental district's area in the Village of Somers to be used for residential development, increasing the previous limit from 35%. This change directly affects developers, planners, and property owners within Somers' designated tax increment districts by expanding permissible residential use. The bill modifies the statutory definition of "mixed-use development" to specify this higher residential percentage only for districts in Somers, while maintaining the 35% limit elsewhere in the state.

Maddy summaryAB 62 establishes a Prescription Drug Affordability Review Board to address prescription drug costs. The board, with members representing pharmaceutical companies, health insurers, healthcare providers, and the public, must meet quarterly and avoid conflicts of interest. Key provisions include creating a $500,000 annual grant program for healthcare providers to develop tools showing patients the cost of prescriptions (Section 601.415), launching a diabetes medication pilot project (Section 601.41), and repealing a section requiring copayments for certain Medicaid services (Section 7). This bill directly affects insurers, pharmacies, drug manufacturers, and healthcare providers who must disclose drug costs to patients.

Maddy summaryAB 48 creates a state program to reimburse public and private schools for the cost of providing free meals to all students, including lunch and breakfast. Schools must participate in federal meal programs and offer free meals to every student without charge. The state will pay schools an amount equal to the federal reimbursement rate for free meals (minus any federal funds received), based on meals served in the prior school year. This applies to public, private, charter, tribal, and specialized schools meeting eligibility requirements.

Maddy summaryAB 52 expands the homestead income tax credit for homeowners with low to moderate income. It establishes new income-based limits: households earning $8,060 or less get credit covering 80% of property taxes, while higher earners get credit on taxes exceeding 5.614% of income over $8,060. The credit is unavailable if household income exceeds $35,000. The law also adds automatic inflation adjustments to these thresholds starting in 2026.

Maddy summaryAB 125 designates February 18 as a special observance day in Wisconsin public schools to honor Vel R. Phillips' birthday. The bill adds this date to school calendar requirements, directing schools to recognize Vel R. Phillips' contributions during the school year following the law's effective date. This applies directly to all Wisconsin public schools.

Maddy summaryAssembly Joint Resolution 19 honors April 22, 2025, as the 55th anniversary of Earth Day, an event founded by U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin. The resolution encourages Wisconsinites to continue actions to preserve the environment.