Sen. Steve Nass

Maddy summarySB 357 establishes English as the official state language and requires all state agencies and local governments to conduct oral and written communications in English, with limited exceptions (e.g., health/safety, legal proceedings, or census work). The bill allows government entities to use AI or machine translation tools instead of hiring human interpreters for individuals with language barriers. It prohibits state or local governments from restricting people’s ability to learn or use any language for private, non-governmental purposes. The law applies to all state agencies, cities, counties, and school districts, but does not affect federal requirements or private business practices.

Maddy summarySB 383 requires hospitals to publish clear pricing information for "shoppable services" (like surgeries and imaging) in a machine-readable format, including standard charges, negotiated rates with insurers, and discounted cash prices. This applies to all hospitals not specifically exempted (e.g., psychiatric or correctional facilities) and aims to help patients compare costs before receiving care. The bill also includes restrictions on certain aggressive debt collection practices against patients and establishes penalties for noncompliance with transparency requirements.

Maddy summarySB 219 limits foreign-owned entities from owning more than 50 acres of agricultural land in the state, targeting corporations, trusts, or partnerships with over 25% foreign ownership. It also prohibits foreign-owned entities from owning real property within 10 miles of military installations, with exceptions for inheritance, treaty rights, and agricultural research leases. Owners exceeding these limits must sell excess land within three years, and violations result in land forfeiture to the state. The bill affects foreign investors, corporations, and trusts holding agricultural land or property near military bases, aiming to restrict foreign control of sensitive land uses.

Maddy summarySB 384 requires health care providers to provide the same standard of care and immediate hospital transport for any child born alive after an abortion or attempted abortion, as they would for any newborn of the same gestational age. Violating these requirements is a Class H felony, but the mother cannot be prosecuted for the incident. The bill also allows affected women to seek triple the cost of the abortion as civil damages, plus attorney fees, while protecting their identity through court confidentiality orders. It explicitly states the law does not create or recognize a right to abortion.

Maddy summarySB 75 creates a process for randomly assigning court venue in lawsuits where a government entity (such as a state official, agency, or legislative body) is a party. If filed in a first or second-class city, any party can request this random assignment within 5 days of filing or service, triggering a clerk to randomly select another circuit court. Once assigned, the venue is final and cannot be changed, and a fee applies for this option. The bill directly affects lawsuits involving government defendants or intervenors in specific cities, altering standard venue rules for these cases.

Maddy summarySenate Bill 123 amends sections of the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) related to investment securities, affecting securities intermediaries, investors (entitlement holders), and their creditors. The bill clarifies that financial assets held by a securities intermediary for investors are generally not considered the intermediary's property and are protected from the intermediary's creditors. It also establishes that, in most situations, the claims of investors have priority over the claims of a securities intermediary's creditors for the same financial asset. Additionally, the bill modifies provisions concerning the local law that governs security entitlements.

Maddy summarySB 312 prohibits changing the sex marker on a birth certificate to reflect a person's gender identity. It defines "biological sex" as the sex assigned at birth based on chromosomes, and bans courts from ordering such changes - even after gender-affirming surgery. The bill affects transgender individuals seeking to update their birth certificates to match their gender identity. Key provisions include creating new statutes (69.115, 69.12 (2m)) that prevent sex marker changes and amending existing laws to remove court authority for such updates. The bill does not affect name changes on birth records.

Maddy summarySB 447 requires schools, child care centers, and nursery schools to include clear written information about immunization waiver options in enrollment materials. Specifically, it mandates that these institutions inform families in writing about their right to seek waivers for health, religious, or personal conviction reasons when notifying them of immunization requirements. The bill also requires schools to provide a simple procedure for submitting waiver requests alongside required health forms during enrollment. This directly affects schools and childcare providers by changing their enrollment documentation, and it impacts parents or guardians who may seek waivers for their children.

Maddy summarySB 3 requires local governments to approve certain wind and solar energy projects before the Public Service Commission can review them. This directly affects renewable energy developers seeking to build projects and local municipalities responsible for granting permits. The bill creates a new step where community-level approval must be secured prior to state-level review by the Public Service Commission. This changes the current process by adding a mandatory local consent requirement before state agencies can act on these projects.

Maddy summarySB 206 makes certain terms in Wisconsin residential rental agreements void and unenforceable if they violate specific protections. It directly affects tenants and landlords by prohibiting clauses that allow retaliation for contacting services (e.g., law enforcement or health services), termination due to a tenant being a crime victim, or termination without required notice for crimes on property. Tenants can choose to void their entire lease or sever only the prohibited clause, with remedies including a periodic tenancy (renewable month-to-month) and double damages for financial losses caused by prohibited terms. The bill specifically targets provisions under sections 704.44(1m) to (10) of Wisconsin statutes, creating clear legal pathways for tenants to challenge unfair lease terms.