Sen. Steve Nass

Maddy summarySenate Bill 22 requires school boards to make adopted textbooks, curricula, and instructional materials available for inspection by residents of the school district. Upon a written request, a resident can inspect these materials at a designated location without cost. School boards must fulfill these requests within 14 days and establish procedures to provide access more quickly. The bill also requires school boards to post a list of adopted textbooks on their website. These provisions do not require actions that would infringe on copyright law.

Maddy summarySB 115, as amended, requires the Department of Justice (DOJ) to collect and report specific criminal case data. The bill mandates the DOJ to create an interactive dashboard, starting by January 1, 2026, to display a summary of this data. This dashboard will specifically include arrest charges from the arresting agency and will not contain any personally identifying information for criminal defendants. The goal is to provide accessible, summarized data on criminal cases.

Maddy summarySB 273 allows commercial motor vehicles to use federally approved camera monitor systems instead of traditional mirrors, as permitted under federal regulations. The bill directly affects commercial trucking operators and drivers by providing an alternative to standard mirror requirements (49 CFR 393.80(a)). It requires camera systems to be exempted by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration or approved under federal safety standards. This change modifies state law to align with federal approval processes for such technology.

Maddy summaryThis bill requires parents paying child support or maintenance to notify the county child support agency within 10 business days of income changes (like new jobs, bonuses, or substantial income shifts), and parents receiving support to report remarriage. It clarifies that such notifications alone won’t change existing support orders - they require a formal request for adjustment. The bill also adds privacy protections, allowing parents to redact sensitive information (like Social Security numbers or addresses) from shared documents. Finally, it updates rules for reviewing maintenance payments when a recipient remarries, requiring courts to vacate orders upon proof of remarriage.

Maddy summarySB 365 amends vehicle registration rules to require certain commercial vehicles with dual weight class decals to display them on both the front and rear license plates, as directed by the department. This affects commercial fleet operators whose vehicles require two separate weight class decals. The bill specifies that these decals must be placed on both front and rear plates, rather than just the rear, to improve visibility for law enforcement and other drivers. The change applies to vehicles registered under specific weight classification rules already in place. The bill passed committee unanimously and is now pending final passage.

Maddy summaryThis bill updates eligibility criteria for highways seeking agricultural road improvement grants. It adds a new requirement that an engineering analysis by a licensed professional must confirm a highway cannot safely handle heavy agricultural traffic. Previously, eligibility was based on structural deficiencies or posted weight restrictions. The change directly affects farmers and rural communities relying on specific highways for transporting equipment and crops.

Maddy summarySB 554 bans municipalities from using physical drop boxes or other receptacles for receiving absentee ballots in any election, requiring all absentee ballots to be submitted by mail instead. This bill directly affects local election offices and voters who currently use drop boxes to return absentee ballots. The key provision, added to statute 6.87 (4) (b) 1m., prohibits the use of any physical drop box for voted absentee ballots. It applies to all elections and would eliminate an existing voting method in affected jurisdictions. The bill was introduced on October 17, 2025, and referred to committee.

Maddy summaryThis is a ceremonial resolution (SJR 91) that declares October 2025 and October 2026 as "Breast Cancer Awareness Months" in Wisconsin. It does not create new laws or allocate funds - it is a symbolic gesture to promote public awareness, early detection, and treatment of breast cancer. The resolution cites Wisconsin-specific statistics on breast cancer incidence and mortality to highlight the issue. It directly affects Wisconsin residents by encouraging community-focused awareness efforts during those months.

Maddy summarySB 452 would expand eligibility for Wisconsin's private school choice programs to students whose siblings or younger dependent children (e.g., younger siblings) attended participating private schools the previous year. Currently, only students themselves must have attended such schools to qualify. The bill applies to students in grades K-12 outside city school districts (under Section 118.60) and within cities (under Section 119.23). It would take effect for the 2026-27 school year.

Maddy summarySB 573 amends the legal definition of "bingo" in Wisconsin statutes to explicitly exclude games where participants do not pay to play and prizes are donated (e.g., free cards with donated prizes). This clarification directly affects community and charitable organizations hosting such games, ensuring they are not subject to standard bingo regulations. The bill specifies that "bingo" does not include games with no participant payment, regardless of whether the host covers prize costs. This is a definitional change only, not a new policy or tax. The bill focuses solely on clarifying regulatory boundaries for existing game formats.