Sen. Mark Spreitzer

Maddy summaryThis bill establishes a pilot grant program to help smaller dairy farms improve their operations and resilience. It provides up to $1.5 million in annual funding for grants aimed at dairy producers with fewer than 1,000 milking cows. The program allows the Department of Agriculture to create rules for administering grants that support projects enhancing operational efficiency and farm resilience. The legislation also authorizes the department to make rules necessary to manage the program and includes the funding appropriation in the 2026 budget schedule.

Maddy summaryThis bill updates the legal definition of a political action committee for campaign finance purposes in the state statutes. It specifies that a group qualifies as a PAC if it spends more than $1,000 in a 12-month period on express advocacy, referendum support or opposition, or contributions to candidates, legislative committees, or political parties. The definition explicitly excludes fundraising and administrative expenses from the spending calculation. This change affects how organizations are classified and regulated under campaign finance laws without altering existing spending limits or reporting requirements.

Maddy summaryThis bill creates a special enrollment period for pregnant individuals in Wisconsin health insurance plans, allowing them to sign up for coverage at any time during their pregnancy rather than waiting for an open enrollment window. It directly affects health benefit plans, self-insured plans, and nonprofit cooperative health plans that operate under state insurance regulations. The key provision requires plans to cover pregnant individuals and their dependents starting from the first day of the month in which medical verification of pregnancy is received, with plans also required to notify enrollees about this option when first offered coverage. The bill applies to policies and plans beginning on January 1 of the year following its effective date, with special provisions for collective bargaining agreements.

Maddy summaryThis bill would allow local governments in Wisconsin to create rules governing how landlords and tenants handle lease renewals and property showings. It enables cities, villages, towns, and counties to require landlords to make good faith offers to renew leases unless there is a valid reason not to, and to set standards for determining what counts as valid reasons. The legislation also permits local ordinances to regulate when landlords can show properties to new tenants and to establish penalties for violations, including requiring relocation assistance for affected tenants. Additionally, the bill ensures that these local rules cannot be overridden by individual lease agreements.

Maddy summaryThis bill creates a sales and use tax exemption for breast pumps, breast pump kits, and specific collection and storage supplies used during breastfeeding. It defines breast pumps to include the device and its power components, and specifies which supplies qualify for the exemption while excluding items like nursing bras, cleaning supplies, and non-specific bottles. The exemption applies to purchases made within the state and removes the requirement for sellers to obtain exemption certificates for these items. The tax exemption is set to expire on June 30, 2027, and the law takes effect on the first day of the third month after publication.

Maddy summaryThis bill requires political committees and candidates to report the name and address of the principal place of employment for individual contributors who donate more than $100 in a calendar year, down from the previous $200 threshold. The change applies to contributions made to candidate committees, political parties, legislative campaign committees, political action committees, independent expenditure committees, recipient committees, referendum committees, and recall committees. By lowering the reporting threshold, the bill expands the number of donors whose employment information must be publicly disclosed in campaign finance records. The legislation directly affects political organizations and committees that collect and report contribution data to state election authorities.

Maddy summaryThis bill would allow corporations, cooperatives, labor organizations, and federally recognized American Indian Tribes to contribute up to $12,000 per year to political segregated funds, while maintaining a ban on contributions to other types of political committees. The law applies to both foreign and domestic entities and specifically permits these groups to support candidates through segregated funds, which are different from independent expenditure or referendum committees. The provision is designed to clarify and codify existing rules about political contributions from these specific types of organizations.

Maddy summaryThis bill amends Wisconsin election laws to clarify how mass communications are defined and regulated in relation to political campaign spending. It creates new definitions for "mass distribution," "mass electronic communication," and "mass telephoning," each requiring 500 or more substantially identical messages, while excluding bona fide polls from these definitions. The legislation updates rules on when independent groups must report coordinated spending by clarifying that coordination occurs when a candidate or their party has control over or engages in substantial discussions about the content, timing, or other details of the communication. Additionally, it prohibits certain mass communications that reference clearly identified candidates during the 60-day period before an election if they are coordinated with the candidate or their party in violation of contribution limits.

Maddy summaryThis bill creates new authority for the Wisconsin attorney general to investigate and sue individuals or entities for civil rights violations in housing, employment, education, and public accommodations. It allows the attorney general to conduct investigations requiring sworn statements, access to documents, and subpoenas when there is reasonable cause to believe a pattern of rights violations or a denial of rights with public importance has occurred. If violations are found, courts can order injunctive relief, award damages, and impose civil forfeiture penalties of up to $50,000 for first violations or $100,000 for subsequent violations within seven years. The bill also permits the attorney general to accept voluntary compliance agreements instead of pursuing litigation, though violations of such agreements remain subject to penalties.

Maddy summaryThis bill establishes a state goal to achieve 100 percent clean electricity and net zero carbon emissions by 2050, creating a new Office of Sustainability and Clean Energy to oversee implementation. It sets specific milestones requiring the state to reach at least 50 percent carbon-free electricity by 2030, 65 percent by 2035, 80 percent by 2040, 90 percent by 2045, and full carbon-free status by 2050. The legislation also directs the state to develop a detailed decarbonization roadmap using sector-based modeling and provides funding for technology needed to meet these targets. Additionally, the bill clarifies definitions for renewable and carbon-free resources and includes provisions for agencies to consider technical feasibility and cost-effectiveness when meeting these energy standards.