Governor Scott Walker signed 11 bills into law yesterday, Monday, July 17, 2017. All of the bills are designed to fight the opioid addiction. Walker toured Wisconsin and signed these bills at 3 different locations. These bills were recommended by the Governor’s Task Force on Opioid Abuse. The Governor’s Task Force on Opioid Abuse was created in September 2016 for the purposes of advising and assisting the Governor in a coordinated effort to combat the opioid crisis facing the State of Wisconsin.
Special Session Assembly Bill 1 – allows school bus drivers, employees, and volunteers as well as college or technical college residence hall directors with proper training to administer an opioid antagonistic, such as naloxone or Narcan, to those who appear to be experiencing an overdose. Authored by Representative John Nygren (R-Marinette) and Senator Leah Vukmir (R-Brookfield), the bill passed the Assembly on a voice vote and was concurred by the Senate with a vote of 32-0. It is Act 29.
Special Session Assembly Bill 2 – increases funding for the Treatment Alternatives and Diversion (TAD) grant program by $2 million annually. It also provides an additional $150,000 each year of the biennium for an expansion of the TAD program and allocates $261,000 annually to create a pilot program for expanded diversion efforts. Authored by Representative John Nygren (R-Marinette) and Senator Scott Fitzgerald (R-Juneau), the bill passed the Assembly with a vote of 97-0 and was concurred by the Senate with a vote of 32-0. It is Act 32.
Special Session Assembly Bill 3 – expands Wisconsin’s “Good Samaritan Law,” which was signed into law in 2014. Current law grants limited immunity to an individual who calls 911 to help a person experiencing an overdose. This legislation extends limited immunity to a person experiencing an overdose. Authored by Representative John Nygren (R-Marinette) and Senator Van Wanggaard (R-Racine), the bill passed the Assembly on a voice vote and was concurred by the Senate with a vote of 32-1. It is Act 33.
Special Session Assembly Bill 4 – requires a prescription for certain Schedule V controlled substances. Under the bill, all Schedule V substances categorized as narcotic drugs containing nonnarcotic active medicinal ingredients require a prescription. In addition to Schedule V controlled substances containing the opioid codeine, this includes Schedule V controlled substances that contain dihydrocodeine, ethylmorphine, diphenoxylate, opium, and difenoxin. Authored by Representative John Nygren (R-Marinette) and Senator Jerry Petrowski (R-Marathon), the bill passed the Assembly on a voice vote and was concurred by the Senate with a vote of 32-0. It is Act 25.
Special Session Assembly Bill 5 – allows people with a drug dependency to be committed under the process for those with alcohol dependency. Under current law, individuals with an alcohol dependency can be more easily involuntarily committed to the county for treatment if approved by a circuit court. This bill adds drug dependency as a criterion to commit people under the alcoholism statute. Authored by Representative John Nygren (R-Marinette) and Senator Alberta Darling (R-River Hills), the bill passed the Assembly with a vote of 97-0 and was concurred by the Senate on a voice vote. It is Act 34.
Special Session Assembly Bill 6 – permits the director of the Office of Educational Opportunity to contract for operation of a recovery charter high school as a four-year pilot project. The recovery charter school would combine academic coursework, therapeutic programming, support, and substance abuse counseling in a school setting for high school students who are recovering from a substance abuse disorder or dependency. Authored by Representative John Nygren (R-Marinette) and Senator Alberta Darling (R-River Hills), the bill passed the Assembly with a vote of 95-2 and was concurred by the Senate with a vote of 32-1. It is Act 30.
Special Session Assembly Bill 7 – allows hospitals to receive grants for addiction medicine or addiction psychiatry specialist residents if they are practicing family medicine, general surgery, pediatrics, psychiatry, or internal medicine and are enrolled in an existing accredited graduate medical training program. Under the bill, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) could award grants to hospitals seeking to develop a new addiction medicine specialty fellowship program. Authored by Representative John Nygren (R-Marinette) and Senator Howard Marklein (R-Spring Green), the bill passed the Assembly with a vote of 97-0 and was concurred by the Senate with a vote of 33-0. It is Act 26.
Special Session Assembly Bill 8 – requires DHS to add two or three more opiate and methamphetamine addiction treatment centers in rural, underserved, or high-need areas. This bill builds upon 2013 Wisconsin Act 195, which required DHS to create two or three regional comprehensive opioid treatment programs in rural, underserved, and high-need areas of the state. Authored by Representative John Nygren (R-Marinette) and Senator Sheila Harsdorf (R-River Falls), the bill passed the Assembly with a vote of 97-0 and was concurred by the Senate with a vote of 33-0. It is Act 27.
Special Session Assembly Bill 9 – requires DHS to establish an addiction medicine consultation program for physicians. DHS would be responsible for requesting and reviewing proposals from organizations to establish the consultation program and would fund a provider or providers that meet the required criteria. Authored by Representative John Nygren (R-Marinette) and Senator Alberta Darling (R-River Hills), the bill passed the Assembly with a vote of 97-0 and was concurred by the Senate with a vote of 33-0. It is Act 28.
Special Session Assembly Bill 10 – allocates four additional positions to be used for drug trafficking, thus improving the ability of the Department of Justice’s Division of Criminal Investigation to conduct drug enforcement operations. The bill also increases funding in the appropriation for law enforcement services general program operations by $420,000 every year of the 2017-19 biennium. Authored by Representative John Nygren (R-Marinette) and Senator Sheila Harsdorf (R-River Falls), the bill passed the Assembly with a vote of 97-0 and was concurred by the Senate with a vote of 33-0. It is Act 35.
Special Session Assembly Bill 11 – requires the Department of Public Instruction to establish a mental health training support program. The program would provide school district and charter school staff with training on Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment, or SBIRT. SBIRT is a public health screening tool and interview model that school staff may utilize to conduct early interventions with students struggling with mental health, alcohol, and drug issues. Authored by Representative John Nygren (R-Marinette) and Senator Jerry Petrowski (R-Marathon), the bill passed the Assembly with a vote of 97-0 and was concurred by the Senate with a vote of 33-0. It is Act 31.
[Bill information provided by the Office of Governor Scott Walker]
Last Update: Jul 18, 2017 12:57 pm CDT
