Bills to Watch: Dec. 13-20

AB-138/SB-151

Sanctuary Cities

This bill prohibits a city, village, town or county from enacting or enforcing an ordinance, resolution or policy that prohibits the enforcement of a federal or state law relating to illegal immigrants. The bill would prohibit the development of “sanctuary cities,” or areas where local law enforcement are directed to not cooperate with federal law enforcement on matters of illegal immigration. The bill has a hearing in the Senate Committee On Labor & Regulatory Reform on Dec. 17. 

LRB-4781

Referee Harassment

This bill would increase the penalty for harassing a sports official from a forfeiture to a misdemeanor. The bill is being introduced at the request of Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletics Association and other athletic associations because of the difficulty in recruiting and retaining officials due to unruly and verbally abusive fans. The bill is circulating for co-sponsorship until Dec. 20.

AB-574/SB-617

This bill creates a task force on native pollinator health to study other states’ successful public-education and outreach programs regarding pollinator health, evaluate the effectiveness of pesticide applicator licensing, investigate other states’ methods for gathering data on populations of bees and other pollinating insects, and more. The bill is already in the Assembly and was introduced in the Senate last week.