From WisPolitics.com/WisBusiness.com …
— Gov. Tony Evers today vetoed five bills aimed at the state’s LGBTQ community, including two with implications for the medical field.
The Dem guv vetoed the bills in honor of International Transgender Day of Visibility. In a statement, Evers noted his vow to oppose legislation that makes the state less safe, inclusive and welcoming for LGBTQ Wisconsinites.
“This type of legislation stirs harmful rhetoric, negatively affects Wisconsinites’ and kids’ mental health, emboldens anti-LGBTQ harassment, bullying, and violence, and threatens the safety and dignity of LGBTQ Wisconsinites, especially our trans and nonbinary kids,” Evers said. “Especially in the wake of continued attacks against LGBTQ communities, particularly targeting the trans community, our work to fight this hatred and bigotry is more important than ever. I’m proud to stand with LGBTQ kids and Wisconsinites today and every day.”
The bills Evers rejected today include:
- AB 104, which would ban medical intervention on minors to change their biological sex. The bill includes exemptions such as a procedure to address a medically verifiable genetic disorder or sex development.
- SB 405, to allow those who underwent a gender transition procedure before turning 18 to sue if it caused them physical, psychological, or emotional injuries.
“Healthcare providers should be trusted to provide medically appropriate and accurate information, treatment, and care for their patients without the unnecessary political interference of politicians,” Evers wrote in veto messages on AB 104 and SB 405. “Gender-affirming care is recognized by most major medical associations as the evidence-based treatment for transgender and gender-nonconforming youth with gender dysphoria.”
Rep. Amanda Nedweski, who co-authored SB 405, said Evers chose to “stand with a multi-billion-dollar industry profiting off irreversible procedures on minors.”
“For years, the gender medicine industry has operated with virtually no accountability,” the Pleasant Prairie Republican said. “If a doctor makes a mistake during a routine procedure, patients can sue. But when a child is permanently harmed by life-altering hormones or surgeries, families are left without recourse. That’s wrong — and Governor Evers just ensured it continues.”
Fair Wisconsin Executive Director Abigail Swetz thanked Evers for nixing the five bills.
“These bills were always about more than health care, or the makeup of a sports team, or the use of pronouns in a classroom — they were about excluding trans people from public life, and we cannot allow that, especially when our trans community is being attacked by so many levels of government,” Swetz said.
See details on all five vetoed bills in the release below.
— Evers has signed into law dozens of changes to worker’s compensation in the state, from expanding PTSD coverage for some first responders to boosting certain disability benefit rates.
The Dem guv yesterday signed AB 651 at the Wisconsin State Council of Machinists Annual Conference, his office announced. The legislation was developed with recommendations from the Workers Compensation Advisory Council, the release notes.
In a statement on the bill signing, Evers noted the state’s “proud history” of ensuring workers are treated with dignity and respect.
“Today, we’re proving that we’re more committed to that legacy than ever, and I want to thank all the bipartisan partners for their support and advocacy to come to good faith agreements and get this done,” he said.
The newly enacted law includes various changes to claims and payments under the state’s worker’s comp system, such as boosting the maximum weekly compensation rate for permanent partial disability from $446 to $454 for injuries before Jan. 1, 2027, and to $462 for injuries on or after that date.
It also expands the list of injuries for which there’s no statute of limitations on bringing claims under worker’s compensation, adding traumatic injuries that cause the need for a shoulder replacement or reverse shoulder replacement.
Another provision bars health care providers from restricting an employer’s or insurer’s case management personnel from accessing records or participating in discharge planning for an injured worker that’s been hospitalized.
Yet another provision extends worker’s comp PTSD coverage eligibility to emergency medical responders, emergency medical services practitioners, and volunteer or part-time firefighters, using the same standards currently in place for full-time firefighters and law enforcement.
Sen. Andre Jacque, R-New Franken, touted the law’s passage, noting he proposed the extended PTSD coverage at the start of the session before it was wrapped into the broader WCAC package.
“Extending PTSD coverage is an issue of fairness,” Jacque said yesterday in a statement. “Community heroes who have given so much of themselves and need healing because of their service deserve our support, and I am excited to see this critical care extended to those to whom we owe a huge debt of gratitude.”
See the full story.
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