Senate OKs bill to require Lincoln Hills guards to report abuse

MADISON - Taking their first step to address problems at Wisconsin’s juvenile prison complex, state senators on Tuesday approved a bill that would require correctional officers to report suspected child abuse and neglect to law enforcement.

“No one would say this is the finish line, but it’s a good step,” Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele said in an interview.

The legislation, Senate Bill 35, passed on a voice vote with no one showing opposition. It now goes to the Assembly, which like the Senate is controlled by Republicans.

The bill on prison guards was the first legislative response to a criminal investigation of Lincoln Hills School for Boys and Copper Lake School for Girls. The probe, now headed by the FBI, began two years ago and is focused on prisoner abuse, child neglect, excessive use of pepper spray and other potential crimes.

Under the bill, juvenile guards — or youth counselors, as they are known at Lincoln Hills — would become mandated reporters, just as doctors, teachers and day care providers are.

“For those incidents to go on for so long and to be so egregious never should have happened,” said Sen. LaTonya Johnson (D-Milwaukee), a sponsor of the bill.

In other legislative business:

State treasurer. Senate Republicans voted to eliminate the position of state treasurer, saying the job was a waste of taxpayer resources because it has so few duties.

“The office no longer serves a purpose,” said Sen. Dan Feyen (R-Fond du Lac), one of the proposal’s sponsors.

The measure, Senate Joint Resolution 3, now goes to the Assembly. If approved there as expected, it would go to voters to decide in an April 2018 referendum.

The proposal passed 18-15, with GOP Sens. Sheila Harsdorf of River Falls and Chris Kapenga of Delafield joining all Democrats to oppose the measure.

The state treasurer has been stripped of most duties over recent decades, but opponents have struggled to eliminate the job outright because it requires changing the state constitution.

The treasurer, along with the attorney general and secretary of state, sits on the Board of Commissioners of Public Lands, which makes loans to local governments. Under the proposal, the lieutenant governor would replace the treasurer on the board.

Concealed weapons. On a voice vote, the Senate approved Senate Bill 7 , which would ensure concealed weapons permits are good for five years.

Now, when someone renews a permit early, it is good for five years from the date it is issued — meaning the owner doesn’t get a full five years of use from the original permit. The bill now goes to the Assembly.

Cannabis oil. Also Tuesday, the Assembly unanimously passed Senate Bill 10, which would increase access to a drug derived from marijuana that is used to treat children with crippling seizures.

Last month, the measure passed the Senate on a 31-1 vote, with just Sen. Duey Stroebel (R-Saukville) opposing it, and the bill now goes to Gov. Scott Walker.

In 2014, legislators and Walker approved legislation to allow families to obtain cannabidiol oil, or CBD oil, in limited cases to treat a patient. But the conditions have proved so restrictive that families and physicians have been unable to make use of it.

“For some, it’s been too late. But that’s why it’s so important to get this bill done,” said Rep. Scott Krug (R-Nekoosa), a sponsor of the bill.

The latest legislation would allow families to possess CBD oil for any medical condition if approved by a physician on a yearly basis. Under normal circumstances, the oil won’t make users high because it’s extremely low in THC.

Rep. Jill Billings (D-La Crosse) said the bill should go further, since it would let families possess the oils but technically they are still breaking the law when ordering them.

Right to try. If their doctor backs it, certain terminally ill patients would be able to try treatments that have not received full approval from the federal Food and Drug Administration, under Assembly Bill 69.

The Assembly passed the bill on a vote of 85-13, and it now goes to the Senate.

The Wisconsin Medical Society opposes the bill.

The group says medicine should be fully vetted in clinical trials to avoid problems and to ensure that those clinical trials can get new cures to all patients.