On Tuesday, the State Senate passed two bills authored by Senator Van Wanggaard (R-Racine), which will have a direct impact on southeastern Wisconsin. The bills, which provide health insurance coverage for the surviving members of police officers killed in the line of duty, and make it easier to develop new wetlands, both passed the Senate unanimously.
“When a police officer loses his or her life in the line of duty, it has many devastating effects on the family and the community,” said Wanggaard. “Making sure the officer’s family doesn’t lose their health insurance coverage is the least we can do. I am so pleased my colleagues have unanimously supported our police officers by adopting Senate Bill 266.”
Another bill that passed the Senate today would incentivize the creation of wetlands and require the new wetlands be developed closer to where existing wetlands were disturbed. This issue is especially important in southeastern Wisconsin, where development frequently requires wetland mitigation, but new wetlands are difficult to develop. In addition to making it easier to develop new wetlands, the bill also requires new wetlands to be in the same area as the disturbed wetland.
“With all our economic growth in southeastern Wisconsin, we need to make sure we take care of our environment, too,” Wanggaard said. “Senate Bill 169 will allow us to develop responsibly, and also protect our vital wetlands.”
Both bills passed the State Senate on 33-0 votes on Tuesday. The Assembly is intending to pass Senate Bill 266 on Thursday, and Senate Bill 169 later this year.