Capitol Update

HCAPITOL UPDATE

NATALIE WHITE Communications Director

Happy New Year! While most of us are looking forward towards a new year and a fresh start on our new (or old) resolutions, at the Capitol it is time to finish up old business and tie up loose ends. Committees are moving bills along and legislators are working hard to push their bills to the finish line before campaign season starts in Spring. As mentioned in the last issue, the PIAbacked raze order reform legislation and NAIC travel insurance legislation were both passed by the Legislature. Both bills were recently signed into law by Governor Evers, solidifying another successful legislative effort for PIA. Another insurance bill, Senate Bill 588, was recently signed into law as Wisconsin Act 114. This law makes a variety of technical changes that were requested by the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance, based upon insights they have gained since last session. Most of these changes were inspired by issues that arose during the pandemic, such as addressing open meeting law requirements for virtual meetings. Despite the end of session on the horizon, new bills continue to come forward and PIA continues to keep our eyes peeled for issues of interest. Assembly Bill 737 was recently introduced by Representative Adam Neylon (R – Pewaukee) and Senator Rob Stafsholt (R – New Richmond). This bill is based on an NAIC model law regulating insurance in the peer-to-peer car sharing industry. With peer-to-peer car sharing applications already in use in Wisconsin, this legislation would outline liability and responsibilities for the car sharing program. It would also require insurance on participating vehicles and operators and allow carriers to exclude coverage for vehicles participating in sharing programs. The PIAW Legislative Committee is supportive, believing that it is important to ensure coverage exists at all times on shared vehicles, and laying out which party’s coverage is primary at which times.

Another bill of interest is Senate Bill 703, which was introduced by Senator Rob Cowles (R – Green Bay) and Representative John Spiros (R- Marshfield). This bill would allow for motor carriers with independent contractors to install safetyimprovement devices to their vehicles – without the independent contractor becoming classified as an employee of the carrier. Essentially, the bill would state in law that a motor carrier’s pursuit of safety improvements is not considered to be part of any test for determining a worker’s status under state law. PIA is continuing to monitor all bills introduced, watching for those of interest to agents, the insurance industry, and small businesses.

“Redistricting” continues to be a buzz word in Wisconsin politics, as the map-drawing process continues. State government looks much different than the last time redistricting occurred (following the 2010 U.S. Census), in 2011. At that time, Republicans controlled both the Legislative and Executive branches and controlled the process from start to end.

With Democratic Governor Tony Evers able to veto the maps Republican lawmakers passed, in the currently-split government, the process has been much more contentious. With no consensus by the Executive and Legislative branches, map-drawing has to be done by the courts. On November 30th, the Wisconsin Supreme Court issued a majority opinion that maps with minimal changes to current maps would be desirable. This opinion foreshadows new state and federal districts that are largely unchanged from the districts passed by Republicans in 2011. This would be a substantial victory for the GOP and would be one impacting election outcomes for the next ten years. More will become clear in the next few months, as the state Supreme Court is expected to hear oral arguments on January 15, 2022 and issue their ruling with new maps in March.

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