State Assembly Votes To Loosen Child Labor Laws, Notify Women Of Dense Breast Tissue

The Wisconsin Assembly kicked off the 2018 Legislative season with a floor session Tuesday.

Assembly Republicans promised to move quickly on a host of bills before the two-year legislative session wraps up. At a news conference prior to the session, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, and Senate Majority Leader Jim Steineke, R-Juneau, and a number of other GOP representatives outlined the party’s priorities.

The top item on the chamber’s calendar was a resolution that would require all Assembly members and employees to attend sexual harassment training — which passed unanimously Tuesday.

They also hope to pass a bill that would boost aid for rural and low-spending school districts, approve $6.8 million for an ad campaign to attract young people to Wisconsin, pass a bill promoting apprenticeships, and pass 13 bills to overhaul the state’s foster care system. A commission studying how to overhaul school funding also will continue its work over the next few weeks.

Child Labor

During the session the state Assembly passed a Republican bill that would further loosen child labor restrictions.

The bill would allow minors to work in businesses owned in whole or in part by their parents or guardians without a child work permit. The bill doesn’t change current limitations on when minors can work or how long, minimum wage requirements or restrictions on hazardous employment.

The Assembly approved the bill on a voice vote Tuesday.

The Senate approved the bill in October. The measure now goes to Gov. Scott Walker for his signature.

Walker signed a bill in June that eliminated work permits for 16- and 17-year-olds, ending a century-old requirement that teenagers obtain a parent’s signature and permit to work.

Breast Cancer Screenings

The Assembly also approved a bill that would require mammogram providers to notify women if they have dense breast tissue.

The bipartisan measure’s supporters say that information will help them make better health choices since it’s more difficult to detect cancerous tumors in women with dense breast tissue.

The bill requires providers to give women a notice explaining that they have what is known as “dark tissue” and they can talk with their doctor about whether they need additional cancer screening

The measure is co-sponsored by Sen. Alberta Darling, R-River Hills, a breast cancer survivor. She said the notice will ensure that women in Wisconsin can begin detecting breast cancer as early as possible

The Assembly approved the bill on a voice vote Tuesday. It goes next to the state Senate.

The Assembly also delayed a vote on the proposed “catfishing” bill, siting a “technical concern.”

During the news conference prior to the floor session, Vos said he wants the Assembly to finish its work by the end of February. Steineke said Republicans plan to move aggressively, adding the chamber will convene next week as well as three or four times in February.