2025 - 2026 LEGISLATURE
LRBb0732/1
ALL:all
ASSEMBLY AMENDMENT 15,
TO ASSEMBLY SUBSTITUTE AMENDMENT 2,
TO ASSEMBLY BILL 50
July 2, 2025 - Offered by Representatives Emerson, Anderson, Andraca, Arney, Bare, Billings, Brown, Cruz, DeSanto, DeSmidt, Doyle, Fitzgerald, Goodwin, Haywood, Hong, Hysell, J. Jacobson, Joers, Johnson, Kirsch, Madison, Mayadev, McCarville, McGuire, Miresse, Moore Omokunde, Neubauer, Palmeri, Phelps, Prado, Rivera-Wagner, Roe, Sheehan, Sinicki, Snodgrass, Spaude, Stroud, Stubbs, Subeck, Taylor, Tenorio, Udell and Vining.
AB50-ASA2-AA15,1,5415.145 (title) Same; attached boards, commissions, and councils, and 5offices. AB50-ASA2-AA15,2,2715.145 (7) Office of the ombudsperson for corrections. There is created 8an office of the ombudsperson for corrections, attached to the department of 9corrections under s. 15.03. The office shall be under the direction and supervision 10of an ombudsperson who shall be nominated by the governor, with the advice and
1consent of three-fourths of members elected to the senate appointed, and may be 2removed only by the governor for just cause. AB50-ASA2-AA15,33Section 3. 20.005 (3) (schedule) of the statutes: at the appropriate place, 4insert the following amounts for the purposes indicated: AB50-ASA2-AA15,2,161420.410 (4) Office of the ombudsperson for corrections. (a) General 15program operations. The amounts in the schedule for the general program 16operations of the office of the ombudsperson for corrections. AB50-ASA2-AA15,2,1817(i) Gifts and grants. All moneys received from gifts and grants to carry out the 18purposes for which made. AB50-ASA2-AA15,2,2019(k) Interagency and intra-agency assistance. All moneys received from the 20department or any other state agency to carry out the purposes for which received. AB50-ASA2-AA15,2,2221(m) Federal aid. All moneys received as federal aid as authorized by the 22governor under s. 16.54 to carry out the purposes for which received. AB50-ASA2-AA15,3,3220.923 (6) (bn) Corrections, department of: ombudsperson of the office of the 3ombudsperson for corrections. AB50-ASA2-AA15,3,65230.08 (2) (ym) The ombudsperson of the office of the ombudsperson for 6corrections. AB50-ASA2-AA15,3,98301.55 Office of the ombudsperson for corrections. (1) Definitions. 9In this section: AB50-ASA2-AA15,3,1010(a) “Office” means the office of the ombudsperson for corrections. AB50-ASA2-AA15,3,1111(b) “Ombudsperson” means the ombudsperson of the office. AB50-ASA2-AA15,3,1712(2) Staff. The ombudsperson may appoint, in the classified service, one 13deputy ombudsperson of the office, and employees for the office to complete the 14ombudsperson’s duties described under this section. The ombudsperson may 15delegate to the deputy ombudsperson or other employees of the office any of the 16ombudsperson’s authority or duties except those described under subs. (5) (b) and 17(7) (b). AB50-ASA2-AA15,3,1818(3) Powers. The ombudsperson may do all of the following: AB50-ASA2-AA15,3,2019(a) Investigate, upon a complaint or upon personal initiative, any matter 20described under sub. (4). AB50-ASA2-AA15,3,2121(b) Determine the scope and manner of investigations to be made. AB50-ASA2-AA15,3,2322(c) Enter and inspect, at any time, premises within the control of the 23department. AB50-ASA2-AA15,4,424(d) Examine records and documents in the possession of the department,
1including corrections and detention data and medical data maintained by the 2department and classified as private or confidential data on individuals when 3access to the data is necessary for the ombudsperson to perform the powers 4authorized under this subsection. AB50-ASA2-AA15,4,65(e) Subpoena witnesses and the production of books, papers, records, and 6documents material to an investigation conducted by the office. AB50-ASA2-AA15,4,87(f) Attend any proceedings and deliberations relating to the granting or 8revocation of parole, extended supervision, or probation. AB50-ASA2-AA15,4,99(4) Investigations. The ombudsperson may investigate any of the following: AB50-ASA2-AA15,4,1110(a) Complaints regarding state correctional institutions and abuse, unfair 11acts, and violations of rights of prisoners and juveniles. AB50-ASA2-AA15,4,1212(b) The policies or practices of the department. AB50-ASA2-AA15,4,1313(c) Any action by the department that may be contrary to law or rule. AB50-ASA2-AA15,4,1614(d) Any other action by the department that has been alleged to be 15unreasonable, unfair, oppressive, or inconsistent with any policy or judgment of the 16department. AB50-ASA2-AA15,4,1817(e) Procedures and practices that may lessen the risk that objectionable 18actions by the department may occur in the future. AB50-ASA2-AA15,5,219(5) Complaints. (a) The ombudsperson shall create a complaint form and 20provide sufficient blank copies of the form and self-sealing envelopes to state 21correctional institutions for distribution to prisoners and juveniles. Blank copies of 22the form and self-sealing envelopes shall be placed in locations where prisoners and 23juveniles regularly visit, such as a common area or library, and shall be provided
1upon request to a prisoner or juvenile. The department shall also make the form 2available on its website. AB50-ASA2-AA15,5,63(b) An operator of a state correctional institution shall immediately forward a 4complaint form described under par. (a) that has been completed by a prisoner or 5juvenile to the office. No individual other than an authorized employee of the office 6may open an envelope that contains a complaint form. AB50-ASA2-AA15,5,107(c) The ombudsperson shall review each complaint form received under par. 8(b) and determine whether to make a recommendation regarding the complaint 9directly to the state correctional institution where the prisoner or juvenile is 10housed, the governor, the legislature, or other party, or make no recommendation. AB50-ASA2-AA15,5,2011(d) No operator of a state correctional institution may open and preview or 12screen mail addressed from the office to a prisoner or juvenile residing at the state 13correctional institution unless the operator has reason to believe that the mail 14contains contraband or is not a document from the office. If the operator has reason 15to believe that the mail contains contraband or is not a document from the office, 16the operator may open and inspect the mail in the presence of the prisoner or 17juvenile to whom it was addressed, but may inspect the document only to the extent 18necessary to determine whether it contains contraband or is not a document from 19the office. The operator may read the mail only if, after inspection, the operator has 20reason to believe it not a document from the office. AB50-ASA2-AA15,6,221(6) Disclosures. Information in the possession of the office that relates to a 22client, complaint, or investigation of the office may be disclosed only at the 23discretion of the ombudsperson or his or her designated representative. A 24disclosure of information under this subsection relating to a client, named witness,
1or a prisoner or juvenile who is not a client may be made only if one of the following 2applies: AB50-ASA2-AA15,6,43(a) The disclosure is authorized in writing by the client, named witness, 4prisoner, or juvenile or his or her legal guardian, if applicable. AB50-ASA2-AA15,6,65(b) The disclosure is made pursuant to a lawful order of a court of competent 6jurisdiction. AB50-ASA2-AA15,6,137(7) Reports. (a) If the ombudsperson determines to make a recommendation 8under sub. (5) (c) directly to the state correctional institution where the prisoner or 9juvenile is housed, the warden or superintendent of the state correctional 10institution shall respond within 30 days. The warden or superintendent shall 11include in the response what actions the warden or superintendent is taking as a 12result of the recommendations of the ombudsperson and why the warden or 13superintendent is taking those actions or not taking actions. AB50-ASA2-AA15,6,1614(b) If the ombudsperson has reason to believe that any public official or 15employee has acted in a manner warranting criminal or disciplinary proceedings, 16the ombudsperson may refer the matter to the appropriate authorities. AB50-ASA2-AA15,6,1817(c) The ombudsperson shall, at the request of the governor at any time, report 18to the governor on any matter over which the ombudsperson has authority. AB50-ASA2-AA15,6,2419(d) On or before December 31 of each year, the ombudsperson shall submit to 20the governor, the chief clerk of each house of the legislature for distribution to the 21legislature under s. 13.172 (2), and the secretary of corrections a report of the 22ombudsperson’s findings and recommendations for improvements to policies and 23practices at state correctional institutions and the results of the ombudsperson’s 24investigations conducted under sub. (4). AB50-ASA2-AA15,7,72(1) Position authority for the office of the ombudsperson for 3corrections. On the effective date of this subsection, the authorized FTE 4positions for the department of corrections are increased by 11.0 GPR positions, to 5be funded from the appropriation under s. 20.410 (4) (a), to provide one 6ombudsperson for corrections and 10 program and policy chief positions for the 7office of the ombudsperson for corrections.”. AB50-ASA2-AA15,7,1310100.2091 Broadband; discrimination prohibited. (1) No broadband 11service provider may deny access to broadband service to any group of potential 12residential customers because of the race or income of the residents in the area in 13which the group resides. AB50-ASA2-AA15,7,1814(2) It is a defense to an alleged violation of sub. (1) based on income if, no later 15than 3 years after the date on which the broadband service provider began 16providing broadband service in this state, at least 30 percent of the households with 17access to the broadband service provider’s broadband service in the area in which a 18group of potential residential customers resides are low-income households.