Greetings, Neighbors!
I want to share with you about the 18 great bills we had signed in March. Many of them were focused on protecting our most vulnerable: our children and victims.
The governor signed into law our bill to make virtual/AI child porn illegal, as well as our bill to prohibit the manufacturing and possession of sex dolls that resemble a minor in our state. Growing technology has been opening doors for those who prey upon our children to find new ways to satisfy their impulses. We will always take a stand against activities that put our children at risk for abuse.
We also celebrated the signing of our legislation that will allow children involved in human trafficking cases to testify outside of the courtroom. When a child has to publicly testify against their accuser, they can often face fear and intimidation. We hope this will protect young witnesses' safety and mental health. Additionally, we secured $10 million for crime victim services after an important source of federal funding dried up. This will allow those who have experienced extremely traumatic events to get resources from domestic abuse, sexual assault, and child advocacy centers in Wisconsin.
Our bill to make xylazine testing strips legal was also signed. Xylazine is an animal tranquilizer that does not respond to Naloxone (Narcan), and has been increasingly seen in overdose deaths. Testing strips are a cheap and effective way to test for the presence of this drug, and we passed similar legislation for fentanyl testing strips in 2021. We lost over 1,400 lives to opioid-related deaths last year in our state. We are doing everything we can to turn the tide on the opioid epidemic.
Speaking of fentanyl, many of you probably saw that a baggie found in a Chi-Hi bathroom tested positive for fentanyl. Whenever I am at any event I try to share about how a small amount (the tip of a pencil) of this drug can kill you, whether in powder or "fake pill" form. I encourage parents to talk to their kids about this and to teach them to never take a pill from someone else or pick up suspicious powdery substances. This is why I authored legislation to get Narcan into our schools (another bill we saw signed this month). It's a matter of life and death.
Stay tuned for part two, where we will talk more about protecting kids, mental health, and our law enforcement. Thank you for partnering with us in the great work we are getting done.
Sen. Jesse James
senjessejames@legis.wisconsin.gov
