Nedweski on ‘UpFront’ says grooming bill could be ready for vote early next year

State Rep. Amanda Nedweski, R-Pleasant Prairie, says the new legislation that would define “grooming” in Wisconsin is receiving bipartisan support and could likely be ready for a floor vote by early next year.

“I worked with my Democratic colleague the other day and some suggestions that they have for the bill,” Nedweski told WISN’s “UpFront,” which is produced in conjunction with WisPolitics. “There’s huge bipartisan support, and we have the time to vet out those risks, and I think that we’ll get there.” Nedweski told WISN’s “UpFront,” which is produced in conjunction with WisPolitics-State Affairs. 

The legislation, Nedweski said, had been in the works for some time but was expedited after questions were raised about how the Department of Public Instruction is handling accusations of sexual misconduct or grooming after a recent story in the Capital Times led to legislative hearings.

“Wisconsin does not have a law that criminalizes grooming,” Nedweski said. “And I think it’s tricky because there’s some gray area on what that behavior looks like.”

“States like Florida and Illinois have very strong laws that criminalize the act of grooming,” she added. “And it’s a fairly long definition. I don’t want to read it on the air, but it basically says it adds it to Chapter 948, where the other crimes against children are.”

In the meantime, Nedweski believes she has the votes to pass legislation to require health insurance to cover additional breast cancer screenings for women with dense breast tissue. The measure recently passed the state Senate 32-1.

“This is the first time I’m an author on this bill, and I’m very happy to be a part of this project,” Nedweski said. “I think that the thing that’s different this time around is that so many other states have passed similar legislation, that we now have a lot of data to support that it’s working and that the concerns that some of our members may have had in the past sessions have been addressed with data that shows anything related to increased premiums or increased costs has kind of been, those concerns have been addressed.

“As a financial analyst by trade, I had my own skepticism about this bill to begin with,” Nedweski added. “Maryland and Louisiana, before passing similar legislation, did a cost analysis and found that with utilization of this legislation in place, the impact of premiums for all people would be about 4 to 7 cents per month per member, so you’re talking about less than a dollar a year. I think it’s worthwhile for us to invest in our moms and grandmas and sisters and daughters for less than a dollar a year.”

“UpFront” also included a recap of last week’s forum in Madison with a half-dozen gubernatorial candidates.

The Dems who attended the forum hosted by the Wisconsin Technology Council said they weren’t fazed by the possibility that former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes will join the race with likely the highest name ID among all the candidates.

“We continue to run our race,” Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley said. “I don’t think it changes anything for me.”

“I welcome anybody to come into the race,” Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez added. “I think it’s good to have a robust primary. It will help us in the general, so welcome any and all people who are interested in becoming governor. I appreciate their service.”

The five top Democrats in the race attended last week’s forum, including Rodriguez, Crowley, state Sen. Kelda Roys, state Rep. Francesca Hong and former WEDC CEO Missy Hughes. Republican Josh Schoemann participated as well. U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, the other Republican in the race, was invited but did not attend.

The forum came just days after Tuesday’s election results, when Democrats saw wins in Virginia, New Jersey and New York City, where voters elected Zohran Mamdani, a democratic socialist, as mayor.

“We are a people-powered, grassroots campaign,” said Hong, a democratic socialist, when asked if she would mirror her campaign after Mamdani’s. “That’s how we started this campaign, excited about the almost 700 volunteers who have already signed up from all across the state and especially the young people who are more and more interested in our campaign, and so we’re going to continue to run this the way that we’ve been running it.”

Schoemann, the Washington County executive, acknowledged Tiffany’s lead in the polls and Tuesday’s election wins for Democrats nationally.

“Oh, it’s definitely a big deal,” he said. “It was a wave election, but what we’ve seen if you go back and look at history is those odd-numbered years don’t always tell us what’s going to happen next. I mean, 2018 is a really good example, so I think it makes it important for Republicans to make sure they pick the right person who’s the best player to put on the field against no matter who comes out of the long list of folks on the other side.

“I actually feel really good about where those polls are at,” Schoemann added. “I mean, you would expect the congressman to do well. The fact that he’s below 30%, I was surprised a little bit. On the fact that I have a positive approval rating, I think was good. I think it shows the work that we’re putting in now is the groundwork and a foundation that’s going to lead to victory in November.”

See more from the show.