Senate Bill 19
Designating a lay caregiver during a hospital admission
Stopped in committee
It never got a , so it never came up for a vote. To try again, a lawmaker would have to start a new bill.
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Introduced, passed
Feb 3, 2015
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Committee, stopped here
Stopped here. No public hearing was held.
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Senate vote, not reached
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Assembly vote, not reached
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Governor, not reached
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Law, not reached
Latest entry in the official record, Apr 13, 2016: “Failed to pass pursuant to ”
It never got a hearing in the Senate Committee on Health and Human Services. See every bill that never got a hearing this session.
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Terms on this page
Committee
A small group of lawmakers that looks at a bill first. Most bills never leave committee.
Public hearing
A meeting where anyone can speak to a committee about a bill, or send written comments.
Senate Joint Resolution 1
The session's calendar. Any bill not passed by its last voting day dies.
Official term: Failed to pass pursuant to SJR 1. More in the glossary
Legislative Reference Bureau
The Legislature's nonpartisan office that drafts bills and writes the summary at the top of each one.
Official term: LRB analysis. More in the glossary
Author
A lawmaker who formally puts a bill forward. The text itself is drafted by the Legislative Reference Bureau.
Official term: Author, coauthor. More in the glossary
Signed on in support
Lawmakers who back a bill without being one of its authors, often from the other chamber.
Official term: Cosponsor. More in the glossary
What it would have done
Summary by the , the Legislature's nonpartisan drafting office. It's their wording, not ours.
This bill requires hospitals to provide a patient with an opportunity to designate a lay caregiver who will receive instruction regarding patient aftercare prior to the patient's discharge. If the patient is a minor, a parent or legal guardian may designate a lay caregiver on the patient's behalf. If the patient is incapacitated at the time of admission, a person authorized by the patient may make a designation for the patient. Hospitals must promptly record the name and contact information of a lay caregiver, if designated, after a patient is admitted into a hospital. If a patient other than a minor is incapacitated at admission, but later regains capacity, the hospital must notify the patient of the option to designate a lay caregiver or change any designation made by a person authorized by the patient. Patients are not required to designate a lay caregiver under this bill and, further, the designation of a lay caregiver does not obligate any individual to provide aftercare for the patient.
Under this bill, if a patient designates a lay caregiver, the hospital is required to attempt to notify the designated lay caregiver of the patient's discharge to another facility or to a residence. The hospital must also attempt to consult with the lay caregiver to prepare him or her for aftercare assistance tasks that he or she may perform in caring for the patient, including, if applicable, wound care, injections, medication management, and patient movement (for example, transferring a patient in and out of bed or from a house to a car). The hospital must also issue a discharge plan. However, if the patient or person authorized by the patient declines to provide either informed consent or approval of the release of a portion of the patient's health care record, the hospital is relieved of its notification and consultation obligations.
Read the full summary Show less
Further, under this bill, if the hospital is unsuccessful in attempting to contact the lay caregiver, the lack of contact may not interfere with, delay, or otherwise affect the medical care provided to the patient, or an appropriate discharge of the patient.
Under current law, patient medical records are kept confidential except in certain limited circumstances, including if a patient or person authorized by the patient gives informed consent to disclosure. Absent informed consent, a health care provider may release a portion, but not a copy, of a patient health care record, to certain individuals under certain limited circumstances. A health care provider may also release a portion of a patient health care record to anyone if a patient or person authorized by the patient agrees to the disclosure. Even without agreement, a health care provider may, in certain circumstances such as patient incapacitation, release to anyone the limited amount of information necessary to identify, locate, or provide notification of the patient's location, condition, or death. Beyond that, current law allows a health care provider to provide more information only to certain listed individuals. Specifically, a health care provider may provide to the patient's immediate family, another relative, a close personal friend of the patient, or an individual identified by the patient, that portion of information from the health care record directly relevant to that person's involvement in the patient's care. This bill adds designated lay caregivers to the list of individuals permitted access to information directly relevant to that person's involvement in the patient's care.
Finally, this bill creates a limited exception to allow a hospital to provide a designated lay caregiver a copy of any written discharge plan issued.
Who's behind it
6 senators are its . All 6 are Democrats.
12 more lawmakers .
See all 18 names Hide the names
Authors (6)
- Tim Carpenter · Democrat, Senate
- Dave Hansen · Democrat, Senate
- Nikiya Harris Dodd · Democrat, Senate
- Lena Taylor · Democrat, Senate
- Julie M. Lassa · Democrat, Senate
- Bob Wirch · Democrat, Senate
Signed on in support (12)
- Terese Berceau · Democrat, Assembly
- Jill Billings · Democrat, Assembly
- David Bowen · Democrat, Assembly
- Chris Larson · Democrat, Senate
- Robb Kahl · Democrat, Assembly
- Beth Meyers · Democrat, Assembly
- Nick Milroy · Democrat, Assembly
- Fred A. Risser · Democrat, Senate
- Melissa Sargent · Democrat, Assembly
- Christine Sinicki · Democrat, Assembly
- Lisa Subeck · Democrat, Assembly
- JoCasta Zamarripa · Democrat, Assembly
What happened
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Apr 13, 2016
The session ended, and the bill died with it.
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Feb 10, 2015 to Aug 12, 2015
2 more senators signed on in support.
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Feb 3, 2015
Sent to the Senate Committee on Health and Human Services.
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Feb 3, 2015
Introduced in the Senate.
See the official record, word for word Hide the official record
- Feb 3, 2015 · Senate
Introduced by Senators Carpenter, Lassa, Wirch, L. Taylor, Harris Dodd and Hansen; cosponsored by Representatives Berceau, Sinicki, Milroy, Zamarripa, Subeck, Billings, Sargent, Kahl, Bowen and Meyers
- Feb 3, 2015 · Senate
Read first time and referred to Committee on Health and Human Services
- Feb 10, 2015 · Senate
Senator Risser added as a coauthor
- Aug 12, 2015 · Senate
Senator C. Larson added as a coauthor
- Apr 13, 2016 · Senate
Failed to pass pursuant to Senate Joint Resolution 1
Terms on this page
Committee
A small group of lawmakers that looks at a bill first. Most bills never leave committee.
Public hearing
A meeting where anyone can speak to a committee about a bill, or send written comments.
Senate Joint Resolution 1
The session's calendar. Any bill not passed by its last voting day dies.
Official term: Failed to pass pursuant to SJR 1. More in the glossary
Legislative Reference Bureau
The Legislature's nonpartisan office that drafts bills and writes the summary at the top of each one.
Official term: LRB analysis. More in the glossary
Author
A lawmaker who formally puts a bill forward. The text itself is drafted by the Legislative Reference Bureau.
Official term: Author, coauthor. More in the glossary
Signed on in support
Lawmakers who back a bill without being one of its authors, often from the other chamber.
Official term: Cosponsor. More in the glossary
From the Wisconsin Legislature's official record, checked Sep 15, 2026. See the source
Committee
A small group of lawmakers that looks at a bill first. Most bills never leave committee.
Public hearing
A meeting where anyone can speak to a committee about a bill, or send written comments.
Senate Joint Resolution 1
The session's calendar. Any bill not passed by its last voting day dies.
Official term: Failed to pass pursuant to SJR 1
Legislative Reference Bureau
The Legislature's nonpartisan office that drafts bills and writes the summary at the top of each one.
Official term: LRB analysis
Signed on in support
Lawmakers who back a bill without being one of its authors, often from the other chamber.
Official term: Cosponsor