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Bills from the 2019–20 session

Assembly Bill 398

The treatment of a pregnant or postpartum person in prison and county jail. (FE)

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.

  1. Introduced, passed

    Sep 5, 2019

  2. Committee, stopped here

    Stopped here. No public hearing was held.

  3. Assembly vote, not reached

  4. Senate vote, not reached

  5. Governor, not reached

  6. Law, not reached

Latest entry in the official record, Apr 1, 2020: “Failed to pass pursuant to ⁠”

It never got a hearing in the Assembly Committee on Corrections. See every bill that never got a hearing this session.

Read the bill

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What it would have done

Summary by the , the Legislature's nonpartisan drafting office. It's their wording, not ours.

This bill limits the use of physical restraints on pregnant and postpartum people who are in the custody of a correctional facility. Under the bill, a pregnant person may not be restrained unless the restraints are reasonably necessary for the legitimate safety and security needs of the person, correctional staff, other inmates, or the public, and any restraints used must be the least restrictive possible. In addition, the bill requires that every woman in the custody of a correctional facility be offered testing for pregnancy, and, if pregnant, be offered testing for sexually transmitted infections. The bill also requires the correctional facility where the pregnant or postpartum person is being confined to provide information related to pregnancy, labor, and the postpartum period, and to provide access to certain health services related to pregnancy, labor, and the postpartum period.

Who's behind it

32 lawmakers are its ⁠. 29 are Democrats and 3 are Republicans.

12 more lawmakers ⁠.

See all 44 names

Authors (32)

Signed on in support (12)

What it would cost

State agencies filed a . Each opens as a PDF from the Legislature.

What happened

  1. Apr 1, 2020

    The session ended, and the bill died with it.

  2. Oct 17, 2019

    A state agency sent in its estimate of the cost.

  3. Sep 5, 2019

    Sent to the Assembly Committee on Corrections.

  4. Sep 5, 2019

    Introduced in the Assembly.

See the official record, word for word
  1. Sep 5, 2019 · Assembly

    Introduced by Representatives Subeck, Crowley, Tusler, Kulp, Skowronski, Sargent, Anderson, Billings, Brostoff, Goyke, Zamarripa, Spreitzer, Pope, Ohnstad, Emerson, Stubbs, Hintz, L. Myers, Haywood, Vining, C. Taylor, Sinicki, Shankland, Neubauer, Kolste, Hesselbein, Gruszynski, Considine, Cabrera, Bowen, Doyle and Fields; cosponsored by Senators L. Taylor, Wanggaard, Kooyenga, Risser, Johnson, Erpenbach, Larson, Ringhand, Miller, Smith, Carpenter and Bewley

  2. Sep 5, 2019 · Assembly

    Read first time and referred to Committee on Corrections

  3. Oct 17, 2019 · Assembly

    Fiscal estimate received

  4. Apr 1, 2020 · Assembly

    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.

More in the glossary

Public hearing

A meeting where anyone can speak to a committee about a bill, or send written comments.

More in the glossary

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

Cost estimate

A state agency's estimate of what a bill would cost or save.

Official term: Fiscal estimate. 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

Author

A lawmaker who formally puts a bill forward. The text itself is drafted by the Legislative Reference Bureau.

Official term: Author, coauthor

Signed on in support

Lawmakers who back a bill without being one of its authors, often from the other chamber.

Official term: Cosponsor

Cost estimate

A state agency's estimate of what a bill would cost or save.

Official term: Fiscal estimate