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Bills from the 2021–22 session

Assembly Bill 976

Peer recovery specialists

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

    Feb 15, 2022

  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, Mar 15, 2022: “Failed to pass pursuant to ⁠”

It never got a hearing in the Assembly Committee on Substance Abuse and Prevention. 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.

2019 Wisconsin Act 122 requires the Department of Health Services to establish and maintain a program related to referral and treatment services following a substance use overdose including that overdose treatment providers coordinate and continue care and treatment after an overdose and use peer recovery coaches to encourage individuals to seek treatment among other requirements. Act 122 also requires DHS to provide reimbursement under the Medical Assistance program for services provided by peer recovery coaches if those services meet certain criteria. As part of those criteria, peer recovery coaches have to provide services under mental health professionals who have been trained in subjects specified in Act 122 and have to have completed 24 hours of supervised volunteer or paid work experience involving certain areas of practice and at least 10 hours training in each of the following: advocacy, mentoring and education, recovery and wellness support, and ethical responsibility as specified by DHS by rule. Act 122 includes those services provided by a peer recovery coach as a benefit to Medical Assistance program recipients.

This bill changes the terminology from peer recovery coach to peer recovery specialist. The bill also specifies that “peer recovery specialist” includes any peer recovery coach, certified peer specialist, certified peer parent specialist, and any other provider type DHS determines qualifies as a peer recovery specialist. The bill maintains the requirement that a peer recovery specialist provide services under the supervision of a mental health professional to receive Medical Assistance program reimbursement but eliminates the requirement that the supervising mental health professional have training in certain specified subjects. The bill also eliminates the specific requirements for supervised volunteer or paid work experience and 40 hours of training on peer recovery specialists to receive and instead requires only the training requirements that DHS establishes by rule.

Who's behind it

6 lawmakers are its ⁠. All 6 are Republicans.

3 more lawmakers ⁠.

See all 9 names

Authors (6)

Signed on in support (3)

What happened

  1. Mar 15, 2022

    The session ended, and the bill died with it.

  2. Feb 15, 2022

    Sent to the Assembly Committee on Substance Abuse and Prevention.

  3. Feb 15, 2022

    Introduced in the Assembly.

See the official record, word for word
  1. Feb 15, 2022 · Assembly

    Introduced by Representatives Zimmerman, Armstrong, Dittrich, Duchow, James and Plumer; cosponsored by Senators Testin, Ballweg and Bewley

  2. Feb 15, 2022 · Assembly

    Read first time and referred to Committee on Substance Abuse and Prevention

  3. Mar 15, 2022 · 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

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.

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