Wisconsin Assembly Bill AB931

Wisconsin 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 1/28/26
• Refer: 1/28/26
• Engrossed: 2/10/26
• Refer: 2/11/26
• Enrolled: 3/20/26
• Chaptered: 3/27/26
• Passed: 3/27/26

Caption

An Act to amend 165.25 (6) (c), 250.15 (2) (c), 251.04 (8), 251.07 (1) (a), 251.07 (2), 252.04 (9) and 895.46 (5) (b) of the statutes; Relating to: grants to HealthNet of Rock County, Inc.; a reference to generalized public health nursing programs; and updating terminology from “advanced practice nurse prescriber” to “advanced practice registered nurse” (suggested as remedial legislation by the Department of Health Services).

Summary

AB931 is a remedial, technical corrections bill requested by the Department of Health Services. It updates several statutes to conform terminology and cross-references in Wisconsin’s public health and nursing laws, including replacing references to “advanced practice nurse prescriber” with “advanced practice registered nurse” to match the new licensure system scheduled to take effect under 2025 Wisconsin Act 17. The bill also corrects a reference to a public health nursing program from “general” to “generalized,” aligning chapter 251 with existing language elsewhere in the statutes. The bill also updates a state grant reference from HealthNet of Janesville, Inc. to HealthNet of Rock County, Inc., reflecting the organization’s name change. In addition, it revises provisions governing who may supervise local health department immunization programs and who is treated as a state agent for liability and defense purposes, ensuring physicians, physician assistants, and APRNs are covered consistently under the updated terminology and statutory framework. Most of the changes are effective immediately after publication, but the APRN-related conforming changes take effect on September 1, 2026, to coincide with the new APRN licensure system.

Impact

AB931 makes targeted amendments to Wisconsin statutes governing local public health departments, immunization programs, state-agent liability protections, and a specific grant appropriation to HealthNet of Rock County, Inc. Its main legal effect is conforming existing law to the state’s transition from APNP certification to APRN licensure, while preserving the same operational roles and protections for qualified nurses and other supervising clinicians. It also updates a statutory reference to a local health organization and clarifies public health nursing terminology, with limited substantive policy change beyond statutory alignment.

Sentiment

The overall sentiment appears favorable and noncontroversial. The Law Revision Committee described the measure as remedial legislation and concluded that its minor substantive changes are desirable as a matter of public policy. No committee transcript or recorded votes were provided, and the bill’s text suggests it is primarily a technical cleanup measure intended to avoid conflicts or gaps when related nursing licensure changes take effect.

Contention

There is little visible contention in the available materials, but the only potentially sensitive issue is the statutory transition from APNP to APRN terminology and the timing of those conforming changes. The bill delays those specific updates until September 1, 2026, to match the effective date of the new APRN licensure system, which indicates the main concern is coordination rather than policy disagreement. The grant update for HealthNet of Rock County and the correction of public health nursing terminology also appear administrative rather than disputed.