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Wis. bill would fund automated external defibrillators for licensed child care centers
Summary
Senate Bill 437, introduced Sept. 29, 2025, would create a state grant program to place automated external defibrillators and provide AED maintenance in licensed child care centers and fund it with a biennial appropriation of $1,000,000 in each of the 2025-26 and 2026-27 fiscal years.
Senate Bill 437, introduced Sept. 29, 2025, would create a state grant program to place automated external defibrillators and provide AED maintenance in licensed child care centers and fund it with a biennial appropriation of $1,000,000 in each of the 2025-26 and 2026-27 fiscal years.
The bill would create s. 20.437 (1) (bw) to appropriate GPR funds and s. 48.549 in the statutes to direct the Department of Children and Families (DCF) to award grants to centers licensed under s. 48.65 for AEDs and AED maintenance. To be eligible, a licensed child care center would have to provide matching funds equal to at least 33% of the total grant amount. The bill directs DCF to award grants in each child care licensing region designated by the department's Bureau of Early Care Regulation.
The Legislative Reference Bureau analysis appended to the bill summarizes the program and notes that a state fiscal estimate will be printed as an appendix. The bill text sets the appropriation schedule at $1,000,000 GPR for 2025-26 and $1,000,000 GPR for 2026-27 to fund grants under s. 48.549.
The document lists the sponsoring senators as Pfaff, Wirch, Hesselbein, Spreitzer, Drake, Ratcliff, Keyeski, Dassler-Alfheim and Larson, and lists multiple cosponsoring representatives. The bill was referred to the Committee on Mental Health, Substance Abuse Prevention, Children and Families; no committee action or floor vote is recorded in the introduction document.
The bill does not specify program details such as per-center grant amounts, requirements for vendor selection or timelines for disbursement; those details would be determined by DCF rulemaking or in subsequent committee or appropriations action. The statutory language added by the bill is limited to the appropriation and the directive to award grants with a required local match and regional distribution.
If enacted, the program would directly affect licensed child care centers in Wisconsin and involve a GPR appropriation; the bill text does not identify additional funding sources. The introduction document does not record any public testimony or fiscal committee decision; the state fiscal estimate is referenced but not included in the text of the introduction.
