New in 2022: Use of force reporting laws take effect, pharmacist 'gag order' banned - WAOW
MADISON (WKOW) -- The new year will bring a new legal requirement that Wisconsin police officers get involved if they see another officer using an unlawful use of force.
This summer, lawmakers passed and Gov. Tony Evers signed Act 75, which creates a "duty to intervene" standard in Wisconsin. Under the law, officers are legally obligated to step in when they see another cop using excessive force.
The law also includes a requirement that officers who learn of a colleague using excessive force must report the incident to their command staff. The law also provides whistleblower protections for officers who come forward, making it illegal to punish officers who report excessive force incidents.
The laws were part of 17 recommendations put forth by a state task force that included both law enforcement and community activists.
Some activists and Democratic lawmakers came away from the process feeling the state should have done more to overhaul police training and create more independent reviews of incidents where an officer kills someone. They submitted their own package of proposals which have not gained traction in the legislature.
Evers also signed bipartisan bills into law this summer that require the state to issue an annual report on use of force incidents, require departments to post their use of force policies online, ban the use of chokeholds with the exception of life-threatening situations, and sets aside $600,000 for cities to put toward "community-oriented police housing" or COP Houses.
Regulating PBMs
Another law taking effect January 1 is a bipartisan measure that requires Pharmacy Benefit Managers, known commonly as PBM's, to be licensed with the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance.
PBM's essentially act as middlemen between pharmacies and insurance companies. Wisconsin pharmacists have long complained about PBM practices that barred them from letting customers know of cheaper, generic options that might exist.
"I'm not supposed to be able to share with you alternative pricing either through the pharmacy or another mechanism," Fitchburg Family Pharmacy Owner Thad Schumacher said in March. "This bill allows us to have more of a conversation about that."
The Assembly passed the bill unanimously. The new law bans PBM's from putting 'gag orders' on pharmacists with regard to the availability of generic options that cost less.
According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, each of Wisconsin's neighboring states, Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, and Michigan, already required PBMs to be licensed. Of the four border states, only Michigan had not outlawed the cost-disclosure/"gag order" provision.
"End result of that happening, I believe, is better patient outcomes or, i.e, hopefully lower prescription drug costs," Rep. Michael Schraa (R-Oshkosh) said in March.
source: https://www.waow.com/news/top-stories/new-in-2022-use-of-force-reporting-laws-take-effect-pharmacist-gag-order-banned/article_ca27c651-a09b-5554-9663-952fe2971388.html
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