Elijah Behnke, Wisconsin State Representative for 6th District | Facebook
Elijah Behnke, Wisconsin State Representative for 6th District | Facebook
According to the Wisconsin State Legislature's official website, the bill was described as follows: "changing the conditions of liability for worker’s compensation benefits for emergency medical responders, emergency medical services practitioners, volunteer firefighters, correctional officers, emergency dispatchers, coroners and coroner staff, and medical examiners and medical examiner staff. (FE)".
The following is our breakdown, based on the actual bill text, and may include interpretation to clarify its provisions.
In essence, this bill aims to modify the conditions under which certain public safety workers in Wisconsin can claim workers' compensation for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) not accompanied by physical injury. Specifically, it aligns these conditions with those currently applied to law enforcement officers and full-time firefighters, eliminating the requirement for such workers, including emergency medical responders, volunteer firefighters, correctional officers, and others, to demonstrate a PTSD diagnosis based on "unusual stress of greater dimensions." The bill caps the lifetime number of compensable PTSD claims for these workers at three. An effective date for the changes will be set following new workers' compensation insurance rate approvals.
The bill was co-authored by Senator André Jacque (Republican-1st District), Representative Calvin T. Callahan (Republican-35th District), Representative Joan Fitzgerald (Democrat-46th District), Representative Chanz J. Green (Republican-74th District), Representative Nate L. Gustafson (Republican-55th District). It was co-sponsored by Senator Sarah Keyeski (Democrat-14th District), Senator Howard L. Marklein (Republican-17th District), and Senator Mark Spreitzer (Democrat-15th District), along 15 other co-sponsors.
Elijah R. Behnke has co-authored or authored another 76 bills since the beginning of the 2025 session, with none of them being enacted.
Behnke graduated from Toccoa Falls College in 2005 with an AA.
Behnke, a Republican, was elected to the Wisconsin State Assembly in 2025 to represent the state's 6th Assembly district, replacing previous state representative Peter Schmidt.
In Wisconsin, the legislative process starts when a senator, constituent, group, or agency proposes an idea for a bill. After drafting, the bill is introduced, numbered, and referred to a committee for review and public input. If approved, it moves through three readings and votes in both the Senate and Assembly. Once both chambers pass the same version, the bill goes to the governor, who can sign it, veto it, or let it become law without a signature. Only a small share of bills introduced each session ultimately become law. You can learn more about the Wisconsin legislative process here.
| Bill Number | Date Introduced | Short Description |
|---|---|---|
| AB158 | 04/02/2025 | Changing the conditions of liability for worker’s compensation benefits for emergency medical responders, emergency medical services practitioners, volunteer firefighters, correctional officers, emergency dispatchers, coroners and coroner staff, and medical examiners and medical examiner staff. (FE) |
| AB149 | 03/17/2025 | The nomination of presidential electors |
| AB144 | 03/17/2025 | Eliminating a judgeship from district IV of the court of appeals and establishing an additional judgeship for district III of the court of appeals |
| AB136 | 03/13/2025 | Classification of the crime of impersonating law enforcement officers, fire fighters, and certain other emergency personnel and providing a penalty |
| AB135 | 03/13/2025 | The right to repair motor vehicles and providing a penalty. (FE) |
| AB133 | 03/13/2025 | Investment securities under the Uniform Commercial Code |
| AB128 | 03/11/2025 | Requiring first responders to be trained to administer epinephrine delivery systems. (FE) |
| AB103 | 03/04/2025 | School board policies related to changing a pupil’s legal name and pronouns |
| AB93 | 02/28/2025 | The distribution and labeling of fertilizers and soil or plant additives produced from manure. (FE) |
| AB91 | 02/28/2025 | The requirement that first class cities and first class city school districts place school resource officers in schools. (FE) |
| AB88 | 02/28/2025 | Civil action for injury or damages resulting from riot or vandalism, participation in a riot, prohibiting certain limitations or restrictions on law enforcement responses to riot or vandalism activity, and providing a penalty |
| AB76 | 02/28/2025 | Creating an individual income tax deduction for certain income earned by an individual from the practice of psychiatry or from providing psychiatric or mental health services. (FE) |
| AB74 | 02/28/2025 | Parental notification of alleged sexual misconduct by a school staff member. (FE) |
| AB66 | 02/24/2025 | Dismissing or amending certain criminal charges and deferred prosecution agreements for certain crimes |
| AB64 | 02/24/2025 | An income tax subtraction for certain expenses paid by a school teacher. (FE) |
| AB42 | 02/17/2025 | Local regulation of fowl |
| AB38 | 02/17/2025 | An income tax exemption for cash tips paid to an employee. (FE) |
| AB36 | 02/17/2025 | Law enforcement and firefighter annuitants in the Wisconsin Retirement System who are rehired by a participating employer. (FE) |
| AB30 | 02/17/2025 | Prohibiting a foreign adversary from acquiring agricultural or forestry land in this state |
| AB26 | 02/17/2025 | Battery or threat to jurors and providing a penalty |
| AB18 | 02/06/2025 | Fee waivers for state park vehicle admission receipts to pupils with Every Kid Outdoors passes. (FE) |
| AB4 | 02/03/2025 | Required instruction in civics in the elementary and high school grades, high school graduation requirements, and private school educational program criteria. (FE) |
| AB3 | 02/03/2025 | Incorporating cursive writing into the state model English language arts standards and requiring cursive writing in elementary grades. (FE) |
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