Gov. Scott Walker signed 62 bills Tuesday that the State Legislature had approved in the final session before the end of the legislative year.
Among the legislation was a bipartisan measure to restrict the use of drones. The bill outlaws the use of surveillance drones by individuals or law enforcement officers without a permit, except in case of an emergency.
State representatives of both parties lauded the bill’s enactment in a joint statement Tuesday.
“While Democrats and Republicans have passionate debates over many policy areas, the Drone Privacy Protection Act is the epitome of the type of consensus bipartisan legislation that the people of Wisconsin should expect from our government,” state Rep. Chris Taylor, D-Madison, said in the statement.
“I applaud Gov. Walker for signing this bill today. As technology advances, we must remain ever vigilant to ensure our privacy laws evolve,” state Rep. Tyler August, R-Lake Geneva, added. “This law will guarantee that our civil liberties remain intact.”
Another measure Walker signed Tuesday would criminalize the distribution of sexually explicit images without the subject’s consent, commonly known as revenge pornography. The act would be punishable by up to a $10,000 fine and imprisonment for up to nine months.
“Studies have shown 90 percent of revenge porn victims are women,” state Rep. John Spiros, R-Marshfield, who is also the author of the bill, said in a statement. “We are standing up for Wisconsin women and letting offenders know this despicable practice will not be tolerated in our state.”
Spiros also authored a bill signed Tuesday that would allow Wisconsin businesses and residents to purchase rifles and shotguns from any other state. Current law mandates that rifles and shotguns may only be purchased from states bordering Wisconsin.
“This law does not change the rules for obtaining long guns and rifles; it simply provides a greater variety of longs guns, rifles and retailers to choose from,” Spiros said in the statement.
The Wisconsin Hospital Association praised Walker for signing the Mental Health Care Coordination Bill, which would allow mental health care providers to coordinate in the same way physical health care providers can, according to a statement Tuesday.
