Amendment SSA2-SB192

2025 - 2026 LEGISLATURE

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SENATE SUBSTITUTE AMENDMENT 2, TO SENATE BILL 192

February 23, 2026 - Offered by Senator James.

SB192-SSA2,1,4 An Act to amend 48.396 (1), 48.396 (2) (a), 48.78 (2) (a), 48.981 (7) (a) 15., 938.396 (1) (a), 938.396 (2) (a) and 938.78 (2) (a); to create 51.30 (4) (b) 29., 146.82 (2) (d), 250.22 and 961.385 (2) (cm) 5. of the statutes; relating to: fatality review teams.

Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau

This bill establishes fatality review teams under state law. Current law does not address fatality review teams, though several types of such teams currently exist in Wisconsin based on voluntary efforts primarily organized by counties, with state-level technical assistance available for certain types of teams.

Under the bill, a fatality review team is defined as a multidisciplinary and multiagency team reviewing one or more types of death among children or adults and developing recommendations to prevent future deaths of similar circumstances. The bill generally governs a team’s responsibilities, ability to access certain records, confidentiality requirements, and disclosure of information.

Fatality review teams

The bill contains general provisions governing any type of fatality review team. The bill identifies examples of the types of deaths that may constitute a reviewable death, including overdose, suicide, maternal death occurring during or within a year of a pregnancy, or any unexpected or unintentional death of a child, among others. The bill also provides a non-exhaustive list of potential team members.

Under the bill, a fatality review team has the purpose of gathering information about reviewable deaths to examine risk factors and understand how deaths may be prevented, through identifying recommendations for cross-sector, system-level policy and practice changes, and promoting cooperation and coordination among the agencies involved in understanding causes of reviewable deaths or in providing services to surviving family members.

If established, each fatality review team must: 1) establish and implement team protocols; 2) collect and maintain data appropriate to the type of review undertaken; 3) create strategies and track implementation of prevention recommendations; and 4) evaluate the team’s process, interagency collaboration, and implementation of recommendations. The bill requires teams to enter data regarding each reviewable death into a secure database.

Record access and confidentiality

The bill authorizes a fatality review team to access records from a variety of sources, such as certain state agencies, law enforcement, medical examiners and coroners, health care providers, social or human service agencies, schools, and the prescription drug monitoring program, among others, subject to certain restrictions under the bill and current law.

Information and records provided to or created by a fatality review team are confidential, subject to limited exceptions provided under the bill, and are not subject to Wisconsin’s public records laws. Under the bill, before a member of a fatality review team may participate in the review of a reviewable death, the member must sign a copy of a confidentiality agreement and review the purpose and goals of the fatality review team The bill provides that any person who is invited to a fatality review team meeting must sign a copy of a confidentiality agreement before attending or participating in the meeting. The bill prohibits team members, persons in attendance at team meetings, and others providing records to teams from testifying in any civil or criminal action as to the information specifically obtained through participation in the team’s meeting.

The bill authorizes disclosure of information if such disclosure serves a team’s purpose and certain other conditions are met, such as the information does not allow for identification of individuals and does not contain conclusory information attributing fault. The bill further specifies that a team’s information and records are not subject to discovery or subpoena, or admissible as evidence, in a civil or criminal action, unless obtained independently from a team’s review. The bill also provides that a person participating in a fatality review team is immune from civil or criminal liability for any good faith act or omission in connection with providing information or recommendations.

The bill exempts fatality review team meetings from Wisconsin’s open meetings law. The bill allows for public meetings to share summary findings and recommendations, but limits the types of information that may be disclosed in public meetings.

The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do enact as follows:

SB192-SSA2,1 Section 1. 48.396 (1) of the statutes is amended to read:

SB192-SSA2,3,8 48.396 (1) Law enforcement officers’ records of children shall be kept separate from records of adults. Law enforcement officers’ records of the adult expectant mothers of unborn children shall be kept separate from records of other adults. Law enforcement officers’ records of children and the adult expectant mothers of unborn children shall not be open to inspection or their contents disclosed except under sub. (1b), (1d), (5), or (6) or s. 48.293 or, 250.22, or 938.396 (2m) (c) 1p. or by order of the court. This subsection does not apply to the representatives of newspapers or other reporters of news who wish to obtain information for the purpose of reporting news without revealing the identity of the child or adult expectant mother involved, to the confidential exchange of information between the police and officials of the public or private school attended by the child or other law enforcement or social welfare agencies, or to children 10 years of age or older who are subject to the jurisdiction of the court of criminal jurisdiction. A public school official who obtains information under this subsection shall keep the information confidential as required under s. 118.125, and a private school official who obtains information under this subsection shall keep the information confidential in the same manner as is required of a public school official under s. 118.125. This subsection does not apply to the confidential exchange of information between the police and officials of the tribal school attended by the child if the police determine that enforceable protections are provided by a tribal school policy or tribal law that requires tribal school officials to keep the information confidential in a manner at least as stringent as is required of a public school official under s. 118.125. A law enforcement agency that obtains information under this subsection shall keep the information confidential as required under this subsection and s. 938.396 (1) (a). A social welfare agency that obtains information under this subsection shall keep the information confidential as required under ss. 48.78 and 938.78.

SB192-SSA2,2 Section 2. 48.396 (2) (a) of the statutes is amended to read:

SB192-SSA2,3,16 48.396 (2) (a) Records of the court assigned to exercise jurisdiction under this chapter and ch. 938 and of courts exercising jurisdiction under s. 48.16 shall be entered in books or deposited in files kept for that purpose only. Those records shall not be open to inspection or their contents disclosed except by order of the court assigned to exercise jurisdiction under this chapter and ch. 938 or as required or permitted under this subsection, sub. (3) (b) or (c) 1g., 1m., or 1r. or (6), or s. 48.375 (7) (e) or 250.22.

SB192-SSA2,3 Section 3. 48.78 (2) (a) of the statutes is amended to read:

SB192-SSA2,3,23 48.78 (2) (a) No agency may make available for inspection or disclose the contents of any record kept or information received about an individual who is or was in its care or legal custody, except as provided under sub. (2m) or s. 48.371, 48.38 (5) (b) or (d) or (5m) (d), 48.396 (3) (bm) or (c) 1r., 48.432, 48.433, 48.48 (17) (bm), 48.57 (2m), 48.66 (6), 48.93, 48.981 (7), 250.22, 938.396 (2m) (c) 1r., 938.51, or 938.78 or by order of the court.

SB192-SSA2,4 Section 4. 48.981 (7) (a) 15. of the statutes is amended to read:

SB192-SSA2,4,5 48.981 (7) (a) 15. A fatality review team established under s. 250.22, a child fatality review team recognized by the county department, or, in a county having a population of 750,000 or more, the department or a licensed child welfare agency under contract with the department.

SB192-SSA2,5 Section 5. 51.30 (4) (b) 29. of the statutes is created to read:

SB192-SSA2,4,9 51.30 (4) (b) 29. To an authorized member of a fatality review team established under s. 250.22. The recipient of any treatment records under this subdivision shall keep the records confidential in accordance with s. 250.22.

SB192-SSA2,6 Section 6. 146.82 (2) (d) of the statutes is created to read:

SB192-SSA2,4,17 146.82 (2) (d) Notwithstanding sub. (1), patient health care records may be released, upon request, to a fatality review team, as defined in s. 250.22 (1) (a), acting as a public health authority for the purpose of reviewing a death as described under s. 250.22. Records that may be released under this paragraph for the public health purposes under s. 250.22 may be disclosed to a fatality review team only in accordance with that section, and the recipient of any records released shall keep the records confidential.

SB192-SSA2,7 Section 7. 250.22 of the statutes is created to read:

SB192-SSA2,4,19 250.22 Fatality review teams. (1) Definitions. In this section:

SB192-SSA2,4,22 (a) “Fatality review team” means a multidisciplinary and multiagency team examining one or more types of reviewable death among children or adults and developing recommendations to prevent future deaths of similar circumstances.

SB192-SSA2,5,3 (b) “Local fatality review team” means a fatality review team that examines reviewable deaths from specific municipalities or counties. A “local fatality review team” may include a team formed by a collaboration of two or more municipalities, counties, local health departments, or tribal health departments.

SB192-SSA2,5,4 (c) “Municipality” means a city, village, or town.

SB192-SSA2,5,5 (d) 1. “Reviewable death” includes any of the following types of deaths:

SB192-SSA2,5,6 a. Suicide.

SB192-SSA2,5,8 b. Homicide or death involving domestic violence, intimate partner violence, or homicide related to community violence.

SB192-SSA2,5,9 c. Motor vehicle incident.

SB192-SSA2,5,10 d. Overdose death.

SB192-SSA2,5,11 e. Child abuse or neglect.

SB192-SSA2,5,12 f. Stillbirth.

SB192-SSA2,5,13 g. Fetal death or infant death.

SB192-SSA2,5,14 h. A maternal death occurring during or within a year of a pregnancy.

SB192-SSA2,5,15 i. Any unexpected or unintentional death of a child.

SB192-SSA2,5,17 2. “Reviewable death” does not include a death subject to review under s. 175.47.

SB192-SSA2,5,22 (2) Fatality review teams; purpose, duties, membership, and record access. (a) Fatality review teams shall have the purpose of gathering information concerning reviewable deaths to examine the risk factors and circumstances leading to reviewable deaths and understand how the deaths could have been prevented through all of the following:

SB192-SSA2,6,2 1. Identification of recommendations for cross-sector, system-level policy and practice changes to address the identified risk factors and prevent future reviewable deaths.

SB192-SSA2,6,5 2. Promotion of cooperation and coordination among agencies involved in understanding the causes of reviewable deaths or in providing services to surviving family members.

SB192-SSA2,6,6 (b) 1. If established, each fatality review team shall do all of the following:

SB192-SSA2,6,7 a. Establish and implement a protocol for the fatality review team.

SB192-SSA2,6,8 b. Collect and maintain data appropriate to the type of review undertaken.

SB192-SSA2,6,11 c. Create strategies and make and track the implementation of recommendations for the prevention and reduction of reviewable deaths in the area served by the fatality review team.

SB192-SSA2,6,14 d. Evaluate the fatality review team’s review process, interagency collaboration, and development and implementation of recommendations to ensure adherence to the purpose described in par. (a).