Two more of Senator Andre Jacque’s bills have been signed into law.
The New Franken legislator’s successful 2026 continued as Governor Tony Evers signed Act 246, which modernizes how the state handles the testimony of minors in a court setting.
In child abuse and similar cases, audiovisual recordings of the statements of minors are often used to capture the victim’s immediate account in a way that reduces additional trauma and can later be submitted as testimony in court.
Act 246 adjusts the age thresholds for the admissibility of recorded audiovisual statements made by children.
Sen. Jacque tells SeehaferNews.com, “This change reflects the modern understanding of adolescent development while preserving due process and judicial discretion. It ensures that reliable evidence is not excluded solely because of an outdated age threshold, and reduces the likelihood victims will be forced to relive traumatic experiences and recall precise details years later.”
Also signed by Governor Evers was Act 241.
This bill was crafted in response to testimony over the past several sessions and provides a $2,000 nonrefundable individual income tax credit to parents of stillborn children.
These parents experience many of the same expenses as newborn parents, such as delivery costs.
They also have other expenses, such as funeral costs, counseling, and lost time at work, while not necessarily having access to the same maternity leave benefits as other mothers.
Sen. Jacque explained, “This law speaks to a kind of loss that is often invisible, deeply painful, and too often endured in silence. The stillbirth of a child is not simply a medical event. It is the loss of a son or daughter, of hopes and plans, of a future that a family had already begun to imagine and love.”
