Rachael Cabral-Guevara, Wisconsin State Senator for 19th District | Official website
Rachael Cabral-Guevara, Wisconsin State Senator for 19th District | Official website
According to the Wisconsin State Legislature's official website, the bill was described as follows: "transfer of nursing home beds".
The following is our breakdown, based on the actual bill text, and may include interpretation to clarify its provisions.
In essence, the bill repeals Section 150.345 of the statutes, which previously allowed for the transfer of nursing home beds between facilities under specific conditions, such as being within the same allocation area or owned by the same corporation. Instead, the bill mandates that closed nursing home beds will be distributed according to existing laws. The Department of Health Services (DHS) must redistribute beds within counties where the availability of beds per 1,000 residents aged 65 or over is less than 80% of the statewide average, provided that local nursing home occupancy rates meet or exceed the statewide average. DHS is required to annually publish notices of available beds in each health planning area, for which nursing homes can apply. DHS will evaluate applications based on statutory criteria and any additional criteria it establishes. The bill's procedures aim to ensure a more equitable distribution of nursing home beds across the state.
The bill was co-authored by Representative Joel Kitchens (Republican-1st District). It was co-sponsored by Representative Elijah R. Behnke (Republican-6th District), Representative Robert Brooks (Republican-59th District), and Representative Barbara Dittrich (Republican-99th District), along two other co-sponsors.
Rachael Cabral-Guevara has authored or co-authored another 41 bills since the beginning of the 2025 session, with none of them being enacted.
Cabral-Guevara graduated from Mount Mary University in 2000 with a BS and again in 2004 from the University of Wisconsin- Oshkosh with a BS.
Cabral-Guevara, a Republican, was elected to the Wisconsin State Senate in 2023 to represent the state's 19th Senate district, replacing previous state senator Roger Roth.
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 |
---|---|---|
SB139 | 03/21/2025 | Transfer of nursing home beds |
SB137 | 03/14/2025 | The duty of a pharmacist to dispense lawfully prescribed drugs and devices. (FE) |
SB129 | 03/14/2025 | The right to repair motor vehicles and providing a penalty. (FE) |
SB128 | 03/14/2025 | Programs and requirements to address PFAS |
SB127 | 03/14/2025 | Exempting certain persons from PFAS enforcement actions under the spills law. (FE) |
SB94 | 03/07/2025 | 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 |
SB83 | 02/26/2025 | Utilization management controls for antipsychotic prescription drugs under the Medical Assistance program. (FE) |
SB74 | 02/26/2025 | Ratification of the Social Work Licensure Compact. (FE) |
SB70 | 02/26/2025 | A minor’s authority to consent to health care |
SB58 | 02/21/2025 | Referendum questions for certain referenda that affect property taxes. (FE) |
SB51 | 02/21/2025 | Flags flown at state and local government buildings and eliminating a related administrative rule |
SB44 | 02/12/2025 | Local regulation of fowl |
SB43 | 02/12/2025 | Allowing advanced practice nurse prescribers to pronounce the date, time, and place of a patient’s death for purposes of the preparation of death records |
SB42 | 02/12/2025 | Permitting pharmacists to prescribe certain contraceptives, extending the time limit for emergency rule procedures, providing an exemption from emergency rule procedures, granting rule-making authority, and providing a penalty. (FE) |
SB31 | 02/12/2025 | State agency status for certain physician assistants and advanced practice nurses who provide services without compensation for local health departments or school districts. (FE) |
SB30 | 02/12/2025 | Required instruction in civics in the elementary and high school grades, high school graduation requirements, and private school educational program criteria. (FE) |
SB29 | 02/12/2025 | Requiring school boards to adopt policies to prohibit the use of wireless communication devices during instructional time |
SB27 | 02/07/2025 | Requiring state employees to perform their work at the offices of their employer. (FE) |
SB19 | 02/05/2025 | Fee waivers for state park vehicle admission receipts to pupils with Every Kid Outdoors passes. (FE) |
SB13 | 02/03/2025 | Incorporating cursive writing into the state model English language arts standards and requiring cursive writing in elementary grades. (FE) |
SB12 | 02/03/2025 | A sales and use tax exemption for the sale of gun safes. (FE) |
SB11 | 02/03/2025 | Allowing representatives of certain federally chartered youth membership organizations to provide information to pupils on public school property |
SB10 | 02/03/2025 | Access to public high schools for military recruiters |
SB7 | 01/24/2025 | Prohibiting a foreign adversary from acquiring agricultural or forestry land in this state |
SB4 | 01/24/2025 | Agreements for direct primary care |