We have now met twice with Sen. Risser (D-Madsion), who as some of you may know is president of the senate, and twice with Sen. Plale (D-Milwaukee), who will be the author of our bill. I met with him for the second time just yesterday. Both senators thought that our original bill was too extensive to have a reasonable chance of passage this year. Based on advice from the senators we have agreed to support the following change in the bill to create some equality in placement. We do this with some reluctance because the original version was, in our opinion, a stronger bill. But politics is the art of compromise and something is better than nothing. I have pasted the current law and the proposed version below with the changes highlighted for your information. Senator Plale asks that we all wait until he has had a chance to summon the needed support before we start contacting our individual representatives. I will inform everyone as soon as he gives me the go-ahead. The political situation in the assembly unfortunately requires Don Pridemore to step aside as primary author. To his credit he is willing to do this so that the bill has a chance of passage. We all owe him a great debt of gratitude for championing equal treatment for fathers the last couple of sessions. We are not sure who will now auther the bill there but that is one of the things Sen. Plale is working on. Thanks Steve ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Current law: 767.41 (4) (a) 2. In determining the allocation of periods of physical placement, the court shall consider each case on the basis of the factors in sub. (5) (am), subject to sub. (5) (bm). The court shall set a placement schedule that allows the child to have regularly occurring, meaningful periods of physical placement with each parent and that maximizes the amount of time the child may spend with each parent, taking into account geographic separation and accommodations for different households. Proposed bill with legislative analysis: LRB?2738/1 PJK:bjk:rs 2009 ? 2010 LEGISLATURE 2009 BILL AN ACT to amend 767.41 (4) (a) 2. of the statutes; relating to: equalizing physical placement. Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau Under current law, in an action affecting the family, such as a divorce or a paternity action, a court must determine the legal custody of a minor child and, in most cases, allocate periods of physical placement between the parties. When determining custody and periods of physical placement, the court is required to consider a number of factors, such as the wishes of the child and of the parties, the interaction and interrelationship of the child with his or her parents, the amount and quality of time that each party has spent with the child in the past, the mental and physical health of the parties and the child, and the cooperation and communication between the parties. In allocating periods of physical placement, the court is required to set a placement schedule that allows the child to have regularly occurring, meaningful periods of physical placement with each parent and that maximizes the amount of time the child may spend with each parent, taking into consideration geographic separation and accommodations for different households. The court may deny periods of physical placement with a parent only if the court finds that the physical placement would endanger the child’s physical, mental, or emotional health. Under the bill, instead of setting a placement schedule that maximizes the amount of time a child may spend with each parent, the court must set a placement schedule that equalizes to the highest degree possible the amount of time the child may spend with each parent. All other requirements and factors that the court must consider under current law remain unchanged. The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do enact as follows: SECTION 1. 767.41 (4) (a) 2. of the statutes is amended to read: 767.41(4) (a) 2. In determining the allocation of periods of physical placement, the court shall consider each case on the basis of the factors in sub. (5) (am), subject to sub. (5) (bm). The court shall set a placement schedule that allows the child to have regularly occurring, meaningful periods of physical placement with each parent and that equalizes to the highest degree possible the amount of time the child may spend with each parent, taking into account geographic separation and accommodations for different households. (END)ˆ