State Lawmakers Pass Bills Friday Night Regarding Food Assistance and Clean Up of Forever Chemicals

Monday, February 23rd, 2026 -- 9:00 AM

(Anya Van Wagtendonk, Wisconsin Public Radio) Capping off a contentious week of floor sessions that saw tempers flare as lawmakers raced to adjourn for the year, the state Assembly passed bills Friday night tied to hard-fought deals about food assistance and cleaning up forever chemicals, known as PFAS.

According to Anya Van Wagtendonk with Wisconsin Public Radio, both proposals passed with bipartisan votes and would still need to be approved by the state Senate, which is expected to return to Madison for at least one session day in March.

The votes related to federal food assistance, known nationally as SNAP, and in Wisconsin as FoodShare, passed at a time when the program is set to face more scrutiny under changes signed into law by the President.

The bill tightened restrictions on access to food assistance and increased penalties on states that make errors in administrating the benefits. Democratic Gov. Tony Evers’ administration has requested money and staff to facilitate those changes, with Evers arguing in his State of the State address Tuesday that a small investment now would save the state a larger amount in penalties.

Dozens of staff positions were added Friday night in an amendment to a bill barring SNAP recipients from buying candy, soda or energy drinks with their assistance dollars.

That amendment included several exclusions that would still allow for the purchase of dairy products, like milkshakes. That plan passed on a bipartisan 72-22 vote.

Republicans also approved another bill on a 54-39 vote requiring the Wisconsin Department of Health Services to share data about FoodShare recipients with the federal government.

The Assembly voted 93-0 for two bills aimed at addressing PFAS contamination. One bill would exempt certain people and businesses from having to clean up the forever chemicals.

That would include municipal services that use things with PFAS for emergencies, like firefighting foam. It would also include solid waste facilities and people or businesses that had licenses to spread materials containing PFAS.

The bill would also exempt people who bought contaminated property but weren’t responsible for the spills. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources would be responsible for cleaning up the PFAS on behalf of exempted people or businesses.

The other PFAS bill would create a series of grants for testing and remediating the chemicals, including one for so-called “innocent landowners,” or people who bought property that was contaminated but didn’t cause the contamination themselves.

It would also create other legal protections for them. The legislation would unlock $125 million that was set aside in 2023 for PFAS remediation, and which has been subject to a long fight between Evers and legislative Republicans.

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