Senate Bill 145 aims to establish a procedure for evaluating and potentially adding federal newborn screening recommendations to the list of state-required newborn screenings in Wisconsin. The bill mandates that the Department of Health Services (DHS) assess each disorder included in the federal Recommended Uniform Screening Panel (RUSP) as of January 1, 2025, to determine if testing for those disorders should be required in the state. If a disorder is already included in the state’s testing list, it will not be subject to this evaluation. Additionally, any new disorders added to the RUSP after this date must also be evaluated by DHS, which is required to conduct annual reviews of any disorders that were not included in testing to determine if new information or resources warrant a reevaluation.

The bill also includes provisions for emergency rule-making, allowing DHS to expedite the addition of disorders to the testing list without the usual requirements for demonstrating an emergency situation. Specifically, the department is not required to provide evidence of necessity for public health or safety when promulgating emergency rules. Furthermore, the bill ensures that testing for any newly added disorders must commence within six months of the rule's publication. Overall, this legislation seeks to enhance the state's newborn screening process by aligning it more closely with federal recommendations while providing a structured evaluation and implementation framework.