MADISON, Wis. -- The Republican-controlled state Assembly passed several bills Wednesday night, sending them to the Democratic-controlled state Senate.

The Assembly passed a bill that would lower Wisconsin's minimum hunting age to 10. The current minimum age is 12.

The bill would allow 10- and 11-year-olds to hunt if they're within arms reach of a mentor certified by the state Department of Natural Resources.

The Assembly also passed a bill that would set up some stiff penalties for anyone caught feeding a deer illegally.

State law prohibits feeding deer in counties with chronic wasting disease zones. Feeding in CWD-free counties is generally limited to two gallons at a site and the feed must be free of any animal byproduct.

The bill sets up a maximum $2,500 forfeiture for anyone violating those provisions. State officials also could revoke a violator's hunting license and prohibit a violator from obtaining a license for an unspecified time.

The measure passed 73-22 Wednesday night and now goes to the state Senate.

Assembly Backs Limits On Government Social Security Number Use

After a series of privacy breaches, lawmakers are advancing a plan that would prohibit government agencies from using Social Security numbers to identify people.

The Assembly passed a bill that would allow Social Security numbers to be used by agencies only when authorized under law. All other state and local agencies would be forced to find a new way to identify people by next year.

The Assembly passed the bill 95-0 Wednesday night. It now goes to the state Senate.

Assembly Approves Tax Credit For Business Tuition Expenses

The state Assembly approved a proposal Wednesday night to award tax credits for companies that reimburse their employees for tuition expenses.

Companies would get credits of 50 percent of the tuition expenses they pay for most employees and 75 percent for workers considered low-income.

The Department of Revenue estimates the credits would cost the state $23 million per year. That could grow if they encourage more businesses to subsidize employee tuition costs.

The credits would apply to the vast majority of Wisconsin universities and technical colleges.

Assembly Votes To Stop College Aid In Drug Crimes

The state Assembly approved a bill Wednesday night that would block financial aid for college students convicted of drug crimes.

The bill would change state law to mirror restrictions on federal financial aid for those who are convicted of manufacturing, distributing or delivering controlled substances.

Those who are convicted the first time would become ineligible for two years. Others with multiple convictions would be disqualified until they complete drug rehabilitation programs.

The University of Wisconsin System estimated that the bill might cut off state grants for about 50 students per year.

Assembly Votes To Take Race Out Of Open Enrollment

School districts would no longer have to consider the race of students when determining whether to allow them to transfer under a bill approved by the Assembly Wednesday.

Republican Rep. Steve Nass of Whitewater said the change would bring state law into compliance with a U.S. Supreme Court decision that restricted the use of race in school diversity plans.

Current law requires certain districts to reject students' transfer requests under the open enrollment program if the move would increase racial imbalance.

Bill Requiring Fire-Safe Cigarettes Passes Assembly

All cigarettes sold in Wisconsin would have to be the type that automatically extinguish when they're not being smoked under a bill that was passed in the Assembly Wednesday.

Wisconsin would join 22 other states in requiring that only fire-safe cigarettes be sold should the bill also clear the Senate and be signed by the governor.

Tobacco companies do not oppose the measure, which has the support of firefighters and emergency responders.

R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company said it plans to voluntarily switch all its cigarettes to the fire-safe kind by the end of next year.

Assembly Votes To Ban Frivolous Nuisance Lawsuits

The state Assembly passed a bill that would ban the Justice Department from filing nuisance lawsuits if the allegations don't clearly violate state law.

The bill comes in response to a nasty legal battle between the Justice Department and a northwestern Wisconsin cranberry grower.

Former Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager, a Democrat, filed a nuisance lawsuit alleging the farmer was polluting Musky Bay in 2004.

A Sawyer County judge threw the case out after ruling what defines a public nuisance is unclear under state law. A state appeals court in February agreed.

The Republican-controlled Assembly passed the measure 58-37. It now goes to the Democratic-controlled state Senate.

Bill Creating Official State Tartan Passes Assembly

The Assembly passed a bill Wednesday night that would create an official state tartan, a pattern of criss-crossed horizontal and vertical bands of muted blue, scarlet, gray, black, dark green, dark yellow, black, and brown.

The proposal must pass the Senate and be signed by the governor to become law.

Wisconsin already has a state song, ballad, waltz, dance, and symbol of peace. And there's a state beverage, tree, grain, flower, bird, fish, animal, domestic animal and wildlife animal. And don't forget about the state dog, insect, fossil, mineral, rock, soil, and fruit.

Assembly Votes To Change Gun Background Checks

The Assembly passed a bill that would require the Department of Justice to check whether a judge has decided a would-be handgun buyer is too mentally unstable to possess a firearm.

The bill would require judges to decide if a person who must be committed or given a guardian is "mentally defective," making them ineligible to own a gun under federal law.

Those rulings would be forwarded to the Justice Department. The agency would use them in gun-buyer background checks and forward them to the National Instant Criminal Background System.

People affected by a ruling could petition to have it canceled.

Assembly Refuses To Consider Police Psych-Exam Bill

The state Assembly has blocked an attempt to consider a bill that would require all police officer applicants to undergo psychological exams.

The bill comes in response to last fall's mass slayings in Crandon. Forest County Sheriff's Deputy Tyler Peterson used his service assault rifle to kill six people at a party and wound another. Authorities said he later shot himself to death.

Peterson was also a part-time Crandon police officer. But he never underwent any mental testing because state law doesn't mandate it for police officers.

The bill wasn't on the Assembly calendar. Its author, Balsam Lake Democrat Ann Hraychuck, asked Republicans who control the Assembly to take it up anyway, but the chamber voted her down, 50-45.