AB 665 allows Wisconsin taxpayers who don't itemize federal tax deductions to subtract up to $1,000 (or $2,000 for married couples filing jointly) of cash, check, or credit card charitable donations from their state taxable income. It applies only to donations to IRS-qualified charities (excluding donor-advised funds) and takes effect for 2026 tax years. The bill excludes contributions to donor-advised funds and adjusts the subtraction for taxpayers who move into or out of Wisconsin during the year. This policy change directly affects non-itemizing Wisconsin residents making qualifying charitable gifts.
AB 656 eliminates a legal exception that previously protected spouses from prosecution for sex crimes against child spouses. It amends statutes 948.09 (sexual intercourse with a child age 16+) and 948.093 (underage sexual activity) to remove the provision stating these laws "do not apply if the child is the defendant’s spouse." This change directly affects individuals in marriages where one spouse was a minor at the time of marriage, making spousal relationships no longer a defense for sex crimes against children. The bill also updates marriage-related provisions, including allowing minors under 18 to file for divorce (767.185) and clarifying consent requirements for minors seeking marriage licenses.
SB 638 raises the maximum annual compensation limit for volunteer firefighters, EMTs, and emergency responders who hold elected local offices. It increases the cap to $35,000 for cities/villages/towns with 5,000 or fewer residents and $25,000 for larger communities. This change allows more emergency service workers to serve in local government while receiving compensation for their roles, aligning with existing wage provisions for elected officials.
AB 347 addresses fees charged for specific coroner or medical examiner services, though the provided context does not specify the exact fee changes, affected services, or direct beneficiaries. The bill's title indicates it targets fiscal aspects of these services, but no details about its provisions, mechanisms, or policy changes are included in the available information. Recent actions show it advanced through committee amendments and was scheduled for a vote in November 2025, but it was later "laid on the table" without further progress. Without substantive content on the bill's provisions, a detailed summary of its policy impact cannot be provided. The context lacks sufficient detail to describe who it affects or how it would change current fee structures.
AB 422 extends the time limit for prosecuting crimes involving hidden bodies. It allows prosecutors to file charges within the standard statute of limitations period or within 6 years after the corpse is discovered or identified, whichever date is later. This directly affects homicide cases where bodies are concealed and discovered years after the crime, giving prosecutors additional time to pursue charges. The bill creates a new provision in state law that applies to cases where the original time limit had not expired when the law took effect.
AB 433 changes the required typeface for legal notices published in newspapers from Times New Roman to Arial. It mandates that all legal notices use a standard 6-point Arial sans-serif font with specific spacing, while allowing larger Arial sizes (up to 12-point) with proportional fee adjustments based on column area. This directly affects newspapers publishing legal notices and the agencies or individuals placing those notices. The bill repeals the previous typeface requirement and clarifies fee adjustments for non-standard font sizes.
SB 552 increases annual funding for Wisconsin's birth defect prevention and monitoring system from $95,000 to $500,000. It also authorizes 3.3 additional full-time staff positions at the Department of Health Services to maintain this system. The bill allocates an extra $405,000 for fiscal years 2025-26 and 2026-27 from the state health services budget. This directly affects the Department of Health Services, which will use the funds to strengthen birth defect monitoring and prevention efforts. The changes are purely fiscal, with no new policy requirements beyond the specified funding and staffing adjustments.
SB 661 creates a $6 million program to fund safety improvements at high-crash intersections in cities and counties. Local governments can apply for reimbursement or grants to upgrade signalized and stop-sign intersections identified as having excessive crash rates, using data from 2019-2024. The program prioritizes projects in the 10% of counties with the highest intersection crash rates. This is a direct appropriation from the transportation budget for fiscal year 2025-26, with no new legal requirements.
SB 631 requires private colleges seeking state approval to maintain a reserve fund equal to 25% of their highest annual revenue from the past five years (or projected first-year revenue for new schools). This fund would compensate students who suffer financial loss due to school fraud, failure to fulfill contracts, or closure. The bill also establishes a $3 per $1,000 fee on schools' annual revenue to build this protection fund, which stops collecting once the fund reaches $5 million. It directly affects private postsecondary schools needing state approval to operate in the state.
AB 195 clarifies rules for property transfers after death and related financial processes. It specifies that Transfer-on-Death (TOD) beneficiary designations only take effect after the owner's death, and owners can revoke these designations anytime by recording a new document meeting specific requirements. The bill also standardizes how deposits must be returned when real estate contracts are rescinded (to the seller or third-party assignee) and outlines acceptable documents for filing satisfaction of judgments. It requires property tax bills as evidence when transferring property after a person's death, streamlining documentation for county offices. These changes primarily affect property owners, real estate professionals, and court clerks handling property transfers and judgments.
SB 623 imposes a moratorium on issuing new permits for mining sulfide ore bodies (mining operations that extract minerals mixed with sulfide minerals) until specific environmental safety conditions are met. It requires the Department of Natural Resources to verify that similar mining operations in the U.S. or Canada have operated for at least 10 years without polluting water from acid drainage or heavy metals, or that such operations have closed safely for 10 years. This applies to all permit applications, regardless of when they were submitted, directly affecting mining companies seeking new sulfide ore permits in the state. The bill creates a new statute (293.50) to enforce this requirement while allowing permits to proceed once the conditions are satisfied.
SB 550 requires the Department of Natural Resources to provide metal containers for hunters to dispose of deer carcasses at state locations and mandates regular disposal of carcasses from these containers. It also allocates $500,000 annually for fiscal years 2025-26 and 2026-27 to fund these disposal sites and an additional $250,000 annually for hunter education about chronic wasting disease (a deer illness) and proper carcass disposal. The bill directly affects hunters who must use designated disposal sites and the Department of Natural Resources, which must implement and manage the program. Funding increases are specified in the state budget schedule under existing appropriation statutes.
