Wisconsin Bills

failed · Wisconsin · Assembly Mar 23, 2026

AB 976: Relating to: changes to the low-income housing tax credit. (FE)

AB 976 clarifies how tax credits for low-income housing projects are claimed by business entities. It modifies rules so partnerships, limited liability companies, and tax-option corporations cannot claim the credit directly; instead, their members or shareholders (including insurers who are part of such entities) may claim it based on the entity's eligible costs. The bill requires entities to calculate and distribute credit amounts to members/shareholders, with specific allocation rules for ownership interests or written agreements. It directly affects housing developers, investors, and insurers involved in low-income housing projects financed through tax-exempt bonds in the state. The changes standardize credit allocation across multiple tax code sections without altering eligibility or credit amounts.

Topics ✓ Budget & Taxes ✓ Housing

Karen Kirsch (D) Alex Joers (D) Tara Johnson (D) Mike Bare (D) Joe Sheehan (D)

failed · Wisconsin · Assembly Mar 23, 2026

AB 988: Relating to: video recording of surgical procedures, providing an exemption from emergency rule procedures, granting rule-making authority, and providing a penalty. (FE)

AB 988 requires surgical facilities (like hospitals and ambulatory centers) to offer patients the option to have their surgical procedure recorded on video. The video must be continuous, include audio, show the time/date, cover the entire surgical suite from preparation through cleanup, and include preoperative discussions and discharge instructions if requested. Facilities must inform patients (or parents/guardians for minors, or authorized representatives for incapacitated patients) about this option, associated fees, and procedures before surgery. The bill does not mandate recording but gives patients a choice, with facilities required to comply if a surgical practitioner requests it and the patient consents.

Topics ✓ Healthcare

failed · Wisconsin · Assembly Mar 23, 2026

AB 817: Relating to: reimbursement for the provision of military funeral honors. (FE)

AB 817 increases the state reimbursement for certified veteran organizations providing military funeral honors from $50 to $100 per funeral. It directly affects local veteran groups certified by the department to perform these honors. The bill amends statute 45.60(2) to allow this higher reimbursement amount from a specific state fund, covering costs incurred by these organizations. The change applies to all military funerals in the state where honors are provided.

Topics ✓ Veterans

failed · Wisconsin · Assembly Mar 23, 2026

AB 993: Relating to: the expiration of administrative rules. (FE)

AB 993 establishes a process for automatically removing expired state rules from Wisconsin's official rulebook. It requires agencies to conduct economic impact analyses for new rules that could cost businesses, local governments, or individuals over $10 million in implementation and compliance costs over two years, potentially halting rulemaking. The bill includes special provisions for "readopting" existing rules (renewing without changes), requiring agencies to analyze costs and benefits of the original rules instead of new rule costs. This affects state agencies creating rules and businesses, local governments, and individuals impacted by regulatory changes.

failed · Wisconsin · Assembly Mar 23, 2026

AB 960: Relating to: requiring social media platforms to provide mental health warnings and providing a penalty.

AB 960 requires most social media platforms operating in the state to display a clear, prominent mental health warning each time a user in the state accesses the platform. The warning must inform users about potential negative mental health effects and provide access to crisis resources like the 988 suicide hotline. It applies to platforms defined as user-generated content services (excluding search engines, email, business communication tools, and streaming services), and prohibits hiding warnings in terms of service or allowing users to disable them without specific conditions. Violations may result in fines up to $5,000 per incident, enforced by state departments.

Topics ✓ Healthcare ✓ Technology

failed · Wisconsin · Senate Mar 23, 2026

SB 813: Relating to: recording and taxation of real property containing a building, improvement, or fixture and consisting of no land. (FE)

SB 813 creates new rules for taxing and recording property that consists *only* of a building, improvement, or fixture (like a structure on leased land) without any underlying land. It requires counties to record ownership declarations for these properties and establish separate tax parcels for the structures when owned by someone other than the landowner. This directly affects owners of such structures (e.g., tenants in commercial buildings) and county assessors who must now handle these separate tax records. The bill amends several tax and recording statutes to implement this system, ensuring these "landless" properties are assessed and taxed appropriately.

failed · Wisconsin · Senate Mar 23, 2026

SB 695: Relating to: additional local sales and use taxes and making an appropriation. (FE)

SB 695 amends statutes to establish new administrative processes for local sales and use taxes collected by counties and municipalities. It creates specific funding accounts (20.566(1)(gj) and 20.835(4)(gj)) to manage revenue from municipal sales taxes under new Section 77.702. The bill requires 0.75% of tax revenues collected under these local ordinances to be allocated to these new administrative accounts. This directly affects counties and municipalities that impose local sales taxes for their own purposes, clarifying how these funds are distributed and administered.

Topics ✓ Budget & Taxes

failed · Wisconsin · Senate Mar 23, 2026

SB 688: Relating to: service award program. (FE)

SB 688 amends Wisconsin's service award program to require 20 years of service (up from 15) and age 53 (down from 60) for full payment eligibility for volunteer firefighters, emergency medical responders, and emergency medical services practitioners. Those with 10-20 years of service who reach age 53 but are under 60 would receive a reduced payment, calculated by the department but less than the full award. The bill specifies that payments cover all municipal and state contributions plus earnings, minus investment expenses, and allows for lump-sum or rule-defined payment structures. The department must create implementing rules for these changes.

failed · Wisconsin · Senate Mar 23, 2026

SB 722: Relating to: weight limits for vehicles transporting grain, feed, or commercial fertilizer. (FE)

SB 722 creates a permit system allowing trucks with 6 or more axles to transport grain, feed, or commercial fertilizer at weights exceeding standard limits, capped at 91,000 pounds total. It requires a $325 permit from the Department of Transportation for such transport on state trunk highways, with routes specified by the department and no approval for interstate highways without federal compliance. Permits are suspended during spring thaw periods and cannot cover non-trunk highways without additional route approval from other highway authorities. This directly affects agricultural haulers and trucking companies moving these specific commodities, adding a regulated pathway for heavier loads within defined limits.

Topics ✓ Transportation

failed · Wisconsin · Assembly Mar 23, 2026

AB 738: Relating to: decertification of law enforcement, jail, or juvenile detention officers and tactical emergency medical services professionals and the use of force by law enforcement officers. (FE)

AB 738 requires the decertification (removal of professional certification) of law enforcement, jail, juvenile detention, and tactical emergency medical services officers within 30 days for specific actions, including resigning to avoid termination for cause or violating training rules. It also mandates that officers terminated while under investigation for misconduct cannot be recertified without a waiver from a police commission or local governing body. The bill directs the licensing board to develop and update biennially model "best practices" use-of-force policies, emphasizing de-escalation, limiting force against vulnerable populations (like those with disabilities or mental health conditions), and requiring officers to use the least force necessary. This applies directly to certified officers in law enforcement, jail, and juvenile detention roles across the state.

Topics ✓ Criminal Justice

failed · Wisconsin · Assembly Mar 23, 2026

AB 730: Relating to: in-person visiting periods for inmates of state correctional institutions and county jails or houses of correction. (FE)

AB 730 mandates that inmates in state correctional facilities and county jails must be allowed at least two in-person visiting periods per week, with limited exceptions for lockdowns (up to 10 days). It requires facilities to allow inmates to designate up to 25 visitors, permits physical embraces for 20 seconds at the start and end of visits, and provides visitors with paper and writing supplies upon request. Inmates may keep original artwork or notes created during visits using facility-provided materials. The bill directly affects incarcerated individuals and their visitors, while setting clear operational requirements for correctional departments and sheriffs.

Topics ✓ Criminal Justice

failed · Wisconsin · Assembly Mar 23, 2026

AB 715: Relating to: nonrecourse civil litigation advances, prohibiting certain foreign persons from financing civil litigation, and providing a penalty.

AB 715 regulates "nonrecourse civil litigation advances," where companies provide cash to people with pending lawsuits in exchange for a share of settlement proceeds. It directly affects consumers (individuals with legal disputes) and companies offering these advances by setting strict limits: maximum $100,000 per advance, finance charges capped at the weekly prime rate plus 10%, and repayment must occur within 36 months. The bill requires clear contract disclosures (in bold, 12-point font) about costs, the right to cancel within 5 days, and prohibits companies from controlling lawsuits or paying referral fees to attorneys. Violations incur fines of $25-$5,000 per offense, with additional penalties for willful violations.

Bill results