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Bills from the 2009–10 session

Assembly Bill 233

Use of a facsimile firearm and providing a penalty

Topics: Crime and criminals, Firearms and dangerous weapons, Legislature: Criminal Penalties, Joint Review Committee on

Stopped in committee

It never got a ⁠, so it never came up for a vote. To try again, a lawmaker would have to start a new bill.

  1. Introduced, passed

    Apr 28, 2009

  2. Committee, stopped here

    Stopped here. No public hearing was held.

  3. Assembly vote, not reached

  4. Senate vote, not reached

  5. Governor, not reached

  6. Law, not reached

Latest entry in the official record, Apr 28, 2010: “Failed to pass pursuant to ⁠”

It never got a hearing in the Assembly Committee on Criminal Justice. See every bill that never got a hearing this session.

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What it would have done

Summary by the , the Legislature's nonpartisan drafting office. It's their wording, not ours.

Under current law, a person who commits certain crimes by using or threatening to use a dangerous weapon or an article used or fashioned in a manner that the victim believes is a dangerous weapon is subject to greater penalties than the person would be if he or she committed the crime without using a dangerous weapon.

Under this bill, a person is subject to the same penalties as he or she would be under current law for using a dangerous weapon if the person commits a crime using a facsimile firearm. A "facsimile firearm" is defined as any replica, toy, starter pistol, or other object that bears a reasonable resemblance to or that reasonably can be perceived to be an actual firearm.

Read the full summary

Current law also prohibits a person from carrying or displaying a facsimile firearm in a way that would alarm, intimidate, threaten, or terrify another person.

Anyone who does so is subject to a Class C forfeiture and may be required to pay a forfeiture not to exceed $500.

This bill increases that penalty to a Class A misdemeanor and a person who violates the provision may be fined up to $10,000, imprisoned for up to nine months, or both.

Because this bill creates a new crime or revises a penalty for an existing crime, the Joint Review Committee on Criminal Penalties may be requested to prepare a report concerning the proposed penalty and the costs or savings that are likely to result if the bill is enacted.

Who's behind it

14 lawmakers are its ⁠. 12 are Republicans and 2 are Democrats.

5 more lawmakers ⁠.

See all 19 names

Authors (14)

Signed on in support (5)

What happened

  1. Apr 28, 2010

    The session ended, and the bill died with it.

  2. Apr 28, 2009

    Sent to the Assembly Committee on Criminal Justice.

  3. Apr 28, 2009

    Introduced in the Assembly.

See the official record, word for word
  1. Apr 28, 2009 · Assembly

    Introduced by Representatives Van Roy, Montgomery, Kerkman, A. Ott, Vos, LeMahieu, Berceau, Brooks, Nass, Townsend, Lothian, Spanbauer, Steinbrink and Ripp;Cosponsored by Senators Hansen, Olsen, Schultz, Darling and Cowles

  2. Apr 28, 2009 · Assembly

    Read first time and referred to committee on Criminal Justice

  3. Apr 28, 2010 · Assembly

    Failed to pass pursuant to Senate Joint Resolution 1

Terms on this page

Committee

A small group of lawmakers that looks at a bill first. Most bills never leave committee.

More in the glossary

Public hearing

A meeting where anyone can speak to a committee about a bill, or send written comments.

More in the glossary

Senate Joint Resolution 1

The session's calendar. Any bill not passed by its last voting day dies.

Official term: Failed to pass pursuant to SJR 1. More in the glossary

Legislative Reference Bureau

The Legislature's nonpartisan office that drafts bills and writes the summary at the top of each one.

Official term: LRB analysis. More in the glossary

Author

A lawmaker who formally puts a bill forward. The text itself is drafted by the Legislative Reference Bureau.

Official term: Author, coauthor. More in the glossary

Signed on in support

Lawmakers who back a bill without being one of its authors, often from the other chamber.

Official term: Cosponsor. More in the glossary

From the Wisconsin Legislature's official record, checked Sep 15, 2026. See the source

Committee

A small group of lawmakers that looks at a bill first. Most bills never leave committee.

Public hearing

A meeting where anyone can speak to a committee about a bill, or send written comments.

Senate Joint Resolution 1

The session's calendar. Any bill not passed by its last voting day dies.

Official term: Failed to pass pursuant to SJR 1

Legislative Reference Bureau

The Legislature's nonpartisan office that drafts bills and writes the summary at the top of each one.

Official term: LRB analysis

Author

A lawmaker who formally puts a bill forward. The text itself is drafted by the Legislative Reference Bureau.

Official term: Author, coauthor

Signed on in support

Lawmakers who back a bill without being one of its authors, often from the other chamber.

Official term: Cosponsor