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Bills from the 2009–10 session

Assembly Bill 874

Increasing the reduction in Wisconsin Works benefits based on a positive drug test, paying the amount of the reduction to dependent children in the group, and granting rule-making authority

Topics: Alcohol and other drug abuse, Children: Protection and services, Drugs, Wisconsin Works

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

    Mar 19, 2010

  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 Rules pursuant to Assembly Rule 42 (3)(c). See every bill that never got a hearing this session.

Read the bill

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What it would have done

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

Among the types of assistance that the Wisconsin Works (W-2) program under current law provides are work experience and benefits for low-income custodial parents who are at least 18 years old. W-2 has three categories of employment positions: 1) trial jobs, under which an individual receives at least minimum wage from an employer and the W-2 agency pays a wage subsidy of up to $300 per month to the employer; 2) community service jobs, under which an individual works in a project that serves a useful public purpose or that will generate revenue to wholly or partially offset the project's cost and receives a monthly grant of up to $673 from the W-2 agency; and 3) transitional placements, under which an individual participates in work activities in a community rehabilitation program, a job similar to a community service job, or volunteer activities and receives a monthly grant of up to $628 from the W-2 agency.

Under current law, if an individual in a community service job or a transitional placement was convicted after August 22, 1996, in any state or federal court of a felony that has as an element possession, use, or distribution of a controlled substance, the individual must submit to a test for use of a controlled substance. If the test results are positive, the individual's benefit is reduced by up to 15 percent for at least 12 months, and the W-2 agency may require the individual to participate in a drug abuse evaluation, assessment, and treatment program.

Read the full summary

This bill increases the possible reduction in an individual's benefit for a positive test result for the use of a controlled substance to up to 50 percent and provides that the other members of the individual's W-2 group who are dependent children would continue to receive the amount by which the individual's benefit is reduced in the form of protective or vendor payments in the manner prescribed by the Department of Children and Families by rule. A W-2 group consists of all of the following: 1) an individual who is a custodial parent and his or her dependent children; 2) all dependent children with respect to whom the individual's dependent child is a custodial parent; and 3) the individual's spouse or nonmarital coparent residing in the same household and all dependent children with respect to whom the spouse or nonmarital coparent is a custodial parent. A dependent child is defined as a child who lives with a parent and who is under 18 years old, or under 19 years old if he or she is a full-time student in a secondary school or a vocational or technical equivalent.

Who's behind it

15 lawmakers are its ⁠. All 15 are Republicans.

3 more lawmakers ⁠.

See all 18 names

Authors (15)

Signed on in support (3)

What it would cost

State agencies filed a . Each opens as a PDF from the Legislature.

What happened

  1. Apr 28, 2010

    The session ended, and the bill died with it.

  2. Apr 13, 2010

    Sent to the Assembly Committee on Rules.

  3. Apr 13, 2010

    A state agency sent in its estimate of the cost.

  4. Mar 19, 2010

    Sent to the Assembly Committee on Children and Families.

  5. Mar 19, 2010

    Introduced in the Assembly.

See the official record, word for word
  1. Mar 19, 2010 · Assembly

    Introduced by Representatives Knodl, Brooks, Friske, Gunderson, Honadel, Newcomer, Nygren, Petrowski, Pridemore, Strachota, Suder, Tauchen, Townsend, Vos and Zipperer;Cosponsored by Senators Darling, Lazich and Leibham

  2. Mar 19, 2010 · Assembly

    Read first time and referred to committee on Children and Families

  3. Apr 13, 2010 · Assembly

    Fiscal estimate received

  4. Apr 13, 2010 · Assembly

    Withdrawn from committee on Children and Families and referred to committee on Rules pursuant to Assembly Rule 42 (3)(c)

  5. 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

Cost estimate

A state agency's estimate of what a bill would cost or save.

Official term: Fiscal estimate. 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

Cost estimate

A state agency's estimate of what a bill would cost or save.

Official term: Fiscal estimate