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Bills from the 2011–12 session

Assembly Bill 268

Legislative vacancies

Topics: Elections, Governor, Legislature: Member

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

    Sep 20, 2011

  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, Mar 23, 2012: “Failed to pass pursuant to ⁠”

It never got a hearing in the Assembly Committee on Election and Campaign Reform. 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.

Currently, under the Wisconsin Constitution, when there is a vacancy in the membership of the senate or assembly, the governor is directed to call a special election to fill the vacancy. There is no deadline for issuing the order, but the directive is enforceable through the court system. Under the statutes, with a limited exception relating to legislative session scheduling, if the vacancy occurs before the second Tuesday in May in the year in which the office is regularly filled, the vacancy must be filled "as promptly as possible."

This bill changes the statutes to specify that the special election must be ordered within 60 days after the vacancy occurs, subject to the current exception.

Who's behind it

15 lawmakers are its ⁠. All 15 are Democrats.

5 more lawmakers ⁠.

See all 20 names

Authors (15)

Signed on in support (5)

What happened

  1. Mar 23, 2012

    The session ended, and the bill died with it.

  2. Sep 20, 2011

    Sent to the Assembly Committee on Election and Campaign Reform.

  3. Sep 20, 2011

    Introduced in the Assembly.

See the official record, word for word
  1. Sep 20, 2011 · Assembly

    Introduced by Representatives Pocan, C. Taylor, Berceau, Bernard Schaber, Bewley, E. Coggs, Fields, Grigsby, Hebl, Hintz, Mason, Pope-Roberts, Ringhand, Toles and Turner;Cosponsored by Senators Shilling, S. Coggs, Hansen, C. Larson and Taylor

  2. Sep 20, 2011 · Assembly

    Read first time and referred to committee on Election and Campaign Reform

  3. Mar 23, 2012 · 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