Senate Bill 399
Crimes against animals
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.
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Introduced, passed
Nov 11, 2013
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Committee, stopped here
Stopped here. No public hearing was held.
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Senate vote, not reached
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Assembly vote, not reached
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Governor, not reached
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Law, not reached
Latest entry in the official record, Apr 8, 2014: “Failed to pass pursuant to ”
It never got a hearing in the Senate Committee on Judiciary and Labor. See every bill that never got a hearing this session.
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Terms on this page
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. 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
What it would have done
Summary by the , the Legislature's nonpartisan drafting office. It's their wording, not ours.
Under current law, no one may treat an animal cruelly, fail to provide an animal for which he or she is responsible with proper food, water, or shelter, or abandon an animal. Under most circumstances, a person who does any of those things is guilty of a Class A misdemeanor, except that a person who treats an animal cruelly is guilty of a Class I felony if the mistreatment is intentional and results in the mutilation, disfigurement, or death of the animal. Current law states that the prohibition against treating an animal cruelly does not prohibit normal and accepted veterinary practices.
Under this bill, a person who treats an animal cruelly is guilty of a Class I felony if the mistreatment is intentional and results in the mutilation of, the disfigurement of, great bodily harm to, or the death of, the animal.
Read the full summary Show less
The bill clarifies that a person abandons an animal if the person fails to make arrangements for the animal's proper care, sustenance, and shelter. The bill clarifies that a person must provide an animal with adequate food and water, that snow or ice is not adequate water, and that failure to provide either food or water constitutes a violation. However, the bill specifies that the prohibition against treating an animal cruelly does not impose requirements or standards more stringent than normally accepted animal husbandry practices for farm animals and does not impose requirements for providing food and water to farm animals that exceed normally accepted animal husbandry practices.
Under the bill, a court may order a violator to undergo a psychological assessment or to participate in anger management or other psychological counseling or treatment and may bar a violator from owning, possessing, or training any animal or any particular type or species of animal for up to ten years.
Who's behind it
4 senators are its . All 4 are Democrats.
16 more lawmakers .
See all 20 names Hide the names
Authors (4)
- Tim Carpenter · Democrat, Senate
- Dave Hansen · Democrat, Senate
- Robert Jauch · Democrat, Senate
- Fred A. Risser · Democrat, Senate
Signed on in support (16)
- Terese Berceau · Democrat, Assembly
- Kathleen Bernier · Republican, Senate
- Janet Bewley · Democrat, Senate
- Chris Taylor · Democrat, Assembly
- Steve Doyle · Democrat, Assembly
- Eric Genrich · Democrat, Assembly
- Evan Goyke · Democrat, Assembly
- Dianne Hesselbein · Democrat, Senate
- Nick Milroy · Democrat, Assembly
- Tod Ohnstad · Democrat, Assembly
- Sondy Pope · Democrat, Assembly
- Melissa Sargent · Democrat, Assembly
- Michael Schraa · Republican, Assembly
- Thomas Larson · Republican, Assembly
- Dana Wachs · Democrat, Assembly
- Mandy Wright · Democrat, Assembly
What happened
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Apr 8, 2014
The session ended, and the bill died with it.
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Nov 11, 2013
Sent to the Senate Committee on Judiciary and Labor.
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Nov 11, 2013
Introduced in the Senate.
See the official record, word for word Hide the official record
- Nov 11, 2013 · Senate
Introduced by Senators Jauch, Carpenter, Hansen and Risser; cosponsored by Representatives Milroy, Bernier, Berceau, Bewley, Doyle, T. Larson, Genrich, Goyke, Hesselbein, Ohnstad, Pope, Schraa, Sargent, C. Taylor, Wachs and Wright
- Nov 11, 2013 · Senate
Read first time and referred to Committee on Judiciary and Labor
- Apr 8, 2014 · Senate
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.
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. 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
Signed on in support
Lawmakers who back a bill without being one of its authors, often from the other chamber.
Official term: Cosponsor