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Bills from the 2015–16 session

Assembly Bill 149

County authority relating to exploration for a type of industrial sand. (FE)

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 8, 2015

  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 13, 2016: “Failed to pass pursuant to ⁠”

It never got a hearing in the Assembly Committee on Mining and Rural Development. 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.

Current law requires counties to regulate the reclamation of nonmetallic mining sites. Nonmetallic mining is the extraction of nonmetallic materials, including stone, gravel, clay, and sand.

This bill authorizes counties to issue licenses for frac sand exploration. Frac sand is a type of industrial sand that can be used in deep wells to prop open rock fissures and increase the flow of natural gas or oil. Exploration consists of drilling holes for the purpose of searching for frac sand or establishing the nature and extent of a frac sand deposit.

Read the full summary

Under the bill, a person who applies to a county for a frac sand exploration license must submit a bond to ensure that drillholes will be properly filled and proof that the person has liability insurance covering personal injury and property damage. The bill requires a licensee to notify the county before beginning drilling and before filling a drillhole.

The bill requires the Department of Natural Resources to provide technical assistance related to frac sand exploration to a county upon request.

Who's behind it

17 lawmakers are its ⁠. All 17 are Democrats.

8 more lawmakers ⁠.

See all 25 names

Authors (17)

Signed on in support (8)

What it would cost

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

How lawmakers voted

There was one vote on this bill. Taking a bill up right away needs two-thirds of the members, a higher bar than passing it, so that vote can draw more yeses than the final one.

Assembly vote to take it up right away

Failed, 36 to 60 · Jan 19, 2016

No member-by-member record exists for this vote. Committee votes and some older sessions record totals only.

Official motion: “Refused to suspend rules to withdraw from committee on Mining and Rural Development and take up, Ayes 36, Noes 60”. Official record · This vote on its own page

What happened

  1. Apr 13, 2016

    The session ended, and the bill died with it.

  2. Apr 17, 2015

    A state agency sent in its estimate of the cost.

  3. Apr 8, 2015

    Sent to the Assembly Committee on Mining and Rural Development.

  4. Apr 8, 2015

    Introduced in the Assembly.

See the official record, word for word
  1. Apr 8, 2015 · Assembly

    Introduced by Representatives Danou, Berceau, Billings, Bowen, Brostoff, Considine, Goyke, Hebl, Kolste, Ohnstad, Pope, Sinicki, Spreitzer, Subeck, C. Taylor, Wachs and Zepnick; cosponsored by Senators Vinehout, Bewley, Carpenter, Erpenbach, Lassa, Miller, Risser and Wirch

  2. Apr 8, 2015 · Assembly

    Read first time and referred to Committee on Mining and Rural Development

  3. Apr 17, 2015 · Assembly

    Fiscal estimate received

  4. Jan 19, 2016 · Assembly

    Refused to suspend rules to withdraw from committee on Mining and Rural Development and take up, Ayes 36, Noes 60

  5. Apr 13, 2016 · 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

Roll call

A vote where each lawmaker's yes or no is recorded by name.

Official term: Roll call vote. 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

Roll call

A vote where each lawmaker's yes or no is recorded by name.

Official term: Roll call vote