Assembly Bill 153
Application of the open meetings law to legislative party caucuses
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.
-
Introduced, passed
Apr 8, 2015
-
Committee, stopped here
Stopped here. No public hearing was held.
-
Assembly vote, not reached
-
Senate vote, not reached
-
Governor, not reached
-
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 State Affairs and Government Operations. See every bill that never got a hearing this session.
Following saves it on this device. New actions show on your Following page. You can also get updates in a feed reader.
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
What it would have done
Summary by the , the Legislature's nonpartisan drafting office. It's their wording, not ours.
Currently, under the open meetings law, with certain exceptions, meetings of state and local governmental bodies must be preceded by public notice, must be held in places that are reasonably accessible to the public, and must be open to the public at all times. The open meetings law does not apply to any partisan caucus of the senate or assembly, except as provided by legislative rule.
This bill deletes the exception in the open meetings law that makes the law inapplicable to a partisan caucus of the senate or assembly. Under the bill, no rule of the senate or assembly and no joint rule of the legislature that exempts a partisan caucus of the senate or assembly from compliance with the open meetings law is valid.
Who's behind it
18 lawmakers are its . 17 are Democrats and 1 is a Republican.
See all 18 names Hide the names
Authors (18)
- Terese Berceau · Democrat, Assembly
- David Bowen · Democrat, Assembly
- Jonathan Brostoff · Democrat, Assembly
- Edward Brooks · Republican, Assembly
- Evan Goyke · Democrat, Assembly
- Gary Hebl · Democrat, Assembly
- Dianne Hesselbein · Democrat, Senate
- Gordon Hintz · Democrat, Assembly
- LaTonya Johnson · Democrat, Senate
- Robb Kahl · Democrat, Assembly
- Debra Kolste · Democrat, Assembly
- Cory Mason · Democrat, Assembly
- Daniel Riemer · Democrat, Assembly
- Christine Sinicki · Democrat, Assembly
- Mark Spreitzer · Democrat, Senate
- Lisa Subeck · Democrat, Assembly
- Dana Wachs · Democrat, Assembly
- JoCasta Zamarripa · Democrat, Assembly
What happened
-
Apr 13, 2016
The session ended, and the bill died with it.
-
Apr 8, 2015
Sent to the Assembly Committee on State Affairs and Government Operations.
-
Apr 8, 2015
Introduced in the Assembly.
See the official record, word for word Hide the official record
- Apr 8, 2015 · Assembly
Introduced by Representatives Mason, E. Brooks, Berceau, Bowen, Brostoff, Goyke, Hebl, Hesselbein, Hintz, Johnson, Kahl, Kolste, Riemer, Sinicki, Subeck, Wachs, Zamarripa and Spreitzer
- Apr 8, 2015 · Assembly
Read first time and referred to Committee on State Affairs and Government Operations
- 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.
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
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