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Bills from the 2015–16 session

Assembly Bill 463

The prosecution and venue for trial of certain offenses by certain state residents

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

    Oct 27, 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 Judiciary. 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.

This bill changes the venue for trials involving violations of elections, ethics, and lobbying regulation laws.

Under current law, with certain limited exceptions, civil violations of the elections, ethics, and lobbying regulation laws and of all other laws arising from or in relation to the official functions of the subject of an investigation or any matter that relates to elections, ethics, or lobbying regulation that are alleged to be committed by a resident of this state are prosecuted by the Government Accountability Board (board) or by the district attorney for the prosecutorial unit (in most cases, the county) where the subject resides. With similar exceptions, civil violations of these laws by nonresidents are prosecuted by the board or by the district attorney for the prosecutorial unit where an alleged violation occurs. Criminal violations of these laws are prosecuted solely by the same district attorney, subject to the same exceptions. With certain limited exceptions, the trial in any such civil or criminal prosecution of a resident of this state, as well as in any lobbying license revocation action brought by the board, is held in circuit court for the county where the subject resides. With similar exceptions, the trial in any such civil or criminal prosecution of a nonresident of this state is held in circuit court for the county where an alleged violation occurs.

Read the full summary

This bill provides, with similar exceptions, that all such civil violations shall be prosecuted by the board or by the district attorney for the prosecutorial unit where an alleged violation occurs, irrespective of the residence of the defendant. The bill also provides, with similar exceptions, that all such criminal violations shall be prosecuted solely by the district attorney for the prosecutorial unit where an alleged violation occurs, irrespective of the residence of the defendant. In addition, the bill provides, with limited exceptions, that the trial in any such civil or criminal prosecution, as well as in any lobbying license revocation action brought by the board, shall be held in circuit court for the county where the alleged violation occurs.

Under the bill, the board has no responsibility for prosecution of any violations other than violations of the elections, ethics, and lobbying regulation laws.

The bill also deletes a statutory restriction on the disclosure of certain information related to the investigation or prosecution of laws arising from or in relation to the official functions of the person who is investigated or prosecuted.

Under the bill, the information may still be withheld if other laws authorize or require the information to be withheld or if the custodian can demonstrate that the public interest requires withholding.

Who's behind it

14 lawmakers are its ⁠. All 14 are Democrats.

4 more lawmakers ⁠.

See all 18 names

Authors (14)

Signed on in support (4)

What happened

  1. Apr 13, 2016

    The session ended, and the bill died with it.

  2. Oct 27, 2015

    Sent to the Assembly Committee on Judiciary.

  3. Oct 27, 2015

    Introduced in the Assembly.

See the official record, word for word
  1. Oct 27, 2015 · Assembly

    Introduced by Representatives Kessler, Wachs, Hesselbein, Hebl, Doyle, Brostoff, Spreitzer, C. Taylor, Berceau, Zamarripa, Billings, Johnson, Pope and Ohnstad; cosponsored by Senators L. Taylor, Lassa, Ringhand and Risser

  2. Oct 27, 2015 · Assembly

    Read first time and referred to Committee on Judiciary

  3. 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

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