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Bills from the 2015–16 session

Assembly Joint Resolution 102

Requiring the Joint Committee on Legislative Organization to immediately appoint a committee, to be known as the Commission on Debt-Free College, to study and report on the feasibility of providing a debt-free college education to all residents of this state

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 proposal.

  1. Introduced, passed

    Jan 20, 2016

  2. Committee, stopped here

    Stopped here. No public hearing was held.

  3. Assembly vote, not reached

  4. Senate vote, not reached

  5. Adopted, not reached

Latest entry in the official record, Apr 13, 2016: “Failed to adopt pursuant to ⁠”

It never got a hearing in the Assembly Committee on Colleges and Universities. See every bill that never got a hearing this session.

Read the proposal

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What it would have done

Summary by the , the Legislature's nonpartisan drafting office. It's their wording, not ours.

The resolution requires the Joint Committee on Legislative Organization to immediately appoint a committee, to be known as the Commission on Debt-Free College, consisting of two members of the majority and minority parties in the assembly; two members of the majority and minority parties in the senate; two representatives of employers who maintain headquarters in this state, one of whom must be a representative of small employers with 50 or fewer employees; two representatives from public institutions of higher education located in this state; one representative of a public two-year institution of higher education located in this state; one representative of a technical college located in this state; and four professional economists or higher education advocates with expertise in increasing access to institutions of higher education and workforce development.

The commission must study the feasibility of establishing a state program to provide debt-free college education to all Wisconsin residents. For purposes of the study, a debt-free college education would apply to all Wisconsin residents who are students and to all Wisconsin public institutions of higher education and programs.

Read the full summary

The commission must also study the impact of a debt-free college education on all institutions of higher education and programs in this state. The commission must also investigate whether other states have established such programs, the different methods that may be used to fund such a program, any federal legislation relating to such a program, and all studies that propose strategies for lowering the overall debt burden of college students.

Under the resolution, the commission must deliver its findings to the assembly and senate majority and minority leaders and to the cochairpersons of the Joint Committee on Finance before January 3, 2017.

Who's behind it

23 lawmakers are its ⁠. All 23 are Democrats.

8 more lawmakers ⁠.

See all 31 names

Authors (23)

Signed on in support (8)

What happened

  1. Apr 13, 2016

    The session ended, and the proposal died with it.

  2. Jan 27, 2016

    1 more senator signed on in support.

  3. Jan 20, 2016

    Sent to the Assembly Committee on Colleges and Universities.

  4. Jan 20, 2016

    Introduced in the Assembly.

See the official record, word for word
  1. Jan 20, 2016 · Assembly

    Introduced by Representatives Shankland, Mason, Wachs, Genrich, Berceau, Billings, Brostoff, Considine, Goyke, Kolste, Meyers, Ohnstad, Pope, Sargent, Sinicki, Spreitzer, Subeck, C. Taylor, Zamarripa, Bowen, Riemer, Kessler and Hebl; cosponsored by Senators C. Larson, Vinehout, Ringhand, Lassa, Carpenter, Wirch and L. Taylor

  2. Jan 20, 2016 · Assembly

    Read and referred to Committee on Colleges and Universities

  3. Jan 27, 2016 · Assembly

    Senator Risser added as a cosponsor

  4. Apr 13, 2016 · Assembly

    Failed to adopt 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.

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