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Bills from the 2015–16 session

Senate Bill 325

Repeated acts of physical abuse of the same child and providing a criminal penalty

Became law

The governor signed it on Apr 19, 2016. It's ⁠.

  1. Introduced, passed

    Oct 14, 2015

  2. Committee, passed

    Approved

  3. Senate vote, passed

    Passed Jan 12, 2016

  4. Assembly vote, passed

    Passed Feb 9, 2016

  5. Governor, passed

    Signed

  6. Law, here now

    2015 Wisconsin Act 366

Latest entry in the official record, Apr 19, 2016: “Published 4-20-2016”

Read the bill

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What it does

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

This bill creates the crime of engaging in repeated acts of physical abuse of the same child. Under this bill, to convict an individual of the crime, a jury must unanimously agree that at least three violations of physical abuse of the same child occurred within a specified period but need not agree on which acts constitute the three violations. The penalty for the crime varies from a Class E felony to a Class A felony, depending on the harm to the child. This bill also adds references to the created crime to statutes that reference the crime of physical abuse of a child.

Who's behind it

8 senators are its ⁠. 4 are Democrats and 4 are Republicans.

28 more lawmakers ⁠.

See all 36 names

Authors (8)

Signed on in support (28)

How lawmakers voted

There was one vote on this bill.

Senate Committee on Judiciary and Public Safety vote to recommend it

Passed, 4 to 1 · Oct 29, 2015

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

Official motion: “Report passage recommended by Committee on Judiciary and Public Safety, Ayes 4, Noes 1”. Official record · This vote on its own page

What happened

  1. Apr 19, 2016

    The new law was published.

  2. Apr 19, 2016

    The governor signed it. It became 2015 Wisconsin Act 366.

  3. Apr 18, 2016

    Sent to the governor.

  4. Feb 9, 2016

    1 more representative signed on in support.

  5. Feb 9, 2016

    The Assembly passed it too.

  6. Jan 15, 2016

    Sent to the Assembly Committee on Rules.

  7. Jan 12, 2016

    The Assembly received it.

  8. Jan 12, 2016

    The Senate passed it.

  9. Oct 29, 2015

    The committee voted to recommend passing it, 4 to 1.

  10. Oct 22, 2015

    The committee held a public hearing.

  11. Oct 14, 2015

    Sent to the Senate Committee on Judiciary and Public Safety.

  12. Oct 14, 2015

    Introduced in the Senate.

See the official record, word for word
  1. Oct 14, 2015 · Senate

    Introduced by Senators Cowles, Carpenter, Darling, Hansen, Lasee, Lassa, Olsen and Shilling; cosponsored by Representatives Heaton, A. Ott, Berceau, Billings, Edming, Horlacher, Jacque, Johnson, Kleefisch, Knodl, Kulp, Macco, Murphy, Mursau, Murtha, Nerison, Novak, Petryk, Rohrkaste, Sargent, Sinicki, Spiros, Steffen, Subeck, Tittl, Tranel and VanderMeer

  2. Oct 14, 2015 · Senate

    Read first time and referred to Committee on Judiciary and Public Safety

  3. Oct 22, 2015 · Senate

    Public hearing held

  4. Oct 28, 2015 · Senate

    Executive action taken

  5. Oct 29, 2015 · Senate

    Report passage recommended by Committee on Judiciary and Public Safety, Ayes 4, Noes 1

  6. Oct 29, 2015 · Senate

    Available for scheduling

  7. Jan 11, 2016 · Senate

    Placed on calendar 1-12-2016 pursuant to Senate Rule 18(1)

  8. Jan 12, 2016 · Senate

    Read a second time

  9. Jan 12, 2016 · Senate

    Ordered to a third reading

  10. Jan 12, 2016 · Senate

    Rules suspended

  11. Jan 12, 2016 · Senate

    Read a third time and passed

  12. Jan 12, 2016 · Senate

    Ordered immediately messaged

  13. Jan 12, 2016 · Assembly

    Received from Senate

  14. Jan 15, 2016 · Assembly

    Read first time and referred to committee on Rules

  15. Feb 4, 2016 · Assembly

    Placed on calendar 2-9-2016 by Committee on Rules

  16. Feb 9, 2016 · Assembly

    Read a second time

  17. Feb 9, 2016 · Assembly

    Ordered to a third reading

  18. Feb 9, 2016 · Assembly

    Rules suspended

  19. Feb 9, 2016 · Assembly

    Read a third time and concurred in

  20. Feb 9, 2016 · Assembly

    Representative Schraa added as a cosponsor

  21. Feb 9, 2016 · Assembly

    Ordered immediately messaged

  22. Feb 10, 2016 · Senate

    Received from Assembly concurred in

  23. Feb 17, 2016 · Senate

    Report correctly enrolled

  24. Apr 18, 2016 · Senate

    Presented to the Governor on 4-18-2016

  25. Apr 19, 2016 · Senate

    Report approved by the Governor on 4-19-2016. 2015 Wisconsin Act 366

  26. Apr 19, 2016 · Senate

    Published 4-20-2016

Terms on this page

Wisconsin Act

The number a bill gets when it becomes law, like 2025 Wisconsin Act 12.

Official term: Act. 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

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

Wisconsin Act

The number a bill gets when it becomes law, like 2025 Wisconsin Act 12.

Official term: Act

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

Roll call

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

Official term: Roll call vote

More in the glossary