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Bills from the 2017–18 session

Assembly Bill 909

Requirements and prohibited practices for Internet service providers and granting rule-making authority. (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

    Feb 1, 2018

  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, Mar 28, 2018: “Failed to pass pursuant to ⁠”

It never got a hearing in the Assembly Committee on Energy and Utilities. 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 prohibits a provider of broadband Internet access service (BIAS) from doing any of the following:

1. Blocking lawful content, applications, or services or devices that do not harm the network.

Read the full summary

2. Throttling lawful Internet traffic on the basis of content, application, or service or use of a device that does not harm the network.

3. Engaging in paid prioritization, which is the favoring of some Internet traffic over other traffic in exchange for some form of consideration.

4. Unreasonably interfering with or unreasonably disadvantaging an end user's ability to select, access, and use BIAS or an edge provider's ability to make lawful content, applications, services, and devices available to end users. An edge provider is someone who provides any content, application, or service over the Internet, or a device used for accessing any Internet content, application, or service.

5. Engaging in any unjust or unreasonable charge, practice, classification, or regulation.

6. Making any unjust or unreasonable discrimination in charges, practices, classifications, regulations, facilities, or services or subjecting any particular person, class of persons, or locality to any undue or unreasonable preference or advantage or prejudice or disadvantage.

7. Using, disclosing, or permitting access to any individually identifiable customer proprietary network information except in the provision of the BIAS or related service.

The bill also requires a BIAS provider to disclose commercial terms, which must include information on pricing, other fees, and data caps and allowances, and to disclose network performance characteristics, which must include information regarding packet loss. In addition, the bill requires a BIAS provider to make its services and equipment accessible to individuals with disabilities.

Finally, the bill requires the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection to create and implement a complaint process for responding to violations of the bill's provisions.

Who's behind it

11 lawmakers are its ⁠. All 11 are Democrats.

7 more lawmakers ⁠.

See all 18 names

Authors (11)

Signed on in support (7)

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, 34 to 59 · Feb 22, 2018

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 Energy and Utilities and take up, Ayes 34, Noes 59”. Official record · This vote on its own page

What happened

  1. Mar 28, 2018

    The session ended, and the bill died with it.

  2. Feb 21, 2018

    A state agency sent in its estimate of the cost.

  3. Feb 1, 2018

    Sent to the Assembly Committee on Energy and Utilities.

  4. Feb 1, 2018

    Introduced in the Assembly.

See the official record, word for word
  1. Feb 1, 2018 · Assembly

    Introduced by Representatives Brostoff, Anderson, Hebl, Vruwink, Berceau, Ohnstad, C. Taylor, Sinicki, Spreitzer, Crowley and Shankland; cosponsored by Senators Larson, Risser, Vinehout, Carpenter, Hansen, Johnson and Bewley

  2. Feb 1, 2018 · Assembly

    Read first time and referred to Committee on Energy and Utilities

  3. Feb 21, 2018 · Assembly

    Fiscal estimate received

  4. Feb 22, 2018 · Assembly

    Refused to suspend rules to withdraw from committee on Energy and Utilities and take up, Ayes 34, Noes 59

  5. Mar 28, 2018 · 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