Senate Bill 493
Authorizing La Crosse County to become a premier resort area. (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.
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Introduced, passed
Oct 27, 2017
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Committee, stopped here
Stopped here. No public hearing was held.
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Senate vote, not reached
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Assembly vote, not reached
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Governor, not reached
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Law, not reached
Latest entry in the official record, Mar 28, 2018: “Failed to pass pursuant to ”
It never got a hearing in the Senate Committee on Economic Development, Commerce and Local Government. See every bill that never got a hearing this session.
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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
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
What it would have done
Summary by the , the Legislature's nonpartisan drafting office. It's their wording, not ours.
This bill allows La Crosse County to become a premier resort area notwithstanding the fact that it does not meet the generally applicable requirement that at least 40 percent of the equalized assessed value of the taxable property within a political subdivision be used by tourism-related retailers (the 40 percent requirement). “Tourism-related retailers" is defined as certain retailers who are classified in the standard industrial classification manual that is published by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget. The statutory definition includes 21 retailers who are so classified, including variety stores, dairy product stores, gasoline service stations, eating places, drinking places, and hotels and motels.
Currently, a number of cities and villages are authorized to enact an ordinance or adopt a resolution to become a premier resort area notwithstanding the fact that none of these cities or villages meet the 40 percent requirement. Current law requires that the ordinance or resolution must be approved by a two-thirds vote of the members of the governing body who are present when the vote is taken. As is the case with the villages of Sister Bay, Ephraim, and Stockholm, and the city of Rhinelander, the premier resort area tax may not take effect in La Crosse County unless it is approved in a referendum of the electors.
Read the full summary Show less
A premier resort area may impose a tax at a rate of 0.5 percent of the gross receipts from the sale, lease, or rental of goods or services that are subject to the general sales and use tax and are sold by tourism-related retailers. Under current law, the proceeds of the tax may be used only to pay for infrastructure expenses within the jurisdiction of the premier resort area. The definition of “infrastructure expenses" includes the costs of purchasing, constructing, or improving parking lots;
transportation facilities, including roads and bridges; sewer and water facilities;
recreational facilities; exposition center facilities; fire fighting equipment; and police vehicles.
Under this bill, if La Crosse County imposes a premier resort area tax, the proceeds may be used only for transportation expenses within the county, such as the construction, reconstruction, and improvement of highways, including bridges. No amount of the tax proceeds may be used to pay for mass transit. Also under the bill, a county may not impose the tax unless it spends or commits to spend at least the same amount of revenue generated by taxes and used for highway improvements and maintenance that it generated and spent for those purposes in the year before the year in which the tax is first imposed.
Who's behind it
Jennifer Shilling, a Democrat, is its .
1 more lawmaker .
See all 2 names Hide the names
Author (1)
- Jennifer Shilling · Democrat, Senate
Signed on in support (1)
- Steve Doyle · Democrat, Assembly
What it would cost
State agencies filed a . Each opens as a PDF from the Legislature.
What happened
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Mar 28, 2018
The session ended, and the bill died with it.
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Nov 16, 2017
A state agency sent in its estimate of the cost.
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Oct 27, 2017
Sent to the Senate Committee on Economic Development, Commerce and Local Government.
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Oct 27, 2017
Introduced in the Senate.
See the official record, word for word Hide the official record
- Oct 27, 2017 · Senate
Introduced by Senator Shilling; cosponsored by Representative Doyle
- Oct 27, 2017 · Senate
Read first time and referred to Committee on Economic Development, Commerce and Local Government
- Nov 16, 2017 · Senate
Fiscal estimate received
- Mar 28, 2018 · Senate
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
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
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
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