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Bills from the 2017–18 session

Senate Bill 846

Advertising broadband and other Internet speeds and providing a standardized broadband label

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 21, 2018

  2. Committee, stopped here

    Stopped here. No public hearing was held.

  3. Senate vote, not reached

  4. Assembly 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 Senate Committee on Elections 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.

Under this bill, no person may advertise as providing broadband service or sell a service that the person represents as being broadband service unless the service is capable of consistently providing a minimum download speed of 25 megabits per second (Mbps) and a minimum upload speed of 3 Mbps. Also under the bill, no person may advertise as providing Internet service at a specific speed or sell Internet service that the person represents as being at a specific speed unless the service is capable of consistently providing that speed. If a person sells a service represented as broadband service that does not meet the broadband speed requirements, or sells Internet service represented as being at a specific speed that does not provide that speed, the consumer is entitled to terminate the contract and receive a refund unless the service provider brings the speeds up to the advertised speeds within one month of receiving notice from the consumer.

The bill also requires any person selling broadband service in this state to provide a standardized consumer label that shows important consumer information, on a template provided by the Federal Communications Commission, to each broadband customer before a sale and to make these labels easily available to potential customers.

Read the full summary

Under the bill, a person who violates the provisions of the bill is subject to existing penalties under current law, which provide for a fine of up to $200 or imprisonment for not more than six months or both. The bill also provides that a violation of the provisions of the bill is an unfair method of competition in business or an unfair trade practice, and that a person who suffers pecuniary loss because of a violation may sue for damages and recover twice the amount of pecuniary loss as well as reasonable attorney fees.

Who's behind it

3 senators are its ⁠. All 3 are Democrats.

9 more lawmakers ⁠.

See all 12 names

Authors (3)

Signed on in support (9)

What happened

  1. Mar 28, 2018

    The session ended, and the bill died with it.

  2. Feb 21, 2018

    Sent to the Senate Committee on Elections and Utilities.

  3. Feb 21, 2018

    Introduced in the Senate.

See the official record, word for word
  1. Feb 21, 2018 · Senate

    Introduced by Senators Vinehout, Ringhand and Carpenter; cosponsored by Representatives Vruwink, Anderson, Sargent, Spreitzer, Novak, Subeck, Brostoff, Pope and Berceau

  2. Feb 21, 2018 · Senate

    Read first time and referred to Committee on Elections and Utilities

  3. 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.

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