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Bills from the 2019–20 session

Assembly Bill 431

Sales and transfers of firearms and providing a penalty. (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

    Sep 12, 2019

  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, Apr 1, 2020: “Failed to pass pursuant to ⁠”

It never got a hearing in the Assembly Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety. 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.

Current law provides that certain conditions, including a background check of a prospective purchaser, must be met before a federally licensed firearms dealer may transfer a handgun after a sale. This bill generally prohibits a person from selling or transferring any firearm, including the frame or receiver of a firearm, unless the sale or transfer occurs through a federally licensed firearms dealer and involves a background check of the prospective transferee. Under the bill, the following are excepted from that prohibition: a sale or transfer to a firearms dealer or to a law enforcement or armed services agency; a sale or transfer of a firearm classified as antique; or a transfer that is by gift, bequest, or inheritance to a family member. A person who is convicted of violating the prohibition is guilty of a misdemeanor and must be fined not less than $500 nor more than $10,000, may be imprisoned for not more than nine months, and may not possess a firearm for a period of two years.

Because this bill creates a new crime or revises a penalty for an existing crime, the Joint Review Committee on Criminal Penalties may be requested to prepare a report.

Who's behind it

36 lawmakers are its ⁠. All 36 are Democrats.

14 more lawmakers ⁠.

See all 50 names

Authors (36)

Signed on in support (14)

What it would cost

State agencies filed a . Each opens as a PDF from the Legislature.

What happened

  1. Apr 1, 2020

    The session ended, and the bill died with it.

  2. Nov 8, 2019

    A state agency sent in its estimate of the cost.

  3. Oct 29, 2019

    A state agency sent in its estimate of the cost.

  4. Oct 17, 2019

    A state agency sent in its estimate of the cost.

  5. Sep 12, 2019

    Sent to the Assembly Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety.

  6. Sep 12, 2019

    Introduced in the Assembly.

See the official record, word for word
  1. Sep 12, 2019 · Assembly

    Introduced by Representatives Sargent, Stubbs, C. Taylor, Subeck, Zamarripa, Anderson, Billings, Bowen, Brostoff, Cabrera, Considine, Crowley, Doyle, Emerson, Fields, Goyke, Gruszynski, Haywood, Hebl, Hesselbein, Hintz, Kolste, McGuire, B. Meyers, Milroy, L. Myers, Neubauer, Ohnstad, Pope, Riemer, Shankland, Sinicki, Spreitzer, Stuck, Vining and Vruwink; cosponsored by Senators Johnson, Carpenter, Bewley, Erpenbach, Hansen, Larson, Miller, Ringhand, Risser, Schachtner, Shilling, Smith, L. Taylor and Wirch

  2. Sep 12, 2019 · Assembly

    Read first time and referred to Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety

  3. Oct 17, 2019 · Assembly

    Fiscal estimate received

  4. Oct 29, 2019 · Assembly

    Fiscal estimate received

  5. Nov 8, 2019 · Assembly

    Fiscal estimate received

  6. Apr 1, 2020 · 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

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

Cost estimate

A state agency's estimate of what a bill would cost or save.

Official term: Fiscal estimate

More in the glossary