Assembly Bill 501
Discrimination in employment, housing, public accommodations, education, insurance coverage, national guard, jury duty, and adoption and in the receipt of mental health or vocational rehabilitation services
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 18, 2023
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Committee, stopped here
Stopped here. No public hearing was held.
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Assembly vote, not reached
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Senate vote, not reached
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Governor, not reached
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Law, not reached
Latest entry in the official record, Apr 15, 2024: “Failed to pass pursuant to ”
It never got a hearing in the Assembly Committee on Labor and Integrated Employment. 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
What it would have done
Summary by the , the Legislature's nonpartisan drafting office. It's their wording, not ours.
This bill prohibits discrimination on the basis of an individual's gender identity or gender expression, which is defined in the bill as an individual's gender-related identity, gender-related appearance, gender-related expression, or gender-related behavior, regardless of the individual's assigned sex at birth or gender identifiers on official documents issued by a federal, state, or local government agency. The bill also make changes to various discrimination laws, including all of the following:
1. Current law prohibits discrimination in employment, housing, and the equal enjoyment of a public place of accommodation or amusement on the basis of a person's sex or sexual orientation. Current law also requires certain state agencies, authorities, and corporations to include provisions in contracts they execute obliging the contractor to similarly not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment. This bill adds gender identity or gender expression as a prohibited basis for discrimination in these areas.
Read the full summary Show less
2. Current law prohibits the University of Wisconsin System, the Technical College System, public elementary and secondary schools, and charter schools from discriminating against a student on the basis of the student's sex or sexual orientation. This bill prohibits the same educational institutions from discriminating against a student on the basis of the student's gender identity or gender expression, and from discriminating against a student based on the protected status of the student's parent. This bill also prohibits the UW System Board of Regents from investing gifts, grants, and bequests in companies that practice discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity or gender expression.
3. Current law prohibits the exclusion of an individual from jury duty on the basis of the individual's sex or sexual orientation. This bill adds gender identity or gender expression as a prohibited basis for exclusion of an individual from jury duty.
4. Current law allows only either a single adult or a husband and wife jointly to adopt a child. This bill allows only either a single individual or two individuals married to each other jointly to adopt a child, and also provides that no otherwise qualified person may be denied the benefits of the adoption and guardianship statute subchapter because of the person's sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity or gender expression.
5. Current law requires heads of executive departments and agencies to determine whether there is arbitrary discrimination on the basis of sex or sexual orientation, and to take remedial action if such discrimination is found. This bill requires these heads to also determine if there is discrimination on the basis of gender identity or gender expression, and take remedial action regarding such discrimination.
6. Current law prohibits discriminating against an employee, prospective employee, patient, or resident of an approved treatment facility providing treatment of alcoholic, drug dependent, mentally ill, or developmentally disabled persons on the basis of sex. This bill adds sexual orientation and gender identity or gender expression as prohibited bases of discrimination.
7. Current law prohibits agency rules from discriminating against a person by reason of sex or sexual orientation. This bill adds gender identity or gender expression as prohibited bases of discrimination.
8. Current law prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in the provision of vocational rehabilitation or mental health services. This bill adds sexual orientation and gender identity or gender expression to the prohibited bases of discrimination.
9. Current law prohibits the national guard or state defense force from denying membership based on sex or sexual orientation. This bill adds gender identity or gender expression as a prohibited basis of discrimination. This bill also provides that no member of the national guard or state defense force may be denied equal access to facilities most consistent with the person's gender identity.
10. Current law provides that sex is a bona fide occupational qualification if all of the members of one sex are physically incapable of performing the essential duties required by a job, or if the essence of the employer's business operation would be undermined if employees were not hired exclusively from one sex. This bill adds to the sex as a bona fide occupational qualification law that an individual may not be treated or regarded inconsistent with the individual's gender identity, or discriminated against based on the individual's gender identity or gender expression.
11. Current law allows public places of accommodation or amusement to provide separate facilities to persons of different sexes. This bill provides that public places of accommodation or amusement may provide separate facilities to persons of different sexes, but prohibits those places from denying individuals equal access to the facilities most consistent with the individual's gender identity.
12. This bill prohibits an insurer from discriminating against an individual on the basis of age, residence, race, color, creed, religion, national origin, ancestry, marital status, occupation, gender identity or gender expression, sex, or sexual orientation, and also prohibits motor carriers, automobile insurers, transportation network companies, and real estate brokers and salespersons from discriminating against an individual on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity or gender expression.
13. The bill expressly prohibits a school board from discriminating against a student-led organization because the organization's mission is related to sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression.
Who's behind it
23 lawmakers are its . All 23 are Democrats.
11 more lawmakers .
See all 34 names Hide the names
Authors (23)
- Samba Baldeh · Democrat, Assembly
- Mike Bare · Democrat, Assembly
- Clint Anderson · Democrat, Assembly
- Marisabel Cabrera · Democrat, Assembly
- Ryan Clancy · Democrat, Assembly
- Sue Conley · Democrat, Assembly
- Dave Considine · Democrat, Assembly
- Dora Drake · Democrat, Senate
- Jodi Emerson · Democrat, Assembly
- Francesca Hong · Democrat, Assembly
- Jimmy Anderson · Democrat, Assembly
- Alex Joers · Democrat, Assembly
- Supreme Moore Omokunde · Democrat, Assembly
- Greta Neubauer · Democrat, Assembly
- Tod Ohnstad · Democrat, Assembly
- Sylvia Ortiz-Velez · Democrat, Assembly
- Lori Palmeri · Democrat, Assembly
- Melissa Ratcliff · Democrat, Senate
- Katrina Shankland · Democrat, Assembly
- Kristina Shelton · Democrat, Assembly
- Christine Sinicki · Democrat, Assembly
- Lee Snodgrass · Democrat, Assembly
- Lisa Subeck · Democrat, Assembly
Signed on in support (11)
- Melissa Agard · Democrat, Senate
- Tim Carpenter · Democrat, Senate
- Dianne Hesselbein · Democrat, Senate
- Jenna Jacobson · Democrat, Assembly
- LaTonya Johnson · Democrat, Senate
- Chris Larson · Democrat, Senate
- Darrin Madison · Democrat, Assembly
- Kelda Roys · Democrat, Senate
- Jeff Smith · Democrat, Senate
- Mark Spreitzer · Democrat, Senate
- Lena Taylor · Democrat, Senate
What happened
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Apr 15, 2024
The session ended, and the bill died with it.
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Oct 24, 2023 to Oct 26, 2023
2 more representatives signed on in support.
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Oct 18, 2023
Sent to the Assembly Committee on Labor and Integrated Employment.
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Oct 18, 2023
Introduced in the Assembly.
See the official record, word for word Hide the official record
- Oct 18, 2023 · Assembly
Introduced by Representatives Neubauer, Snodgrass, Cabrera, Ratcliff, Clancy, C. Anderson, J. Anderson, Baldeh, Bare, Conley, Considine, Drake, Emerson, Hong, Joers, Moore Omokunde, Ohnstad, Ortiz-Velez, Palmeri, Shankland, Shelton, Sinicki and Subeck; cosponsored by Senators Spreitzer, Carpenter, Roys, Agard, Hesselbein, L. Johnson, Larson, Smith and Taylor
- Oct 18, 2023 · Assembly
Read first time and referred to Committee on Labor and Integrated Employment
- Oct 24, 2023 · Assembly
Representative Madison added as a coauthor
- Oct 26, 2023 · Assembly
Representative Jacobson added as a coauthor
- Apr 15, 2024 · 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.
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
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