Senate Bill 538
Software security measures for text messages, granting rule-making authority, 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.
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Introduced, passed
Oct 16, 2023
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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, Apr 15, 2024: “Failed to pass pursuant to ”
It never got a hearing in the Senate Committee on Utilities and Technology. 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 requires texting software providers to ensure certain encryption and notification features when persons send or receive text messages. “Texting service provider" is defined in the bill as an entity that provides software that comes preloaded on a device, and any subsequent updates to the software, that enables the device to send or receive a text message from U.S. telephone numbers capable of sending or receiving a text message. The bill requires texting software providers to ensure that text message data is encrypted and sent over a network that supports the encryption, that media sent in the text message is sent and received in its original quality without degradation, and that text message senders and receivers receive real-time notifications that a person is typing a message to them and whether a sent message has been read, if the users have enabled such functions on their devices.
Who's behind it
2 senators are its . All 2 are Republicans.
12 more lawmakers .
See all 14 names Hide the names
Authors (2)
- Jesse James · Republican, Senate
- Cory Tomczyk · Republican, Senate
Signed on in support (12)
- Alex Dallman · Republican, Assembly
- Barbara Dittrich · Republican, Assembly
- Jeff Mursau · Republican, Assembly
- Jerry O'Connor · Republican, Assembly
- Sylvia Ortiz-Velez · Democrat, Assembly
- Jon Plumer · Republican, Assembly
- Nik Rettinger · Republican, Assembly
- Peter Schmidt · Republican, Assembly
- Rob Summerfield · Republican, Assembly
- Rob Swearingen · Republican, Assembly
- Paul Tittl · Republican, Assembly
- Chuck Wichgers · Republican, Assembly
What it would cost
State agencies filed a . Each opens as a PDF from the Legislature.
What happened
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Apr 15, 2024
The session ended, and the bill died with it.
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Dec 18, 2023
A state agency sent in its estimate of the cost.
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Oct 16, 2023
Sent to the Senate Committee on Utilities and Technology.
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Oct 16, 2023
Introduced in the Senate.
See the official record, word for word Hide the official record
- Oct 16, 2023 · Senate
Introduced by Senators James and Tomczyk; cosponsored by Representatives Dallman, Summerfield, Dittrich, Michalski, Mursau, O'Connor, Ortiz-Velez, Plumer, Rettinger, Schmidt, Swearingen, Tittl and Wichgers
- Oct 16, 2023 · Senate
Read first time and referred to Committee on Utilities and Technology
- Nov 8, 2023 · Senate
Representative Michalski withdrawn as a cosponsor
- Dec 18, 2023 · Senate
Fiscal estimate received
- Apr 15, 2024 · 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