Assembly Bill 1045
The regulation of wake-enhanced boating; ordinances restricting wake-enhanced boating; and civil immunity for local regulation of wake-enhanced boating
Topics: Boat, Natural Resources, Department of: Recreation and boating, Ordinance, Public liability
Stopped in committee
It never got a , so it never came up for a vote. The last day for votes this session was Mar 19, 2026. To try again, a lawmaker would have to start a new bill.
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Introduced, passed
Feb 26, 2026
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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, Mar 23, 2026: “Failed to pass pursuant to ”
It never got a hearing in the Assembly Committee on State Affairs. The committee's chair at the time was Rob Swearingen. Chairs decide which bills get a hearing. See every bill that never got a hearing this session.
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The same bill was also filed in the Senate as SB 1024. That version died when the session ended.
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 imposes restrictions on the conduct of wake-enhanced boating specifies the authority of municipalities to regulate wake-enhanced boating. Under the bill, wake-enhanced boating is the operation of a motorboat in a manner that intentionally creates or enhances a wake for the purpose of wakesurfing, wakeboarding, or similar activities, including through the use of ballast tanks, wave-shaping devices, fins, or other mechanisms that displace water to increase wake size.
Under the bill, no person may conduct wake-enhanced boating on the waters of this state unless certain conditions are met at all times while the wake-enhanced boating is being conducted. Specifically, those conditions are that the wake-enhanced boating is conducted at least 500 feet away from the shoreline and in water with a depth of at least 20 feet. The bill specifies that these restrictions do not preempt or otherwise affect in any way the authority of a local governmental unit to enact more restrictive regulations of wake-enhanced boating.
Read the full summary Show less
Current law regulates the operation of boats, but allows a town, village, city, or public inland lake protection and rehabilitation district (municipality) to adopt ordinances that regulate boating under certain circumstances. This bill adds to the types of boating ordinances municipalities may adopt restrictions on wake-enhanced boating, including prohibitions on wake-enhanced boating in specified areas; minimum distances from shore, structures, or other boats; minimum water depths; time-of-day restrictions; or complete prohibitions on certain bodies of water.
The bill grants civil immunity to the state, any governmental subdivision or agency of the state, and any officer, official, agent, or employee of those entities that, in good faith, enacts, adopts, or enforces a boating ordinance that imposes restrictions on wake-enhanced boating that are more restrictive than those under state law.
Who's behind it
3 representatives are its . All 3 are Republicans.
2 more lawmakers .
See all 5 names Hide the names
Authors (3)
- Calvin Callahan · Republican, Assembly
- Joy Goeben · Republican, Assembly
- Gus Gustafson · Republican, Assembly
Signed on in support (2)
- Rachael Cabral-Guevara · Republican, Senate
- André Jacque · Republican, Senate
What happened
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Mar 23, 2026
The session ended, and the bill died with it.
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Feb 26, 2026
Sent to the Assembly Committee on State Affairs.
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Feb 26, 2026
Introduced in the Assembly.
See the official record, word for word Hide the official record
- Feb 26, 2026 · Assembly
Introduced by Representatives Gustafson, Goeben and Callahan; cosponsored by Senators Cabral-Guevara and Jacque
- Feb 26, 2026 · Assembly
Read first time and referred to Committee on State Affairs
- Mar 23, 2026 · 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