Assembly Bill 1235
Reporting of mass communications
Topics: Elections: Advertising, Ethics Commission, Recall
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
Mar 19, 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 Campaigns and Elections. The committee's chair at the time was Dave Maxey. 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 1158. 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.
Current law requires a committee that wishes to engage in certain campaign finance activities to register with the Ethics Commission and to report information about contributions, expenditures, and obligations related to campaigns. The trigger for registration varies depending on the nature of the committee. For example, a candidate committee must register as soon as practicable after the individual qualifies as a candidate; a legislative campaign committee must register before making or accepting contributions, making disbursements, or incurring obligations to support or oppose a candidate; and political action committees and independent expenditure committees must register after making or accepting contributions, disbursements, or obligations in an aggregate amount in excess of $2,500.
This bill requires a political action committee, an independent expenditure committee, and a recall committee to register if the committee makes a disbursement or incurs an obligation on a mass communication. The bill also requires all registered committees, other than a referendum committee or a conduit, to include on their campaign finance reports information about disbursements made or obligations incurred on a mass communication.
Read the full summary Show less
The bill also requires a person who is not a committee but who makes a disbursement of $500 or more on a mass communication to report that information and other information related to the mass communication within 24 hours.
The bill defines mass communication as a message that is disseminated by means of one or more communications media, a mass electronic communication, a mass distribution, or a mass telephoning, but not including a bona fide poll conducted for the purpose of objectively identifying or collecting data concerning the attitude or preference of electors, if the communication 1) is made within 60 days before an election; 2) includes a reference to a clearly identified candidate whose name will appear on the ballot for that election; and 3) is susceptible of no reasonable interpretation other than as an appeal to vote for or against the candidate. The bill requires the person making the disbursement to report information including the name and address of the person that received the disbursement for the mass communication and the amount of the disbursement or obligation.
Who's behind it
17 representatives are its . All 17 are Democrats.
6 more lawmakers .
See all 23 names Hide the names
Authors (17)
- Margaret Arney · Democrat, Assembly
- Mike Bare · Democrat, Assembly
- Jill Billings · Democrat, Assembly
- Brienne Brown · Democrat, Assembly
- Ryan Clancy · Democrat, Assembly
- Francesca Hong · Democrat, Assembly
- Tara Johnson · Democrat, Assembly
- Karen Kirsch · Democrat, Assembly
- Maureen McCarville · Democrat, Assembly
- Vinnie Miresse · Democrat, Assembly
- Supreme Moore Omokunde · Democrat, Assembly
- Ann Roe · Democrat, Assembly
- Joe Sheehan · Democrat, Assembly
- Christine Sinicki · Democrat, Assembly
- Lisa Subeck · Democrat, Assembly
- Angelito Tenorio · Democrat, Assembly
- Randy Udell · Democrat, Assembly
Signed on in support (6)
- Kristin Dassler-Alfheim · Democrat, Senate
- Chris Larson · Democrat, Senate
- Melissa Ratcliff · Democrat, Senate
- Kelda Roys · Democrat, Senate
- Jeff Smith · Democrat, Senate
- Mark Spreitzer · Democrat, Senate
What happened
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Mar 23, 2026
The session ended, and the bill died with it.
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Mar 19, 2026
Sent to the Assembly Committee on Campaigns and Elections.
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Mar 19, 2026
Introduced in the Assembly.
See the official record, word for word Hide the official record
- Mar 19, 2026 · Assembly
Introduced by Representatives Subeck, Tenorio, Miresse, Sinicki, Clancy, Kirsch, Johnson, Udell, Moore Omokunde, Bare, Billings, Roe, Hong, Arney, Sheehan, Brown and McCarville; cosponsored by Senators Larson, Smith, Roys, Ratcliff, Dassler-Alfheim and Spreitzer
- Mar 19, 2026 · Assembly
Read first time and referred to Committee on Campaigns and Elections
- 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