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Bills from the 2025–26 session

Assembly Bill 138

Jailers and protective occupation annuitants in the Wisconsin Retirement System who are rehired by a participating employer. (FE)

Topics: Jail, Retirement System, Wisconsin, Retirement: Protective service

Stopped before the full Assembly voted

The recommended passing it, but the full Assembly never voted on it. The last day for votes this session was Mar 19, 2026. To try again, a lawmaker would have to start a new bill.

  1. Introduced, passed

    Mar 17, 2025

  2. Committee, passed

    Approved

  3. Assembly vote, stopped here

    Stopped here. The full Assembly never voted on it.

  4. Senate vote, not reached

  5. Governor, not reached

  6. Law, not reached

Latest entry in the official record, Mar 23, 2026: “Failed to pass pursuant to ⁠”

Read the bill

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The same bill was also filed in the Senate as SB 105. That version died when the session ended.

What it would have done

Summary by the , the Legislature's nonpartisan drafting office. It's their wording, not ours.

Under current law, certain persons who receive a retirement or disability annuity from the Wisconsin Retirement System and who are hired by an employer that participates in the WRS must suspend that annuity and may not receive a WRS annuity payment until the employee is no longer in a WRS-covered position. This suspension applies to a person who 1) has reached his or her normal retirement date; 2) is appointed to a position with a WRS-participating employer or provides employee services to a WRS-participating employer; and 3) is expected to work at least two-thirds of what is considered full-time employment by the Department of Employee Trust Funds.

This bill creates an exception to this suspension for an annuitant who retired from employment with a participating employer and who is subsequently rehired or provides employee services after retirement if 1) at the time the annuitant initially retires from covered employment with a participating employer, the annuitant does not have an agreement with any participating employer to return to employment; 2) the annuitant elects to not become a participating employee at the time the annuitant is rehired or enters into a contract after retirement; and 3) either the annuitant retired as a protective occupation participant or the annuitant retired as a county jailer who was not a protective occupation participant under the WRS.

Read the full summary

Under current law, a county jailer has the opportunity to opt out of becoming a protective occupation participant under the WRS. The bill treats county jailers who opt out of becoming a protective occupation participant in the same manner as county jailers who are protective occupation participants.

Because this bill relates to public employee retirement or pensions, it may be referred to the Joint Survey Committee on Retirement Systems for a report to be printed as an appendix to the bill.

Who's behind it

14 representatives are its ⁠. 12 are Republicans and 2 are Democrats.

18 more lawmakers ⁠.

See all 32 names

Authors (14)

Signed on in support (18)

What it would cost

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

How lawmakers voted

There was one vote on this bill.

Assembly Committee on State Affairs vote to recommend it

Passed, 9 to 0 · May 29, 2025

No member-by-member record exists for this vote. Committee votes and some older sessions record totals only.

Official motion: “Report passage recommended by Committee on State Affairs, Ayes 9, Noes 0”. Official record · This vote on its own page

What happened

  1. Mar 23, 2026

    The session ended, and the bill died with it.

  2. Sep 11, 2025 to Mar 19, 2026

    4 more representatives signed on in support.

  3. May 29, 2025

    Sent to the Assembly Committee on Rules.

  4. May 29, 2025

    The committee voted to recommend passing it, 9 to 0.

  5. May 21, 2025

    The committee held a public hearing.

  6. Apr 15, 2025 to May 6, 2025

    2 more representatives and 1 senator signed on in support.

  7. Mar 18, 2025

    A state agency sent in its estimate of the cost.

  8. Mar 17, 2025

    Sent to the Assembly Committee on State Affairs.

  9. Mar 17, 2025

    Introduced in the Assembly.

See the official record, word for word
  1. Mar 17, 2025 · Assembly

    Introduced by Representatives Donovan, Goeben, Behnke, Callahan, Dittrich, Green, Knodl, Maxey, Melotik, Moses, Mursau, Novak, Anderson and Subeck; cosponsored by Senators Tomczyk, Hutton, Bradley, Feyen, James, Stafsholt, Wanggaard, Dassler-Alfheim, L. Johnson, Pfaff and Spreitzer

  2. Mar 17, 2025 · Assembly

    Read first time and referred to Committee on State Affairs

  3. Mar 18, 2025 · Assembly

    Fiscal estimate received

  4. Apr 11, 2025 · Assembly

    LRB correction

  5. Apr 15, 2025 · Assembly

    Representative Miresse added as a coauthor

  6. Apr 21, 2025 · Assembly

    Representative J. Jacobson added as a coauthor

  7. May 6, 2025 · Assembly

    Senator Habush Sinykin added as a cosponsor

  8. May 21, 2025 · Assembly

    Public hearing held

  9. May 27, 2025 · Assembly

    Executive action taken

  10. May 29, 2025 · Assembly

    Report passage recommended by Committee on State Affairs, Ayes 9, Noes 0

  11. May 29, 2025 · Assembly

    Referred to committee on Rules

  12. Sep 11, 2025 · Assembly

    Representative Allen added as a coauthor

  13. Nov 11, 2025 · Assembly

    LRB correction

  14. Mar 6, 2026 · Assembly

    Representative Brown added as a coauthor

  15. Mar 10, 2026 · Assembly

    Representative Billings added as a coauthor

  16. Mar 19, 2026 · Assembly

    Representative Emerson added as a coauthor

  17. 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.

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

Roll call

A vote where each lawmaker's yes or no is recorded by name.

Official term: Roll call vote. 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.

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

Author

A lawmaker who formally puts a bill forward. The text itself is drafted by the Legislative Reference Bureau.

Official term: Author, coauthor

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

Roll call

A vote where each lawmaker's yes or no is recorded by name.

Official term: Roll call vote