Assembly Bill 159
Creating a rural creative economy development grant program. (FE)
Topics: Arts, Business, Economic Development Corporation, Wisconsin, Rural planning
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
Apr 2, 2025
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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 Rural Development. The committee's chair at the time was Elijah Behnke. 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 173. 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
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 creates a grant program administered by the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation. The bill requires WEDC to award rural creative economy development grants on a competitive basis to cities, villages, towns, counties, American Indian tribes and bands in this state, economic development organizations in this state, and nonprofit organizations in this state. A grant recipient must use grant moneys for any of the following purposes:
1. To develop or implement a plan to increase tourism, enhance visitor experiences, or bolster community development in rural areas in this state through the development or promotion of creative enterprises, including by supporting or expanding public arts performances and exhibitions, renovating or improving public spaces and vacant or underutilized buildings, supporting community-based arts education, supporting business accelerator programs, and providing technical assistance for creative businesses.
Read the full summary Show less
2. To market, brand, and promote local creative enterprises, public arts performances and exhibitions, or public spaces in rural areas in this state.
Under the bill, such a grant may not exceed $50,000 and must be expended solely for the benefit of rural areas. Additionally, the bill prohibits WEDC from awarding a grant unless the grant recipient matches the amount of the grant with moneys raised from nonstate sources and limits the amount of in-kind match to no more than 25 percent of the match amount. The bill requires WEDC to submit a report on the effectiveness of the grants to the Joint Committee on Finance no later than May 1, 2027.
Who's behind it
21 representatives are its . 13 are Republicans and 8 are Democrats.
9 more lawmakers .
See all 30 names Hide the names
Authors (21)
- Clint Anderson · Democrat, Assembly
- Dave Armstrong · Republican, Assembly
- Brent Jacobson · Republican, Assembly
- Mike Bare · Democrat, Assembly
- Elijah Behnke · Republican, Assembly
- Jill Billings · Democrat, Assembly
- Chanz Green · Republican, Assembly
- Rick Gundrum · Republican, Assembly
- Francesca Hong · Democrat, Assembly
- Jenna Jacobson · Democrat, Assembly
- Tara Johnson · Democrat, Assembly
- Joel Kitchens · Republican, Assembly
- Rob Kreibich · Republican, Assembly
- Vinnie Miresse · Democrat, Assembly
- Jeff Mursau · Republican, Assembly
- Todd Novak · Republican, Assembly
- Jerry O'Connor · Republican, Assembly
- Lori Palmeri · Democrat, Assembly
- David Steffen · Republican, Assembly
- Travis Tranel · Republican, Assembly
- Ron Tusler · Republican, Assembly
Signed on in support (9)
- Rachael Cabral-Guevara · Republican, Senate
- Jodi Emerson · Democrat, Assembly
- Alex Joers · Democrat, Assembly
- Maureen McCarville · Democrat, Assembly
- Brad Pfaff · Democrat, Senate
- Romaine Quinn · Republican, Senate
- Mark Spreitzer · Democrat, Senate
- Patrick Testin · Republican, Senate
- Randy Udell · Democrat, Assembly
What it would cost
State agencies filed a . Each opens as a PDF from the Legislature.
What happened
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Mar 23, 2026
The session ended, and the bill died with it.
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Apr 10, 2025 to May 28, 2025
4 more representatives and 1 senator signed on in support.
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Apr 10, 2025
A state agency sent in its estimate of the cost.
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Apr 2, 2025
Sent to the Assembly Committee on Rural Development.
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Apr 2, 2025
Introduced in the Assembly.
See the official record, word for word Hide the official record
- Apr 2, 2025 · Assembly
Introduced by Representatives Novak, Kitchens, Anderson, Armstrong, Bare, Behnke, Billings, Green, Gundrum, Hong, B. Jacobson, J. Jacobson, Johnson, Kreibich, Miresse, Mursau, O'Connor, Palmeri, Steffen, Tranel and Tusler; cosponsored by Senators Quinn, Testin, Pfaff and Spreitzer
- Apr 2, 2025 · Assembly
Read first time and referred to Committee on Rural Development
- Apr 10, 2025 · Assembly
Fiscal estimate received
- Apr 10, 2025 · Assembly
Representative Udell added as a coauthor
- Apr 30, 2025 · Assembly
Representative McCarville added as a coauthor
- May 6, 2025 · Assembly
Senator Cabral-Guevara added as a cosponsor
- May 13, 2025 · Assembly
Representative Joers added as a coauthor
- May 28, 2025 · Assembly
Representative Emerson added as a coauthor
- 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
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