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Bills from the 2025–26 session

Assembly Bill 187

Training completion awards for volunteer firefighters. (FE)

Topics: Administration, Department of: Budget and fiscal issues, Fire department

Passed the Assembly, then stopped

The Assembly passed it on Jun 24, 2025, but the Senate never voted on it. A bill has to ⁠. 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

    Apr 15, 2025

  2. Committee, passed

    Approved

  3. Assembly vote, passed

    Passed Jun 24, 2025

  4. Senate vote, stopped here

    Stopped here. The Senate never voted on it.

  5. Governor, not reached

  6. Law, not reached

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

Read the bill

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The same bill was also filed in the Senate as SB 186. 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, the Department of Administration administers a service award program to provide length-of-service awards to volunteer firefighters, volunteer emergency medical responders, and volunteer emergency medical services practitioners.

This bill expands the program to provide grants to volunteer fire departments and volunteer fire companies to make training completion awards to volunteer firefighters. Under the bill, in order to receive a grant, the municipality in which a department or company is organized must have a municipal ordinance that provides a 100 percent match. The completion award for a volunteer firefighter who completes 60 hours of training is $500. The bill also requires that any money a volunteer fire department or fire company receives beyond what it expends on awards each calendar year must be returned to DOA for deposit in the general fund. Finally, under the bill, DOA is required to provide a report to the legislature in the sixth, seventh, and eighth years after the start of the program that includes the number of people who received the grant through the preceding year and the number of those people who are still firefighters in Wisconsin.

Who's behind it

14 representatives are its ⁠. 13 are Republicans and 1 is a Democrat.

7 more lawmakers ⁠.

See all 21 names

Authors (14)

Signed on in support (7)

What it would cost

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

Versions and amendments

Every text the Legislature printed for this bill, including proposed changes. Each opens on the Legislature's site.

How lawmakers voted

There were 2 votes on this bill.

Assembly Committee on Local Government vote to recommend it

Passed, 10 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 Local Government, Ayes 10, Noes 0”. Official record · This vote on its own page

Joint Committee on Finance vote to recommend it

Passed, 16 to 0 · Mar 3, 2026

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

Official motion: “Report concurrence recommended by Joint Committee on Finance, Ayes 16, 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. Mar 3, 2026

    The committee voted to recommend passing it, 16 to 0.

  3. Feb 27, 2026

    Sent to the Joint Committee on Finance.

  4. Jun 27, 2025

    Sent to the Senate Committee on Senate Organization.

  5. Jun 24, 2025

    The Senate received it.

  6. Jun 24, 2025

    The Assembly passed it.

  7. Jun 24, 2025

    The Assembly adopted it.

  8. Jun 23, 2025 to Jun 24, 2025

    6 more representatives signed on in support.

  9. May 29, 2025

    Sent to the Assembly Committee on Rules.

  10. May 29, 2025

    The committee voted to recommend passing it, 10 to 0.

  11. May 7, 2025 to May 21, 2025

    2 more representatives signed on in support.

  12. May 7, 2025

    The committee held a public hearing.

  13. May 7, 2025

    A state agency sent in its estimate of the cost.

  14. Apr 15, 2025

    Sent to the Assembly Committee on Local Government.

  15. Apr 15, 2025

    Introduced in the Assembly.

See the official record, word for word
  1. Apr 15, 2025 · Assembly

    Introduced by Representatives Sortwell, Behnke, Brill, Donovan, Goeben, Goodwin, B. Jacobson, Knodl, Kreibich, Maxey, Mursau, Penterman, Wichgers and Kaufert; cosponsored by Senators Jacque, Tomczyk and Spreitzer

  2. Apr 15, 2025 · Assembly

    Read first time and referred to Committee on Local Government

  3. May 7, 2025 · Assembly

    Fiscal estimate received

  4. May 7, 2025 · Assembly

    Public hearing held

  5. May 7, 2025 · Assembly

    Representative Moses added as a coauthor

  6. May 21, 2025 · Assembly

    Representative Ortiz-Velez added as a coauthor

  7. May 28, 2025 · Assembly

    Executive action taken

  8. May 28, 2025 · Assembly

    LRB correction

  9. May 29, 2025 · Assembly

    Assembly Amendment 1 offered by Representative Sortwell

  10. May 29, 2025 · Assembly

    Report passage recommended by Committee on Local Government, Ayes 10, Noes 0

  11. May 29, 2025 · Assembly

    Referred to committee on Rules

  12. Jun 20, 2025 · Assembly

    Withdrawn from Committee on Rules and referred to calendar of 6-24-2025

  13. Jun 23, 2025 · Assembly

    Representative Fitzgerald added as a coauthor

  14. Jun 24, 2025 · Assembly

    Representatives Miresse, Emerson, Stroud, O'Connor and Stubbs added as coauthors

  15. Jun 24, 2025 · Assembly

    Read a second time

  16. Jun 24, 2025 · Assembly

    Assembly Amendment 1 adopted

  17. Jun 24, 2025 · Assembly

    Ordered to a third reading

  18. Jun 24, 2025 · Assembly

    Rules suspended

  19. Jun 24, 2025 · Assembly

    Read a third time and passed

  20. Jun 24, 2025 · Assembly

    Ordered immediately messaged

  21. Jun 24, 2025 · Senate

    Received from Assembly

  22. Jun 27, 2025 · Senate

    Read first time and referred to committee on Senate Organization

  23. Jun 27, 2025 · Senate

    Available for scheduling

  24. Feb 27, 2026 · Senate

    Withdrawn from committee on Senate Organization and rereferred to joint committee on Finance pursuant to Senate Rule 46(2)(c)

  25. Mar 3, 2026 · Senate

    Executive action taken

  26. Mar 3, 2026 · Senate

    Report concurrence recommended by Joint Committee on Finance, Ayes 16, Noes 0

  27. Mar 3, 2026 · Senate

    Available for scheduling

  28. Mar 23, 2026 · Senate

    Failed to concur in pursuant to Senate Joint Resolution 1

Terms on this page

Second chamber's vote

A bill has to pass both the Assembly and the Senate in the same form before it goes to the governor.

Official term: Concurrence. 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

Second chamber's vote

A bill has to pass both the Assembly and the Senate in the same form before it goes to the governor.

Official term: Concurrence

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