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Bills · 2025-2026 Regular Session

AB 217

Became law Official bill text Atom feed

Relating to: local government competitive bidding thresholds. (FE)

Consumer protection Milwaukee — Sewerage Public works Purchasing government

  1. Introduced, completed
  2. Passes Assembly, completed
  3. Passes Senate, completed
  4. Governor signs, completed
  5. Law, completed

Unfamiliar terms? Glossary

What this bill does

Plain-language analysis by the nonpartisan Legislative Reference Bureau

Under current law, in general, if the estimated cost of a local government public works project is between $5,000 and $25,000, the local governmental unit must provide a notice before it contracts. If the estimated cost exceeds $25,000, the local governmental unit must solicit bids and award the contract to the lowest responsible bidder.

This bill increases the notice threshold to $10,000 and the bidding threshold to $50,000 and adjusts these amounts quinquennially for inflation. The bill also provides exceptions to these bidding requirements for 1) public work by a county for the purpose of providing housing for persons placed on supervised release as sexually violent persons and 2) improvements that are constructed by a private person and donated to a town or county after the completion of construction. With regard to the latter, a similar exception for donated improvements currently exists for improvements donated to a city or village.

What it would cost

Fiscal estimates filed by state agencies, as official PDFs

Sponsors

Introduced by: Armstrong (R) , B. Jacobson (R) , Brooks (R) , Dittrich (R) , Donovan (R) , Franklin (R) , Gundrum (R) , Kitchens (R) , Knodl (R) , Melotik (R) , Mursau (R) , Novak (R) , O'Connor (R) , VanderMeer (R)

6 cosponsors

Carpenter (D) , Ortiz-Velez, Miresse and Anderson , Smith (D) , Tittl (R) , Tomczyk (R) , Udell (D)

Registered lobbying interests · 21

Organizations that registered lobbying activity on this bill with the Wisconsin Ethics Commission. Registration means interest, not a position for or against. Official record

Votes

Assembly: Report Assembly Substitute Amendment 1 adoption recommended by Committee on Local Government, Ayes 10, Noes 0

Passed 10–0 May 29, 2025 official source full page

No individual roll call was recorded for this vote. Committee votes and some older sessions record totals only.

Assembly: Report passage as amended recommended by Committee on Local Government, Ayes 10, Noes 0

Passed 10–0 May 29, 2025 official source full page

No individual roll call was recorded for this vote. Committee votes and some older sessions record totals only.

Senate: Public hearing requirement waived by committee on Senate Organization, pursuant to Senate Rule 18 (1m), Ayes 3, Noes 2

Passed 3–2 Mar 16, 2026 official source full page

No individual roll call was recorded for this vote. Committee votes and some older sessions record totals only.

Full history

  1. Apr 23, 2025 · Assembly

    Introduced by Representatives O'Connor, Brooks, Armstrong, Novak, Donovan, Kitchens, Franklin, VanderMeer, B. Jacobson, Gundrum, Knodl, Mursau, Dittrich and Melotik; cosponsored by Senator Tomczyk

  2. Apr 23, 2025 · Assembly

    Read first time and referred to Committee on Local Government

  3. May 6, 2025 · Assembly

    Assembly Amendment 1 offered by Representatives O'Connor, Maxey and Donovan

  4. May 7, 2025 · Assembly

    Fiscal estimate received

  5. May 7, 2025 · Assembly

    Public hearing held

  6. May 14, 2025 · Assembly

    Assembly Substitute Amendment 1 offered by Representative O'Connor

  7. May 15, 2025 · Assembly

    Representative Tittl added as a coauthor

  8. May 28, 2025 · Assembly

    Executive action taken

  9. May 29, 2025 · Assembly

    Referred to committee on Rules

  10. May 29, 2025 · Assembly

    Report Assembly Substitute Amendment 1 adoption recommended by Committee on Local Government, Ayes 10, Noes 0

  11. May 29, 2025 · Assembly

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

  12. Jul 28, 2025 · Assembly

    Representative Udell added as a coauthor

  13. Sep 23, 2025 · Assembly

    Senator Carpenter added as a cosponsor

  14. Oct 28, 2025 · Assembly

    Assembly Amendment 1 to Assembly Substitute Amendment 1 offered by Representative O'Connor

  15. Feb 13, 2026 · Assembly

    Withdrawn from Committee on Rules and referred to calendar of 2-17-2026

  16. Feb 16, 2026 · Assembly

    Representatives Ortiz-Velez, Miresse and Anderson added as coauthors

  17. Feb 17, 2026 · Assembly

    Read a second time

  18. Feb 17, 2026 · Assembly

    Assembly Amendment 1 to Assembly Substitute Amendment 1 adopted

  19. Feb 17, 2026 · Assembly

    Assembly Substitute Amendment 1 adopted

  20. Feb 17, 2026 · Assembly

    Ordered to a third reading

  21. Feb 17, 2026 · Assembly

    Rules suspended

  22. Feb 17, 2026 · Assembly

    Read a third time and passed

  23. Feb 17, 2026 · Assembly

    Ordered immediately messaged

  24. Feb 18, 2026 · Senate

    Received from Assembly

  25. Feb 20, 2026 · Senate

    Read first time and referred to committee on Senate Organization

  26. Feb 20, 2026 · Senate

    Available for scheduling

  27. Mar 16, 2026 · Senate

    Public hearing requirement waived by committee on Senate Organization, pursuant to Senate Rule 18 (1m), Ayes 3, Noes 2

  28. Mar 16, 2026 · Senate

    Placed on calendar 3-17-2026 pursuant to Senate Rule 18(1)

  29. Mar 17, 2026 · Senate

    Read a second time

  30. Mar 17, 2026 · Senate

    Ordered to a third reading

  31. Mar 17, 2026 · Senate

    Rules suspended to give bill its third reading

  32. Mar 17, 2026 · Senate

    Read a third time and concurred in

  33. Mar 17, 2026 · Senate

    Senator Smith added as a cosponsor

  34. Mar 17, 2026 · Senate

    Ordered immediately messaged

  35. Mar 18, 2026 · Assembly

    Received from Senate concurred in

  36. Mar 26, 2026 · Assembly

    LRB correction (Assembly Amendment 1 to Assembly Substitute Amendment 1)

  37. Mar 26, 2026 · Assembly

    Report correctly enrolled on 3-26-2026

  38. Apr 2, 2026 · Assembly

    Presented to the Governor on 4-2-2026

  39. Apr 3, 2026 · Assembly

    Report approved by the Governor on 4-3-2026. 2025 Wisconsin Act 188

  40. Apr 3, 2026 · Assembly

    Published 4-4-2026