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Bills from the 2025–26 session

Assembly Bill 659

Tuition and fee remission or grants for certain veterans and their dependents enrolled in the University of Wisconsin System, a technical college, or a private nonprofit institution of higher education; and the University of Wisconsin System nonresident tuition exemption for certain veterans. (FE)

Topics: Colleges and universities, Higher Educational Aids Board, Technical college, University of Wisconsin: Tuition, Veteran: Education

Became law

The governor signed it on Apr 2, 2026. It's ⁠.

  1. Introduced, passed

    Nov 19, 2025

  2. Committee, passed

    Approved

  3. Assembly vote, passed

    Passed 94 to 2

  4. Senate vote, passed

    Passed Mar 17, 2026

  5. Governor, passed

    Signed

  6. Law, here now

    2025 Wisconsin Act 155

Latest entry in the official record, Apr 2, 2026: “Published 4-3-2026”

Read the bill

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The same bill was also filed in the Senate as SB 640. That version died when the session ended.

What it does

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

This bill modifies the residency requirement for the tuition and fee remission program for certain veterans and their spouses and children enrolled in University of Wisconsin System institutions and technical colleges. The bill makes a similar change with respect to grant eligibility for certain veterans and their spouses and children enrolled in private nonprofit colleges. The bill also modifies the UW System nonresident tuition exemption for certain veterans.

Under current law, if certain criteria are met, veterans and their spouses and 17- to 25-year-old children are eligible for full remission of tuition and fees at UW System schools and technical colleges for up to eight semesters or 128 credits, whichever is longer. Under the veterans fee remission program, the veteran must be a resident of this state when he or she entered military service or be a resident of this state for at least five consecutive years immediately before the veteran registers at a UW System school or technical college. Under the fee remission program for the spouse or child of a veteran who suffered service-connected death or disability, the veteran must have been a resident of this state when he or she entered military service or one of the following must apply: 1) if the veteran, while a resident of this state, died on active duty, died as the result of a service-connected disability, or died in the line of duty while on active or inactive duty for training purposes, the veteran must have resided in this state for at least five consecutive years while an adult, or 2) if the veteran received at least a 30 percent service-connected disability rating, the veteran must have resided in this state for at least five consecutive years immediately before the veteran’s spouse or child registers at a UW System school or technical college. In addition, if a veteran was not a resident of this state when he or she entered military service, the veteran’s spouse or child is eligible for tuition and fee remission only if the spouse or child has resided in this state for at least five consecutive years immediately before the spouse’s or child’s enrollment in a UW System school or technical college.

Read the full summary

The bill lowers from five years to three years the durational residency requirement for veterans and their spouses and children under the tuition and fee remission program under circumstances in which the veteran was not a resident of this state when he or she entered military service.

Under current law, the Higher Educational Aids Board administers a grant program under which HEAB makes grants to private nonprofit colleges to offset tuition charged to enrolled veterans and their spouses and children who, if they had been enrolled in a UW System institution or technical college, would qualify for tuition remission as described above.

The bill also lowers from five years to three years the durational residency requirement for veterans and their spouses and children for purposes of this HEAB grant program.

Under current law, a person generally must be a Wisconsin resident for at least 12 months prior to registering at a UW System institution in order to be exempt from paying nonresident tuition. Current law also includes nonresident tuition exemptions, under which certain nonresident students pay resident tuition rates. Under one exemption, a student is eligible for resident tuition if the student is a veteran, is a resident of and living in Wisconsin at the time of registering at a UW institution, and was a Wisconsin resident at the time of entry into active duty.

The bill eliminates the requirement that the student had been a Wisconsin resident at the time of entry into active duty as a condition of eligibility for the nonresident tuition exemption for veterans.

Who's behind it

21 representatives are its ⁠. 17 are Republicans and 4 are Democrats.

5 more lawmakers ⁠.

See all 26 names

Authors (21)

Signed on in support (5)

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 6 votes on this bill.

Assembly Committee on Colleges and Universities vote to recommend it

Passed, 11 to 0 · Jan 22, 2026

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 Colleges and Universities, Ayes 11, Noes 0”. Official record · This vote on its own page

Assembly vote on an amendment

Passed, 55 to 41 · Feb 19, 2026

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

Official motion: “Assembly Amendment 1 laid on table, Ayes 55, Noes 41”. Official record · This vote on its own page

Assembly vote to pass it

Passed, 94 to 2 · Feb 19, 2026 · 3 didn't vote

See how each of the 99 representatives voted

D: Democrat, R: Republican

Yes (94)

No (2)

Didn't vote (3)

Official motion: “PASSAGE”. 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

Senate vote

Passed, 3 to 2 · Mar 16, 2026

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

Official motion: “Public hearing requirement waived by committee on Senate Organization, pursuant to Senate Rule 18 (1m), Ayes 3, Noes 2”. Official record · This vote on its own page

Senate vote on an amendment

Passed, 18 to 15 · Mar 17, 2026

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

Official motion: “Senate Amendment 1 rejected, Ayes 18, Noes 15”. Official record · This vote on its own page

What happened

  1. Apr 2, 2026

    The new law was published.

  2. Apr 2, 2026

    The governor signed it. It became 2025 Wisconsin Act 155.

  3. Apr 1, 2026

    Sent to the governor.

  4. Mar 17, 2026

    The Senate passed it too.

  5. Mar 17, 2026

    2 more senators signed on in support.

  6. Mar 16, 2026

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

  7. Mar 3, 2026

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

  8. Feb 27, 2026

    Sent to the Joint Committee on Finance.

  9. Feb 25, 2026

    Sent to the Senate Committee on Senate Organization.

  10. Feb 23, 2026

    The Senate received it.

  11. Feb 19, 2026

    The Assembly passed it, 94 to 2.

  12. Feb 9, 2026

    1 more representative signed on in support.

  13. Jan 22, 2026

    Sent to the Assembly Committee on Rules.

  14. Jan 22, 2026

    The committee voted to recommend passing it, 11 to 0.

  15. Jan 8, 2026

    The committee held a public hearing.

  16. Nov 24, 2025

    A state agency sent in its estimate of the cost.

  17. Nov 24, 2025

    1 more representative signed on in support.

  18. Nov 21, 2025

    A state agency sent in its estimate of the cost.

  19. Nov 21, 2025

    1 more representative signed on in support.

  20. Nov 21, 2025

    A state agency sent in its estimate of the cost.

  21. Nov 19, 2025

    Sent to the Assembly Committee on Colleges and Universities.

  22. Nov 19, 2025

    Introduced in the Assembly.

See the official record, word for word
  1. Nov 19, 2025 · Assembly

    Introduced by Representatives Kitchens, Franklin, Kurtz, Steffen, Behnke, Billings, Brooks, Dittrich, Donovan, Joers, Knodl, Kreibich, Melotik, Murphy, Mursau, Novak, O'Connor, Piwowarczyk, Udell, Wichgers and Palmeri; cosponsored by Senator Wimberger

  2. Nov 19, 2025 · Assembly

    Read first time and referred to Committee on Colleges and Universities

  3. Nov 21, 2025 · Assembly

    Fiscal estimate received

  4. Nov 21, 2025 · Assembly

    Representative Subeck added as a coauthor

  5. Nov 21, 2025 · Assembly

    Fiscal estimate received

  6. Nov 24, 2025 · Assembly

    Representative Ortiz-Velez added as a coauthor

  7. Nov 24, 2025 · Assembly

    Fiscal estimate received

  8. Jan 8, 2026 · Assembly

    Public hearing held

  9. Jan 22, 2026 · Assembly

    Executive action taken

  10. Jan 22, 2026 · Assembly

    Report passage recommended by Committee on Colleges and Universities, Ayes 11, Noes 0

  11. Jan 22, 2026 · Assembly

    Referred to committee on Rules

  12. Feb 9, 2026 · Assembly

    Representative J. Jacobson added as a coauthor

  13. Feb 18, 2026 · Assembly

    Made a special order of business at 11:27 AM on 2-19-2026 pursuant to Assembly Resolution 14

  14. Feb 19, 2026 · Assembly

    Read a second time

  15. Feb 19, 2026 · Assembly

    Assembly Amendment 1 offered by Representative Emerson

  16. Feb 19, 2026 · Assembly

    Assembly Amendment 1 laid on table, Ayes 55, Noes 41

  17. Feb 19, 2026 · Assembly

    Ordered to a third reading

  18. Feb 19, 2026 · Assembly

    Rules suspended

  19. Feb 19, 2026 · Assembly

    Read a third time and passed, Ayes 94, Noes 2

  20. Feb 19, 2026 · Assembly

    Ordered immediately messaged

  21. Feb 23, 2026 · Senate

    Received from Assembly

  22. Feb 25, 2026 · Senate

    Read first time and referred to committee on Senate Organization

  23. Feb 25, 2026 · 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 16, 2026 · Senate

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

  29. Mar 16, 2026 · Senate

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

  30. Mar 17, 2026 · Senate

    Senate Amendment 1 offered by Senators Dassler-Alfheim, Larson, Carpenter, Drake, Habush Sinykin, Hesselbein, L. Johnson, Keyeski, Pfaff, Ratcliff, Roys, Smith, Spreitzer, Wall and Wirch

  31. Mar 17, 2026 · Senate

    Senators Hesselbein and Smith added as cosponsors

  32. Mar 17, 2026 · Senate

    Read a second time

  33. Mar 17, 2026 · Senate

    Senate Amendment 1 rejected, Ayes 18, Noes 15

  34. Mar 17, 2026 · Senate

    Ordered to a third reading

  35. Mar 17, 2026 · Senate

    Rules suspended to give bill its third reading

  36. Mar 17, 2026 · Senate

    Read a third time and concurred in

  37. Mar 17, 2026 · Senate

    Ordered immediately messaged

  38. Mar 18, 2026 · Assembly

    Received from Senate concurred in

  39. Mar 24, 2026 · Assembly

    Report correctly enrolled on 3-24-2026

  40. Apr 1, 2026 · Assembly

    Presented to the Governor on 4-1-2026

  41. Apr 2, 2026 · Assembly

    Report approved by the Governor on 4-2-2026. 2025 Wisconsin Act 155

  42. Apr 2, 2026 · Assembly

    Published 4-3-2026

Terms on this page

Wisconsin Act

The number a bill gets when it becomes law, like 2025 Wisconsin Act 12.

Official term: Act. 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

Wisconsin Act

The number a bill gets when it becomes law, like 2025 Wisconsin Act 12.

Official term: Act

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