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Bills from the 2025–26 session

Assembly Bill 785

A percentage of income payment program for electricity and gas service, electricity and gas service disconnections, granting rule-making authority, and making an appropriation. (FE)

Topics: Poor, Public Service Commission, Public utility

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.

  1. Introduced, passed

    Dec 17, 2025

  2. Committee, stopped here

    Stopped here. No public hearing was held.

  3. Assembly vote, not reached

  4. Senate vote, not reached

  5. Governor, not reached

  6. Law, not reached

Latest entry in the official record, Apr 6, 2026: “Representative Johnson added as a coauthor”

It never got a hearing in the Assembly Committee on Energy and Utilities. The committee's chair at the time was David Steffen. 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 780. 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 this bill, the Public Service Commission administers a percentage of income payment program that requires PSC to ensure that the monthly cost of electricity and gas utility service for a severely energy burdened household or energy burdened household does not exceed 2 percent of the annual income of the household divided by 12. The bill authorizes PSC to approve rates for electricity and gas utility service that are based on a customer’s household income, and the bill also authorizes the PSC to provide financial assistance to satisfy the requirement described above. The bill defines a “severely energy burdened household” as a household for which the monthly electricity and gas bills equal 4 percent or more of the total annual income of the household divided by 12 or a household that has no annual income and includes a customer who pays electricity or gas bills. Also, under the bill, an “energy burdened household” is a household for which the monthly electricity and gas bills equal at least 2 percent and less than 4 percent of the total annual income of the household divided by 12.

PSC must automatically enroll all severely energy burdened households and energy burdened households in the percentage of income payment program. PSC must engage in active outreach about participating in the program to communities that historically have had a relatively high proportion of severely energy burdened households. Under the bill, PSC may limit the applicability of rates or financial assistance under the percentage of income payment program to electric and gas service for a primary residence. The bill also requires PSC to submit an annual report on the program to the governor and the legislature.

Read the full summary

The bill also prohibits public utilities from disconnecting for nonpayment electricity or gas service from a residential dwelling unit whose gross annual income does not exceed 300 percent of the federal poverty guidelines of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Also, the bill requires each electricity or gas public utility to annually report to PSC on all service disconnections from a residential dwelling unit made during the previous year. PSC must submit a report summarizing those reports to the governor and the legislature, and PSC must publish on its website all reports received from public utilities. The bill also allows a customer whose residential dwelling unit is wrongly disconnected from electricity or gas service by a public utility to petition PSC to require the public utility to reconnect the service. PSC must decide on a petition no later that 30 days after receiving it, and if PSC requires a public utility to reconnect service, the public utility must reconnect the service within three days.

The bill establishes an energy burden relief segregated fund for PSC for the percentage of income payment program. Under the bill, all moneys received from the gross revenues tax on public utilities are deposited in the energy burden relief fund.

Who's behind it

21 representatives are its ⁠. All 21 are Democrats.

3 more lawmakers ⁠.

See all 24 names

Authors (21)

Signed on in support (3)

What it would cost

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

What happened

  1. Apr 6, 2026

    1 more representative signed on in support.

  2. Mar 23, 2026

    The session ended, and the bill died with it.

  3. Feb 23, 2026

    1 more representative signed on in support.

  4. Feb 4, 2026

    A state agency sent in its estimate of the cost.

  5. Dec 17, 2025

    Sent to the Assembly Committee on Energy and Utilities.

  6. Dec 17, 2025

    Introduced in the Assembly.

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

    Introduced by Representatives Madison, Hong, Spaude, Moore Omokunde, Anderson, Arney, Brown, Clancy, Fitzgerald, Phelps, Roe, Tenorio, DeSmidt, Goodwin, Joers, Miresse, Palmeri, Prado, Rivera-Wagner, Stubbs and Vining; cosponsored by Senator Larson

  2. Dec 17, 2025 · Assembly

    Read first time and referred to Committee on Energy and Utilities

  3. Feb 4, 2026 · Assembly

    Fiscal estimate received

  4. Feb 23, 2026 · Assembly

    Representative Sinicki added as a coauthor

  5. Mar 23, 2026 · Assembly

    Failed to pass pursuant to Senate Joint Resolution 1

  6. Apr 6, 2026 · Assembly

    Representative Johnson added as a coauthor

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

Public hearing

A meeting where anyone can speak to a committee about a bill, or send written comments.

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

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.

More in the glossary

Public hearing

A meeting where anyone can speak to a committee about a bill, or send written comments.

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