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Bills from the 2025–26 session

Assembly Bill 974

A public affairs network trust fund, grants to the WisconsinEye Public Affairs Network, and making an appropriation. (FE)

Topics: Administration, Department of: Budget and fiscal issues, Organization, Miscellaneous, Trust fund

Passed the Assembly, then stopped

The Assembly passed it on Feb 10, 2026, 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

    Jan 30, 2026

  2. Committee, passed

    Approved

  3. Assembly vote, passed

    Passed Feb 10, 2026

  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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What it would have done

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

Subject to approval by the Joint Committee on Finance, current law requires the Department of Administration to make grants, not to exceed a total of $10,000,000, to the WisconsinEye Public Affairs Network, Inc., for the establishment of an endowment fund. DOA may not award any such grant unless WisconsinEye raises matching funds from nonstate sources, and the grant authorization sunsets on June 30, 2026. WisconsinEye currently operates a public affairs network in Wisconsin that broadcasts live state government proceedings, news conferences, and civic events and maintains digital archives of its broadcasts.

This bill eliminates the current-law provision for the endowment fund. Instead, the bill creates a trust fund from which DOA makes grants to WisconsinEye to be used for its operating costs to broadcast live events and maintain its archives.

Read the full summary

The bill requires WisconsinEye to do all of the following as a condition for receiving the grants:

1. Appoint to its board of directors one designee each of the speaker of the assembly, minority leader of the assembly, majority leader of the senate, and minority leader of the senate. Under the bill, no such designee may be a member of the legislature.

2. Focus its coverage primarily on official state government meetings and business.

3. Provide free online public access, on a continuous basis, to the network’s live broadcasts and digital archives.

4. Submit an annual financial report to the legislature and JCF.

Finally, under the bill, if WisconsinEye ceases operations and divests its assets, WisconsinEye must pay back the grants and transfer all of its archives to the state historical society.

Who's behind it

49 representatives are its ⁠. 29 are Democrats and 20 are Republicans.

4 more lawmakers ⁠.

See all 53 names

Authors (49)

Signed on in support (4)

  • Jenna Jacobson · Democrat, Assembly
  • Moore Omokunde, Sheehan and Vining
  • Rivera-Wagner, Palmeri and DeSmidt
  • Travis Tranel · Republican, Assembly

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 State Affairs vote to recommend it

Passed, 10 to 0 · Feb 4, 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 State Affairs, Ayes 10, Noes 0”. Official record · This vote on its own page

Assembly vote to pass it

Passed, 96 to 0 · Feb 10, 2026 · 3 didn't vote

See how each of the 99 representatives voted

D: Democrat, R: Republican

Yes (96)

Didn't vote (3)

Official motion: “PASSAGE”. 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 19, 2026

    1 more representative signed on in support.

  3. Feb 11, 2026

    Sent to the Senate Committee on Government Operations, Labor and Economic Development.

  4. Feb 10, 2026

    The Senate received it.

  5. Feb 10, 2026

    The Assembly passed it, 96 to 0.

  6. Feb 10, 2026

    3 more representatives signed on in support.

  7. Feb 10, 2026

    The Assembly adopted it.

  8. Feb 10, 2026

    A state agency sent in its estimate of the cost.

  9. Feb 4, 2026

    Sent to the Assembly Committee on Rules.

  10. Feb 4, 2026

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

  11. Feb 4, 2026

    1 more representative signed on in support.

  12. Feb 3, 2026

    The committee held a public hearing.

  13. Feb 2, 2026

    3 more representatives signed on in support.

  14. Jan 30, 2026

    Sent to the Assembly Committee on State Affairs.

  15. Jan 30, 2026

    Introduced in the Assembly.

See the official record, word for word
  1. Jan 30, 2026 · Assembly

    Introduced by Representatives Neubauer, Vos, Anderson, Andraca, Arney, Behnke, Billings, Dittrich, Donovan, Emerson, Fitzgerald, Goeben, Goodwin, Gundrum, Hong, Hurd, Hysell, Joers, Johnson, Kitchens, Knodl, Krug, Mayadev, McCarville, Melotik, Miresse, Murphy, Novak, O'Connor, Ortiz-Velez, Phelps, Piwowarczyk, Prado, Rodriguez, Roe, Snodgrass, Snyder, Sortwell, Spaude, Stroud, Stubbs, Subeck, Taylor, Udell, Wittke, Madison, Kaufert, Sinicki and DeSanto

  2. Jan 30, 2026 · Assembly

    Read first time and referred to Committee on State Affairs

  3. Feb 2, 2026 · Assembly

    Representatives Rivera-Wagner, Palmeri and DeSmidt added as coauthors

  4. Feb 3, 2026 · Assembly

    Public hearing held

  5. Feb 3, 2026 · Assembly

    Executive action taken

  6. Feb 4, 2026 · Assembly

    Representative Tranel added as a coauthor

  7. Feb 4, 2026 · Assembly

    Report passage recommended by Committee on State Affairs, Ayes 10, Noes 0

  8. Feb 4, 2026 · Assembly

    Referred to committee on Rules

  9. Feb 5, 2026 · Assembly

    Placed on calendar 2-10-2026 by Committee on Rules

  10. Feb 10, 2026 · Assembly

    Fiscal estimate received

  11. Feb 10, 2026 · Assembly

    Read a second time

  12. Feb 10, 2026 · Assembly

    Assembly Amendment 1 offered by Representative Neubauer

  13. Feb 10, 2026 · Assembly

    Assembly Amendment 1 adopted

  14. Feb 10, 2026 · Assembly

    Ordered to a third reading

  15. Feb 10, 2026 · Assembly

    Rules suspended

  16. Feb 10, 2026 · Assembly

    Representatives Moore Omokunde, Sheehan and Vining added as coauthors

  17. Feb 10, 2026 · Assembly

    Read a third time and passed, Ayes 96, Noes 0

  18. Feb 10, 2026 · Assembly

    Ordered immediately messaged

  19. Feb 10, 2026 · Senate

    Received from Assembly

  20. Feb 11, 2026 · Senate

    Read first time and referred to committee on Government Operations, Labor and Economic Development

  21. Mar 19, 2026 · Senate

    Representative J. Jacobson added as a coauthor

  22. 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

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