Senate Bill 1165
Creating an Office of Civil Legal Aid to be overseen by a Civil Legal Aid Board, providing a right to the appointment of counsel at state expense for residential tenants in eviction actions, and making an appropriation. (FE)
Topics: Attorney, Court: Procedure, Landlord and tenant, Legal aid
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.
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Introduced, passed
Mar 19, 2026
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Committee, stopped here
Stopped here. No public hearing was held.
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Senate vote, not reached
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Assembly vote, not reached
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Governor, not reached
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Law, not reached
Latest entry in the official record, Mar 23, 2026: “Failed to pass pursuant to ”
It never got a hearing in the Senate Committee on Judiciary and Public Safety. The committee's chair at the time was Van Wanggaard. 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 Assembly as AB 1195. That version died when the session ended.
Terms on this page
Committee
A small group of lawmakers that looks at a bill first. Most bills never leave committee.
Public hearing
A meeting where anyone can speak to a committee about a bill, or send written comments.
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
What it would have done
Summary by the , the Legislature's nonpartisan drafting office. It's their wording, not ours.
This bill provides a right to the appointment of counsel at state expense for residential tenants in eviction actions. To implement that right, the bill creates an Office of Civil Legal Aid and a Civil Legal Aid Board to oversee that office. The Civil Legal Aid Board consists of nine members appointed by the state supreme court for staggered three-year terms. No board member may be, or be employed on the staff of, a judicial officer, district attorney, corporation counsel, or the Office of Civil Legal Aid, and no board member may have an ownership interest in residential property that the member makes available for rent or lease to tenants. Under the bill, the board appoints a director for the Office of Civil Legal Aid and approves the budget for that office. In addition, the board establishes guidelines for evaluating attorney conflicts of interest when the director appoints counsel for tenants in eviction actions.
In addition to accepting requests for and making appointments for counsel, the director of the Office of Civil Legal Aid supervises the operation of the Office of Civil Legal Aid and submits an annual report to the Civil Legal Aid Board. The bill also allows the the director, at the board’s direction, to negotiate contracts with local public defender organizations and right-to-counsel programs for counsel appointments. Under the bill, the board must enter into agreements with the State Bar of Wisconsin, local bar associations, law firms, right-to-counsel programs, and private counsel to encourage legal representation without compensation as a service to the state.
Read the full summary Show less
Under the bill, an attorney appointed by the director is paid $100 per hour for time spent on an eviction case. That amount is annually increased by the percentage increase in the consumer price index. The bill also provides travel reimbursement to appointed counsel equal to $50 per hour for travel outside the county where the attorney is located.
Under the bill, the director may appoint counsel only if sufficient funds are available. In addition, the director must prioritize appointing counsel for individuals in the counties in which the most residential evictions occur and to individuals who are disproportionately at risk of eviction.
Who's behind it
3 senators are its . All 3 are Democrats.
19 more lawmakers .
See all 22 names Hide the names
Authors (3)
- Dora Drake · Democrat, Senate
- Chris Larson · Democrat, Senate
- Kelda Roys · Democrat, Senate
Signed on in support (19)
- Clint Anderson · Democrat, Assembly
- Margaret Arney · Democrat, Assembly
- Mike Bare · Democrat, Assembly
- Ryan Clancy · Democrat, Assembly
- Russell Goodwin · Democrat, Assembly
- Francesca Hong · Democrat, Assembly
- Alex Joers · Democrat, Assembly
- Darrin Madison · Democrat, Assembly
- Renuka Mayadev · Democrat, Assembly
- Maureen McCarville · Democrat, Assembly
- Supreme Moore Omokunde · Democrat, Assembly
- Lori Palmeri · Democrat, Assembly
- Ann Roe · Democrat, Assembly
- Christine Sinicki · Democrat, Assembly
- Lee Snodgrass · Democrat, Assembly
- Angela Stroud · Democrat, Assembly
- Shelia Stubbs · Democrat, Assembly
- Lisa Subeck · Democrat, Assembly
- Angelito Tenorio · Democrat, Assembly
What happened
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Mar 23, 2026
The session ended, and the bill died with it.
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Mar 19, 2026
Sent to the Senate Committee on Judiciary and Public Safety.
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Mar 19, 2026
Introduced in the Senate.
See the official record, word for word Hide the official record
- Mar 19, 2026 · Senate
Introduced by Senators Roys, Larson and Drake; cosponsored by Representatives Clancy, Hong, Madison, Joers, Moore Omokunde, Palmeri, Sinicki, Snodgrass, Stubbs, Arney, Bare, Goodwin, Mayadev, McCarville, Roe, Stroud, Tenorio, Anderson and Subeck
- Mar 19, 2026 · Senate
Read first time and referred to Committee on Judiciary and Public Safety
- Mar 23, 2026 · Senate
Failed to pass pursuant to Senate Joint Resolution 1
Terms on this page
Committee
A small group of lawmakers that looks at a bill first. Most bills never leave committee.
Public hearing
A meeting where anyone can speak to a committee about a bill, or send written comments.
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
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.
Public hearing
A meeting where anyone can speak to a committee about a bill, or send written comments.
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
Signed on in support
Lawmakers who back a bill without being one of its authors, often from the other chamber.
Official term: Cosponsor