Senate Bill 212
The form of referendum questions
Topics: Constitution, Wisconsin, Referendum
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
Apr 16, 2025
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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 Licensing, Regulatory Reform, State and Federal Affairs. The committee's chair at the time was Chris Kapenga. 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 224. 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.
Under current law, any referendum question submitted to the voters, including to approve or reject a constitutional amendment, must be concise and may not be worded in such a manner as to require a negative vote to approve a proposition or an affirmative vote to disapprove a proposition.
This bill adds the requirement that the referendum question be in plain language. The bill additionally adds the requirement that for a proposed constitutional amendment, the question must clearly indicate whether any part of the constitutional amendment is contained in the statutes as of the date of final passage of the joint resolution directing that the question be submitted to a vote of the people.
Who's behind it
9 senators are its . All 9 are Democrats.
24 more lawmakers .
See all 33 names Hide the names
Authors (9)
- Kristin Dassler-Alfheim · Democrat, Senate
- Dora Drake · Democrat, Senate
- Jodi Habush Sinykin · Democrat, Senate
- Dianne Hesselbein · Democrat, Senate
- Sarah Keyeski · Democrat, Senate
- Melissa Ratcliff · Democrat, Senate
- Kelda Roys · Democrat, Senate
- Mark Spreitzer · Democrat, Senate
- Jamie Wall · Democrat, Senate
Signed on in support (24)
- Deb Andraca · Democrat, Assembly
- Brienne Brown · Democrat, Assembly
- Ryan Clancy · Democrat, Assembly
- Ben DeSmidt · Democrat, Assembly
- Jodi Emerson · Democrat, Assembly
- Joan Fitzgerald · Democrat, Assembly
- Kalan Haywood · Democrat, Assembly
- Jenna Jacobson · Democrat, Assembly
- Alex Joers · Democrat, Assembly
- Tara Johnson · Democrat, Assembly
- Darrin Madison · Democrat, Assembly
- Renuka Mayadev · Democrat, Assembly
- Vinnie Miresse · Democrat, Assembly
- Sylvia Ortiz-Velez · Democrat, Assembly
- Lori Palmeri · Democrat, Assembly
- Priscilla Prado · Democrat, Assembly
- Amaad Rivera-Wagner · Democrat, Assembly
- Ann Roe · Democrat, Assembly
- Joe Sheehan · Democrat, Assembly
- Christine Sinicki · Democrat, Assembly
- Lee Snodgrass · Democrat, Assembly
- Lisa Subeck · Democrat, Assembly
- Angelito Tenorio · Democrat, Assembly
- Robyn Vining · Democrat, Assembly
What happened
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Mar 23, 2026
The session ended, and the bill died with it.
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Apr 18, 2025 to May 28, 2025
4 more representatives signed on in support.
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Apr 16, 2025
Sent to the Senate Committee on Licensing, Regulatory Reform, State and Federal Affairs.
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Apr 16, 2025
Introduced in the Senate.
See the official record, word for word Hide the official record
- Apr 16, 2025 · Senate
Introduced by Senators Habush Sinykin, Wall, Roys, Ratcliff, Dassler-Alfheim, Hesselbein, Keyeski, Drake and Spreitzer; cosponsored by Representatives Andraca, Snodgrass, Joers, DeSmidt, Rivera-Wagner, Brown, Sheehan, Roe, Fitzgerald, Clancy, Prado, Subeck, Sinicki, Madison, Tenorio, Vining, Ortiz-Velez, Mayadev, Johnson and Miresse
- Apr 16, 2025 · Senate
Read first time and referred to Committee on Licensing, Regulatory Reform, State and Federal Affairs
- Apr 18, 2025 · Senate
Representative Haywood added as a cosponsor
- Apr 21, 2025 · Senate
Representative J. Jacobson added as a cosponsor
- Apr 23, 2025 · Senate
Representative Palmeri added as a cosponsor
- May 28, 2025 · Senate
Representative Emerson added as a cosponsor
- 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