Senate Bill 233
Inducements to sign or refrain from signing nomination papers, recall petitions, and certain other petitions
Topics: Elections, Elections: Contested elections, Petitions
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 29, 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 Government Operations, Labor and Economic Development. The committee's chair at the time was Dan Feyen. 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 227. 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.
Current law prohibits certain kinds of election bribery, including offering, giving, lending, or providing money or anything of value to an elector or other person to induce the elector to vote or refrain from voting. Under current law, “anything of value” includes an object having utility independent of a political message it contains, the value of which exceeds $1. Election bribery is a Class I felony, the penalty for which is a fine not to exceed $10,000 or imprisonment not to exceed three years and six months, or both.
This bill prohibits as election bribery such inducement of an elector to sign or refrain from signing a petition supporting or opposing a candidate, referendum, or proposition about political or social issues, state law, or proposed or potential legislation, if the petition is related to an election or referendum or is circulated during an election period, as defined in the bill.
Read the full summary Show less
Additionally, the bill prohibits as election bribery such inducement of an elector to sign or refrain from signing nomination papers or a recall petition.
Finally, the bill defines “anything of value” for purposes of a violation of the bill’s provisions to include an object having utility independent of a political message it contains, if the object’s value exceeds $5, rather than 1$.
Who's behind it
8 senators are its . All 8 are Democrats.
15 more lawmakers .
See all 23 names Hide the names
Authors (8)
- Tim Carpenter · Democrat, Senate
- Kristin Dassler-Alfheim · Democrat, Senate
- Dora Drake · Democrat, Senate
- Dianne Hesselbein · Democrat, Senate
- Sarah Keyeski · Democrat, Senate
- Chris Larson · Democrat, Senate
- Melissa Ratcliff · Democrat, Senate
- Mark Spreitzer · Democrat, Senate
Signed on in support (15)
- Clint Anderson · Democrat, Assembly
- Margaret Arney · Democrat, Assembly
- Mike Bare · Democrat, Assembly
- Brienne Brown · Democrat, Assembly
- Ryan Clancy · Democrat, Assembly
- Ben DeSmidt · Democrat, Assembly
- Jodi Emerson · Democrat, Assembly
- Francesca Hong · Democrat, Assembly
- Jenna Jacobson · Democrat, Assembly
- Alex Joers · Democrat, Assembly
- Karen Kirsch · Democrat, Assembly
- Amaad Rivera-Wagner · Democrat, Assembly
- Ann Roe · Democrat, Assembly
- Christine Sinicki · Democrat, Assembly
- Lee Snodgrass · Democrat, Assembly
What happened
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Mar 23, 2026
The session ended, and the bill died with it.
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Jun 24, 2025 to Mar 12, 2026
2 more representatives signed on in support.
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Apr 29, 2025
Sent to the Senate Committee on Government Operations, Labor and Economic Development.
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Apr 29, 2025
Introduced in the Senate.
See the official record, word for word Hide the official record
- Apr 29, 2025 · Senate
Introduced by Senators Larson, Spreitzer, Carpenter, Dassler-Alfheim, Drake, Hesselbein, Keyeski and Ratcliff; cosponsored by Representatives Snodgrass, Rivera-Wagner, Anderson, Arney, Bare, Brown, Clancy, DeSmidt, Emerson, Hong, J. Jacobson, Joers and Kirsch
- Apr 29, 2025 · Senate
Read first time and referred to Committee on Government Operations, Labor and Economic Development
- Jun 24, 2025 · Senate
Representative Sinicki added as a cosponsor
- Mar 12, 2026 · Senate
Representative Roe 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