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Bills from the 2025–26 session

Senate Bill 297

Special registration plates to support protecting pollinators and making an appropriation. (FE)

Topics: Bees, Motor vehicle: Taxation or registration

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

    May 30, 2025

  2. Committee, stopped here

    Stopped here. No public hearing was held.

  3. Senate vote, not reached

  4. Assembly vote, not reached

  5. Governor, not reached

  6. Law, not reached

Latest entry in the official record, Jun 1, 2026: “Senator Keyeski added as a coauthor”

It never got a hearing in the Senate Committee on Transportation and Local Government. The committee's chair at the time was Cory Tomczyk. 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 290. 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 current law, members of certain designated special groups may obtain from the Department of Transportation special registration plates for certain vehicles that are owned or leased by special group members. A fee, in addition to the regular registration fee for the particular kind of vehicle, is charged for the issuance or reissuance of most special plates.

This bill establishes a special group for persons to express support for protecting pollinators. The bill requires that plates issued to members of the special group have a design that covers the entire plate and includes the words “Protect Pollinators.” The bill provides that, in addition to the required fees, special group members are required to make a voluntary payment of $25 to be issued the special plates. Under the bill, DOT retains $23,700, or the actual initial costs of production, whichever is less, from the voluntary payment moneys for the initial costs of production of the special plates. The remainder of the voluntary payment amounts are deposited in the conservation fund to be used by the Department of Natural Resources for the purposes of the endangered resources program. In addition, the bill appropriates $23,700 from the general fund to DOT for the initial costs of production of the special group plates.

Who's behind it

13 senators are its ⁠. 12 are Democrats and 1 is a Republican.

29 more lawmakers ⁠.

See all 42 names

Authors (13)

Signed on in support (29)

What it would cost

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

What happened

  1. Jun 1, 2026

    1 more senator signed on in support.

  2. Mar 23, 2026

    The session ended, and the bill died with it.

  3. Nov 18, 2025

    A state agency sent in its estimate of the cost.

  4. Jun 12, 2025

    1 more representative signed on in support.

  5. May 30, 2025

    Sent to the Senate Committee on Transportation and Local Government.

  6. May 30, 2025

    Introduced in the Senate.

See the official record, word for word
  1. May 30, 2025 · Senate

    Introduced by Senators Pfaff, Habush Sinykin, Cabral-Guevara, Carpenter, Drake, Hesselbein, Larson, Ratcliff, Roys, Smith, Spreitzer, Wirch and Dassler-Alfheim; cosponsored by Representatives Snodgrass, Behnke, DeSanto, Miresse, Arney, Billings, Cruz, DeSmidt, Doyle, Emerson, Fitzgerald, Joers, Johnson, Mayadev, Moore Omokunde, Palmeri, Rivera-Wagner, Roe, Sheehan, Sinicki, Stubbs, Subeck, Tenorio, Vining, Andraca, Udell and J. Jacobson

  2. May 30, 2025 · Senate

    Read first time and referred to Committee on Transportation and Local Government

  3. Jun 12, 2025 · Senate

    Representative Haywood added as a cosponsor

  4. Nov 18, 2025 · Senate

    Fiscal estimate received

  5. Mar 23, 2026 · Senate

    Failed to pass pursuant to Senate Joint Resolution 1

  6. Jun 1, 2026 · Senate

    Senator Keyeski 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.

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

Author

A lawmaker who formally puts a bill forward. The text itself is drafted by the Legislative Reference Bureau.

Official term: Author, coauthor

Signed on in support

Lawmakers who back a bill without being one of its authors, often from the other chamber.

Official term: Cosponsor

Cost estimate

A state agency's estimate of what a bill would cost or save.

Official term: Fiscal estimate