Bills · 2025-2026 Regular Session
Relating to: increasing certain court fees and surcharges and indexing those amounts for inflation. (FE)
Circuit court Court — Fee Inflation
- Introduced, stopped here
- Passes Senate, not reached
- Passes Assembly, not reached
- Governor signs, not reached
- Law, not reached
Unfamiliar terms? Glossary
What this bill does
Plain-language analysis by the nonpartisan Legislative Reference Bureau
This bill 1) increases various court fees and surcharges collected by clerks of court, municipal judges, and registers in probate, 2) increases certain court fees paid to witnesses, interpreters, supplemental court commissioners, court reporters, sheriffs, and appraisers, and 3) indexes these and some other fee and surcharge amounts for inflation. For mileage reimbursement rates that are increased under the bill, the bill sets those rates at the rate determined by the federal Internal Revenue Service for the business standard mileage rate for federal income tax purposes.
Under current law, a county must submit a portion of each amount the county collects, as specified in current law, to the Department of Administration for various state uses, and the county may retain the balance for use by the county. The bill generally provides for the county to retain for use by the county the additional amounts collected as a result of the increases in the bill.
What it would cost
Fiscal estimates filed by state agencies, as official PDFs
Sponsors
Introduced by: Wanggaard (R)
23 cosponsors
Allen (R) , Armstrong (R) , B. Jacobson (R) , Behnke (R) , Bradley (R) , Brill (R) , Brooks (R) , Dittrich (R) , Donovan (R) , Goeben (R) , Goodwin (D) , Gundrum (R) , Jacque (R) , James (R) , Kitchens (R) , Kurtz (R) , Maxey (R) , Melotik (R) , Mursau (R) , O'Connor (R) , Ortiz-Velez (D) , Piwowarczyk (R) , Steffen (R)
Registered lobbying interests · 7
Organizations that registered lobbying activity on this bill with the Wisconsin Ethics Commission. Registration means interest, not a position for or against. Official record
Votes
Senate: Report adoption of Senate Substitute Amendment 2 recommended by Committee on Judiciary and Public Safety, Ayes 8, Noes 0
Passed 8–0 Feb 2, 2026 official source full pageNo individual roll call was recorded for this vote. Committee votes and some older sessions record totals only.
Senate: Report passage as amended recommended by Committee on Judiciary and Public Safety, Ayes 8, Noes 0
Passed 8–0 Feb 2, 2026 official source full pageNo individual roll call was recorded for this vote. Committee votes and some older sessions record totals only.
Senate: Report adoption of Senate Substitute Amendment 2 recommended by Joint Committee on Finance, Ayes 15, Noes 0
Passed 15–0 Feb 3, 2026 official source full pageNo individual roll call was recorded for this vote. Committee votes and some older sessions record totals only.
Senate: Report passage as amended recommended by Joint Committee on Finance, Ayes 15, Noes 0
Passed 15–0 Feb 3, 2026 official source full pageNo individual roll call was recorded for this vote. Committee votes and some older sessions record totals only.
Full history
- Jun 19, 2025 · Senate
Introduced by Senator Wanggaard; cosponsored by Representatives Allen, O'Connor, Donovan, Mursau, Armstrong, Behnke, Brill, Brooks, Dittrich, Goeben, B. Jacobson, Kitchens, Maxey, Piwowarczyk, Steffen and Melotik
- Jun 19, 2025 · Senate
Read first time and referred to Committee on Judiciary and Public Safety
- Jul 29, 2025 · Senate
Representative Goodwin added as a cosponsor
- Sep 19, 2025 · Senate
Senator Bradley added as a coauthor
- Sep 22, 2025 · Senate
Senator Jacque added as a coauthor
- Sep 29, 2025 · Senate
Fiscal estimate received
- Oct 17, 2025 · Senate
Representative Gundrum added as a cosponsor
- Jan 7, 2026 · Senate
Senate Substitute Amendment 1 offered by Senator Wanggaard
- Jan 8, 2026 · Senate
Representative Ortiz-Velez added as a cosponsor
- Jan 15, 2026 · Senate
Representative Kurtz added as a cosponsor
- Jan 26, 2026 · Senate
Senate Substitute Amendment 2 offered by Senator Wanggaard
- Jan 28, 2026 · Senate
Senator James added as a coauthor
- Jan 28, 2026 · Senate
Public hearing held
- Feb 2, 2026 · Senate
Executive action taken
- Feb 2, 2026 · Senate
Report adoption of Senate Substitute Amendment 2 recommended by Committee on Judiciary and Public Safety, Ayes 8, Noes 0
- Feb 2, 2026 · Senate
Report passage as amended recommended by Committee on Judiciary and Public Safety, Ayes 8, Noes 0
- Feb 2, 2026 · Senate
Available for scheduling
- Feb 2, 2026 · Senate
Withdrawn from committee on Senate Organization and rereferred to joint committee on Finance pursuant to Senate Rule 46(2)(c)
- Feb 3, 2026 · Senate
Executive action taken
- Feb 3, 2026 · Senate
Report adoption of Senate Substitute Amendment 2 recommended by Joint Committee on Finance, Ayes 15, Noes 0
- Feb 3, 2026 · Senate
Report passage as amended recommended by Joint Committee on Finance, Ayes 15, Noes 0
- Feb 3, 2026 · Senate
Available for scheduling
- Mar 23, 2026 · Senate
Failed to pass pursuant to Senate Joint Resolution 1