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Bills from the 2025–26 session

Senate Bill 398

Requiring universal changing stations in certain buildings, creating a tax credit for installation of the stations, and making an appropriation. (FE)

Topics: Building, Business, Franchise: Taxation, Income tax: Credit, Persons with disabilities, Public health

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

    Aug 25, 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, 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 403. 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.

This bill requires that certain buildings include at least one single-occupant restroom with a “universal changing station,” which the bill defines as a floor-mounted or wall-mounted, powered, and height-adjustable adult changing table with a safety rail that can be used for personal hygiene by an individual with a disability of either sex and the individual’s care provider. The bill specifies other requirements that a universal changing station must satisfy, including requirements regarding size, maneuverability space, weight load, adjustability, and signage.

The bill applies to certain buildings that are subject to the state’s commercial building code, which is administered by the Department of Safety and Professional Services. Specifically, the building must be one of the following: a place of exhibition or entertainment; a shopping center, shopping mall, or store of at least 40,000 square feet; a place of public display or collection, including a museum, library, or gallery; a place of recreation, including a building at a park, zoo, or amusement park; a place of education, including an elementary, secondary, undergraduate, or postgraduate private or public school; a social service center, including a senior center or homeless shelter; a state or local government building, including a building at a rest area; a public transportation station; or a professional office of a health care provider, hospital, or rehabilitation center.

Read the full summary

The bill’s applicability also depends on whether a building is a “high-capacity building,” which the bill defines as a building with the capacity to serve more than 3,000 persons per day. The bill requires any high-capacity building for which construction begins on or after July 1, 2026, to include at least one single-occupant restroom with a universal changing station. For any other high-capacity building, the building must have at least one single-occupant restroom with a universal changing station only if the building owner applies for a building permit for a project that satisfies each of the following: 1) the project alters, renovates, or makes an addition to the building; 2) the project has an estimated cost of $15,000 or more; and 3) the project does not involve solely a parking garage.

For a building that is not a high-capacity building, the bill’s applicability depends on whether the building includes at least one single-occupant restroom before July 1, 2026. If so, the building must include at least one single-occupant restroom with a universal changing station if, on or after that date, the building owner applies for a building permit for a project described above. If a building does not include at least one single-occupant restroom before that date, and such a restroom is added to the building on or after that date, the building must include one single-occupant restroom with a universal changing station when the restroom is added.

The bill also creates an income and franchise tax credit for small businesses that install universal changing stations. The credit applies beginning in tax year 2025. Under the bill, a small business is any entity that, during the preceding taxable year, either had gross receipts of no more than $1,000,000 or employed no more than 30 full-time employees. The credit is equal to 50 percent of the amount the small business paid to install the universal changing station, up to a maximum credit of $5,125. The credit may be claimed only if the universal changing station meets the requirements described above relating to such issues as size and weight load and the credit is refundable, which means that if the credit exceeds a claimant’s tax liability, the claimant will receive the difference as a refund.

Who's behind it

12 senators are its ⁠. All 12 are Democrats.

31 more lawmakers ⁠.

See all 43 names

Authors (12)

Signed on in support (31)

What it would cost

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

What happened

  1. Mar 23, 2026

    The session ended, and the bill died with it.

  2. Jan 12, 2026

    A state agency sent in its estimate of the cost.

  3. Sep 23, 2025 to Jan 9, 2026

    2 more representatives signed on in support.

  4. Sep 12, 2025

    A state agency sent in its estimate of the cost.

  5. Sep 9, 2025

    1 more representative signed on in support.

  6. Aug 25, 2025

    Sent to the Senate Committee on Licensing, Regulatory Reform, State and Federal Affairs.

  7. Aug 25, 2025

    Introduced in the Senate.

See the official record, word for word
  1. Aug 25, 2025 · Senate

    Introduced by Senators Drake, Smith, Carpenter, Habush Sinykin, Hesselbein, L. Johnson, Keyeski, Larson, Ratcliff, Spreitzer, Wirch and Dassler-Alfheim; cosponsored by Representatives Vining, Johnson, Stubbs, Anderson, Andraca, Bare, Brown, Clancy, DeSanto, DeSmidt, Emerson, Fitzgerald, Goodwin, Haywood, Hong, Joers, Kirsch, Madison, McCarville, Miresse, Moore Omokunde, Neubauer, Prado, Roe, Sinicki, Snodgrass, Taylor and Tenorio

  2. Aug 25, 2025 · Senate

    Read first time and referred to Committee on Licensing, Regulatory Reform, State and Federal Affairs

  3. Sep 9, 2025 · Senate

    Representative Arney added as a cosponsor

  4. Sep 12, 2025 · Senate

    Fiscal estimate received

  5. Sep 23, 2025 · Senate

    Representative Subeck added as a cosponsor

  6. Jan 9, 2026 · Senate

    Representative J. Jacobson added as a cosponsor

  7. Jan 12, 2026 · Senate

    Fiscal estimate received

  8. 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.

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