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Bills from the 2025–26 session

Senate Bill 520

Expressly prohibiting a foreign national from making a contribution to a referendum committee

Topics: Elections: Campaign expense, International relations, 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.

  1. Introduced, passed

    Oct 9, 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 517. 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.

Current law provides that no person may make or accept a contribution, make a disbursement, make an expenditure, or incur an obligation in violation of the federal law that prohibits a foreign national from making a contribution in connection with any federal, state, or local election. This bill provides, in addition, that no foreign national may make a contribution to a referendum committee and no referendum committee may accept a contribution from a foreign national. A recent decision by the Federal Election Commission allowed a foreign national to make a contribution to a ballot initiative committee because the FEC determined that a ballot initiative is not an “election” for purposes of the federal law prohibiting contributions from foreign nationals.

Who's behind it

11 senators are its ⁠. All 11 are Democrats.

25 more lawmakers ⁠.

See all 36 names

Authors (11)

Signed on in support (25)

What happened

  1. Mar 23, 2026

    The session ended, and the bill died with it.

  2. Oct 10, 2025 to Feb 9, 2026

    2 more representatives and 2 senators signed on in support.

  3. Oct 9, 2025

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

  4. Oct 9, 2025

    Introduced in the Senate.

See the official record, word for word
  1. Oct 9, 2025 · Senate

    Introduced by Senators Ratcliff, Larson, Spreitzer, Smith, Carpenter, Keyeski, Pfaff, Roys, Wall, Wirch and Hesselbein; cosponsored by Representatives Anderson, Joers, Andraca, Arney, Bare, Clancy, DeSmidt, Emerson, Fitzgerald, Goodwin, Johnson, Madison, Miresse, Ortiz-Velez, Roe, Sinicki, Snodgrass, Stroud, Udell, Brown and Palmeri

  2. Oct 9, 2025 · Senate

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

  3. Oct 10, 2025 · Senate

    Representative Subeck added as a cosponsor

  4. Jan 20, 2026 · Senate

    Senator Habush Sinykin added as a coauthor

  5. Jan 22, 2026 · Senate

    Senator Dassler-Alfheim added as a coauthor

  6. Feb 9, 2026 · Senate

    Representative J. Jacobson added as a cosponsor

  7. 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

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.

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