Senate Bill 743
Minimum wage for all inmates and residents of state correctional institutions and county jails and making an appropriation. (FE)
Topics: Corrections, Department of, Jail, Prison Industries Board, Prisoner: Work program, Wage: Minimum
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
Dec 12, 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 Judiciary and Public Safety. The committee's chair at the time was Van Wanggaard. 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 726. 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
Cost estimate
A state agency's estimate of what a bill would cost or save.
Official term: Fiscal estimate. 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 provides that the Department of Corrections sets the rate of pay for inmates of state prisons or residents working in state correctional institutions and the Prison Industries Board sets wages for inmates employed by the Bureau of Correctional Enterprises. Under current law, BCE employees may be paid an hourly rate plus an incentive wage based on productivity in some instances, but wages may not be set at a rate that would cause a deficit on operations.
The bill provides that all inmates and residents that perform labor must be paid a wage and, in addition to the standards under current law, provides that no inmate or resident of a state correctional institution may be paid a wage that is less than the rate for tipped workers, which is currently $2.33 per hour. The bill removes the provision that wages may not be set at a rate that would cause a deficit on operations.
Read the full summary Show less
The bill increases all wages established by PIB for payment to inmates employed by BCE by $2.33 on the effective date of the bill.
The bill provides that any prisoner in a county jail, house of correction, huber facility, or work camp must be paid a wage that is not less than the rate for tipped workers, which is currently $2.33 per hour.
The bill also provides to DOC $58,933,600 in fiscal year 2025-26 and $88,400,400 in fiscal year 2026-27 to pay the wages of inmates in state correctional institutions and $873,300 in fiscal year 2025-26 and $1,310,000 in fiscal year 2026-27 to pay the wages of inmates engaged in labor under BCE.
Who's behind it
4 senators are its . All 4 are Democrats.
16 more lawmakers .
See all 20 names Hide the names
Authors (4)
- Tim Carpenter · Democrat, Senate
- Dora Drake · Democrat, Senate
- LaTonya Johnson · Democrat, Senate
- Mark Spreitzer · Democrat, Senate
Signed on in support (16)
- Margaret Arney · Democrat, Assembly
- Ryan Clancy · Democrat, Assembly
- Angelina Cruz · Democrat, Assembly
- Russell Goodwin · Democrat, Assembly
- Francesca Hong · Democrat, Assembly
- Alex Joers · Democrat, Assembly
- Darrin Madison · Democrat, Assembly
- Supreme Moore Omokunde · Democrat, Assembly
- Greta Neubauer · Democrat, Assembly
- Amaad Rivera-Wagner · Democrat, Assembly
- Christine Sinicki · Democrat, Assembly
- Angela Stroud · Democrat, Assembly
- Shelia Stubbs · Democrat, Assembly
- Lisa Subeck · Democrat, Assembly
- Sequanna Taylor · Democrat, Assembly
- Angelito Tenorio · Democrat, Assembly
What it would cost
State agencies filed a . Each opens as a PDF from the Legislature.
What happened
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Mar 23, 2026
The session ended, and the bill died with it.
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Jan 30, 2026
A state agency sent in its estimate of the cost.
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Jan 21, 2026
1 more representative signed on in support.
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Dec 12, 2025
Sent to the Senate Committee on Judiciary and Public Safety.
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Dec 12, 2025
Introduced in the Senate.
See the official record, word for word Hide the official record
- Dec 12, 2025 · Senate
Introduced by Senators Drake, L. Johnson, Carpenter and Spreitzer; cosponsored by Representatives Madison, Clancy, Stubbs, Arney, Cruz, Goodwin, Hong, Rivera-Wagner, Tenorio, Joers, Sinicki, Stroud, Subeck, Taylor and Neubauer
- Dec 12, 2025 · Senate
Read first time and referred to Committee on Judiciary and Public Safety
- Jan 21, 2026 · Senate
Representative Moore Omokunde added as a cosponsor
- Jan 30, 2026 · Senate
Fiscal estimate received
- 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
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
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