Senate Bill 771
Creating a multifamily housing innovation council and allowing a multifamily dwelling up to six stories to be served by a single stairway. (FE)
Topics: Administration, Department of: Agency and general functions, Housing, Ordinance, Safety and Professional Services, Department of
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 Insurance, Housing, Rural Issues and Forestry. The committee's chair at the time was Romaine Quinn. 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 784. 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.
This bill does all of the following:
1. Creates a multifamily housing innovation council consisting of one building inspector, one professional firefighter, one fire chief, one member of the Wisconsin State Fire Inspectors Association, one automatic fire sprinkler fitter, one engineer, one expert on the International Residential Code, and at least one employee of the Department of Safety and Professional Services who has expertise with the commercial building code.
Read the full summary Show less
2. Requires the council to develop a guidebook that establishes recommendations for the design and construction of a multifamily dwelling that is served by a single stairway. The guidebook must ensure that such dwellings are designed and constructed consistently with safe occupancy and egress satisfying National Fire Protection Association standards.
3. Requires the council to establish a model ordinance that counties, cities, villages, and towns may adopt to allow multifamily housing to be built on land zoned for commercial uses.
4. Requires the council to make recommendations to DSPS and the Commercial Building Code Council regarding any changes to the commercial building code that would facilitate multifamily housing innovation recommendations developed by the council.
5. Requires the council to meet monthly until the council completes the guidebook and model ordinance. The council must also meet on the call of the secretary of DSPS to develop recommendations regarding any matter related to multifamily housing innovation specified by the secretary.
6. Authorizes counties, cities, villages, and towns to enact ordinances consistent with the guidebook that allow a multifamily dwelling up to six stories to be served by a single stairway.
Because this bill may increase or decrease, directly or indirectly, the cost of the development, construction, financing, purchasing, sale, ownership, or availability of housing in this state, the Department of Administration, as required by law, will prepare a report to be printed as an appendix to this bill.
Who's behind it
2 senators are its . All 2 are Democrats.
6 more lawmakers .
See all 8 names Hide the names
Authors (2)
- Melissa Ratcliff · Democrat, Senate
- Jamie Wall · Democrat, Senate
Signed on in support (6)
- Clint Anderson · Democrat, Assembly
- Mike Bare · Democrat, Assembly
- Brienne Brown · Democrat, Assembly
- Ben DeSmidt · Democrat, Assembly
- Angela Stroud · Democrat, Assembly
- Lisa Subeck · 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 16, 2026
A state agency sent in its estimate of the cost.
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Dec 12, 2025
Sent to the Senate Committee on Insurance, Housing, Rural Issues and Forestry.
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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 Wall and Ratcliff; cosponsored by Representatives Bare, Brown, Roe, Subeck, DeSmidt, Stroud and Anderson
- Dec 12, 2025 · Senate
Read first time and referred to Committee on Insurance, Housing, Rural Issues and Forestry
- Jan 16, 2026 · Senate
Fiscal estimate received
- Feb 10, 2026 · Senate
Representative Roe withdrawn as a cosponsor
- 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