Executive Actions by the Governor

Gwyn Guenther, President, The Wheeler Report

April 13, 2026

Signed into Law - Arranged by Act Number

AB 130 PFAS Rep. Mursau (R-Crivitz) Exempting certain persons from PFAS enforcement actions under the spills law. Signed (Act 200)

AB 131 PFAS Rep. Mursau (R-Crivitz) Programs and requirements to address PFAS. Signed (Act 201)

AB 918 Human Development Instruction Rep. Summerfield (R-Bloomer) Required subjects in a human growth and development instructional program. Signed (Act 202)

SB 134 Open Enrollment Sen. Jacque (R-New Franken) Alternative open enrollment application procedures for residency change based on military orders. Signed (Act 204)

AB 913 Income Tax Subtraction Rep. Franklin (R-De Pere) Subtraction for certain income of members of the National Guard and Reserves. Signed (Act 205)

SB 810 Military Honors Sen. James (R-Thorp) Reimbursement for the provision of military funeral honors. Signed (Act 206)

SB 387 Veterans ID Sen. Jacque (R-New Franken) Indication of veteran status of certain service members on operators’ licenses or identification cards. Signed (Act 207)

SB 136 School Bus Lamps Sen. Tomczyk (R-Mosinee) School bus back-up lamps. Signed (Act 208)

SB 392 Driver Ed Instruction Sen. James (R-Thorp) Driver education instruction related to school bus safety. Signed (Act 209)

SB 248 Ignition Interlocks Sen. Wanggaard (R-Racine) License eligibility and restriction extensions relating to ignition interlock devices and granting rule-making authority. Signed (Act 210)

SB 096 Charging Stations Sen. Marklein (R-Spring Green) Exempting certain electric vehicle charging stations located at a residence from the electric vehicle charging tax. Signed (Act 211)

SB 181 Levy Exemption Sen. Marklein (R-Spring Green) A levy limit exemption for regional emergency medical systems and eligibility for the expenditure restraint incentive program. Signed (Act 212)

SB 188 Penalty Surcharge Sen. Feyen (R-Fond du Lac) Reduction of penalty surcharge when certain fines or forfeitures reduced. Signed (Act 213)

AB 374 Election Law Rep. Krug (R-Rome) Compliance with the federal Electoral Count Reform Act. Signed (Act 214)

AB 923 Sexual Extortion Rep. Jacobson (R-Mosinee) Creating a civil cause of action for sexual extortion. Signed (Act 215)

AB 957 ICAC Rep. Brill (R-Sheboygan Falls) Internet crimes against children law enforcement and making an appropriation. Signed (Act 216)

AB 958 ICAC Rep. Brill (R-Sheboygan Falls) Position authorizations for Internet crimes against children law enforcement. Signed (Act 217)

AB 964 Subpoenas Rep. Dittrich (R-Oconomowoc) Internet crimes against children administrative subpoenas for the crime of sexual extortion when the crime victim is a child. Signed (Act 218)

AB 966 Awareness Campaign Rep. Green (R-Mason) Requiring the Department of Justice to conduct a public awareness campaign. Signed (Act 219)

SB 482 Research Tax Credit Sen. Feyen (R-Fond du Lac) Increasing the carryover period of the research income tax credit. Signed (Act 220)

SB 366 Tech Ed Grants Sen. Stafsholt (R-New Richmond) Technical education equipment grants. Signed (Act 221)

AB 098 Tribal Regalia (Special Committee on State-Tribal Relations) Pupils wearing traditional tribal regalia at a graduation ceremony or school-sponsored event. Signed (Act 222)

SB 921 Financial Literacy Sen. Felzkowski (R-Tomahawk) Personal financial literacy high school graduation requirement. Signed (Act 223)

SB 267 LLC Filing Fee Sen. Hutton (R-Brookfield) The fee for filing limited liability company articles of organization with the Department of Financial Institutions. Signed (Act 224)

AB 253 Independence Accounts Sen. Brooks (R-Brookfield) Independence accounts. Signed (Act 225)

AB 968 Crypto Kiosks Rep. Snyder (R-Weston) Virtual currency kiosks. Signed (Act 226)

AB 699 Long-Term Care Insurance Rep. Petersen (R-Waupaca) A long-term care insurance assessment and a long-term care insurance assessment tax credit. Signed (Act 227)

AB 700 Long-Term Care Insurance Rep. Petersen (R-Waupaca) An appropriation for refundable long-term care insurance assessment credits and making an appropriation. Signed (Act 228)

SB 504 Health Insurance Sen. Felzkowski (R-Tomahawk) Dental provider network rental by insurance plans. Signed (Act 229)

SB 531 Insurance Policies Sen. Felzkowski (R-Tomahawk) Postloss assignment of rights or benefits under property insurance policies to residential contractors and providing a penalty. Signed (Act 230)

AB 969 Drug Repository Program Rep. Snyder (R-Weston) The drug repository program. Signed (Act 231)

AB 080 Social Work Licensure Compact Rep. VanderMeer (R-Tomah) Ratification of the Social Work Licensure Compact. Signed (Act 232)

AB 604 MA Coverage Rep. Moses (R-Menomonie) Coverage under the Medical Assistance program for incarcerated individuals. Signed (Act 233)

AB 445 Registers of Deeds Rep. Krug (R-Rome) Registers of deeds, transportation project plats, and providing a penalty. Signed (Act 234)

SB 480 TIDs Sen. Feyen (R-Fond du Lac) Residential tax incremental districts. Signed (Act 235)

AB 182 Housing Tax Credit Rep. Armstrong (R-Rice Lake) Changes to the low-income housing tax credit. Signed (Act 236)

AB 194 WHEDA Rep. Armstrong (R-Rice Lake) Modifications to housing programs under the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority. Signed (Act 237)

AB 375 Historic Rehab Tax Credit Rep. Armstrong (R-Rice Lake) Modifications to the historic rehabilitation tax credit. Signed (Act 238)

AB 454 Home Loans Rep. Rodriguez (R-Oak Creek) A workforce home loan program. Signed (Act 239)

AB 759 Occupational Credentials Rep. Kitchens (R-Sturgeon Bay) Eligibility to receive occupational credentials for recipients of deferred action under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. Signed (Act 240)

AB 373 Tax Credit Rep. Brill (R-Sheboygan Falls) Creating a refundable individual income tax credit for the parent of a stillbirth and making an appropriation. Signed (Act 241)

AB 219 Tax Credit Rep. Novak (R-Dodgeville) A tax credit for rail infrastructure modernization. Signed (Act 242)

SB 575 Forensic Exams Sen. Wanggaard (R-Racine) Sexual assault forensic examination compensation. Signed (Act 243)

SB 533 Correctional Officers Sen. James (R-Thorp) Intentionally disarming a correctional officer and providing a penalty. Signed (Act 244)

SB 782 False Text Messages Sen. Wanggaard (R-Racine) Intentionally sending false text messages to 911 and providing a penalty. Signed (Act 245)

SB 884 Child Statement Evidence Sen. Jacque (R-New Franken) An audiovisual recording of a child’s statement admitted as evidence. Signed (Act 246)

AB 601 Sports Wagers Rep. August (R-Walworth) Excluding certain event or sports wagers from the definition of “bet”. Signed (Act 247)

Partially Vetoed

AB 1034 UW Name Rights Rep. Dallman (R-Markesan) Name, image, and likeness rights for University of Wisconsin System student athletes; maintenance costs for University of Wisconsin-Madison intercollegiate athletic facilities; and making an appropriation. Partial Veto (Link) Act 203

Vetoed

11 bills have been vetoed in the past two weeks. A full listing is available here.

League Note: We will provide a more detailed recap of the Governor’s actions relevant to municipalities in next week’s edition of the Legislative Bulletin.

Current List of Announced Legislative Retirements

The following people have announced they will NOT seek re-election in 2026:

Rob Hutton (R) Senate District (SD)-5
Devin LeMahieu (R) SD-9
Steve Nass (R) SD-11
Van Wanggaard (R) SD-21
Robin Vos (R) Assembly District (AB)-33
Rob Brooks (R) AD-59
Jerry O’Connor (R) AD-60
Dave Murphy (R) AD-56
Kevin Petersen (R) AD-57
Rick Gundrum (R) AD-58

The following people have announced they are seeking a different office:

Robyn Vining (D) AD-13 – Running for SD-5
Jenna Jacobson (D) AD-50 – Running for SD-17
Francesca Hong (D) AD-76 – Running for Governor

Spring Elections

On Tuesday April 7, Chris Taylor was elected as the next Justice for the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Additionally, 46 school referendums passed and 28 school referendums failed.

League Note: Six municipalities also went to referenda for levy limit exceedances. Two passed and four failed. Read this Wisconsin State Journal article to learn more about recent municipal referenda.

UW System President Fired

In a unanimous vote on Tuesday, April 7th, the UW Board of Regents fired President Jay Rothman effective immediately.

Universities of Wisconsin announced Vice President for University Relations Chris Patton “will serve as Acting Executive-in-Charge” prior to Appointment of Interim President. Regent President Amy Bogost Statement.

On Thursday, April 9th, the Senate Committee on Universities and Technical Colleges met to hear from the UW Board of Regents appointments. At that hearing, two Board of Regents testified and indicated that Rothman was not addressing critical issues like AI fast enough, he was not fully aligned with the Board of Regents, he had attempted to limit public board discussions and open records, he limited Board members interactions with lawmakers, and was unable to justify why he had not addressed hiring levels.

Important Updates from the League

⭐ DNR Opens Survey on New PFAS Laws: Last week, the Governor signed 2025 Wisconsin Act 200 and 201 to take a huge step forward in our state’s approach to PFAS. To learn more about these new laws, visit last week’s edition of the Legislative Bulletin. With the bills now signed into law, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is seeking input on these milestone efforts.

If your municipality has an interest in seeing the PFAS liability protections and/or Community Grant Program properly and expediently implemented, you’re encouraged to take the DNR’s survey. More information and a link to the survey may also be found on the DNR’s website.

⭐ Statewide Climate Resilience Strategy Survey: The Wisconsin Department of Administration’s Office of Environmental Justice is asking municipal officials to complete its brief survey as part of their statewide Climate Resilience Strategy. This survey is meant to capture priorities, concerns, and ideas from municipalities and other Wisconsinites to better inform their strategy. A link to complete the survey is here, and responses are due by Friday, April 17th.

⭐ Highway Safety Improvement Program Survey: The Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) is requesting input from municipal officials on the state’s Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP). This federal aid program assists with projects that aim to significantly reduce crashes on any public road. Input will help to build more awareness and better tailor this program for the future. Responses to this survey are due by 5pm on Monday, April 20th.

⭐ Energy Innovation Grant Program Open for Applications: The Public Service Commission of Wisconsin (PSC) recently opened the Energy Innovation Grant Program (EIGP) for sixth round of applications. The EIGP is open to municipalities and select other entities for renewable energy, energy storage, or energy efficiency projects and energy planning. Matching funds are not required. EIGP applications are due by Tuesday, June 30th. Learn more and apply on the PSC’s website.

Email questions or comments to:

Toni Herkert, Government Affairs Director, therkert@lwm-info.org

Evan Miller, Government Affairs Specialist, emiller@lwm-info.org