Wisconsin 2025 Regular Session Status: Introduced 28 D cosponsors

AB 851 — Relating to: the agricultural conservation easement purchase program and making an appropriation. (FE)

Last action — Failed to pass pursuant to Senate Joint Resolution 1

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  1. 1
    Introduced
  2. 2
    In Committee
  3. 3
    Passed Assembly
  4. 4
    Passed Senate
  5. 5
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill has been introduced in the Assembly. Introduced January 16, 2026. It must pass committee before a floor vote.

Next likely step: a committee referral and hearing.

Prognosis

Not enough signal yet

Where this bill stands today.

Odds of enactment

Low

How often bills like it became law.

Not enough signal yet to read this bill's trajectory — we surface a likelihood only once there's real movement (stage, sponsorship, committee, or votes) to point to.

Prognosis reads this bill's own signals — stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes and cross-state momentum. Odds come from a model trained on which bills have become law.

Summary

An Act to repeal 23.197 (15); to amend 20.866 (1) (u) and 93.73 (2) (b); to create 20.115 (7) (br), 20.115 (7) (tb) and 20.866 (2) (wg) of the statutes;

Bill Text

How this bill changes current law

4 changes Share ↗

Compared against current U.S. Code AI-generated reading aid — verify against the official bill.

  • 23.197(15)

    This section is repealed.

    The bill removes a specific provision from the statute.

  • 20.866(1)(u)

    and (br), (s), and (tb)

    This change adds references to new funding sources for principal repayment and interest related to agricultural conservation easements.

  • 20.866(2)(wg)

    From the capital improvement fund, a sum sufficient for the department of agriculture, trade and consumer protection to purchase agricultural conservation easements under s. 93.73. The state may contract public debt in an amount not to exceed $25,000,000 for this purpose.

    This establishes a new funding source for purchasing agricultural conservation easements with a cap of $25,000,000.

  • 93.73(2)(b)

    The department, after consultation with the council under sub. (13), shall solicit applications under sub. (3). → The department, after consultation with the council under sub. (13), shall solicit applications under sub. (3) at least annually. The department shall issue each solicitation in writing and shall publish a notice announcing the solicitation.

    This mandates that the department must solicit applications for agricultural conservation easements at least once a year, and requires written announcements.

Action History

  1. Failed to pass pursuant to Senate Joint Resolution 1

  2. Fiscal estimate received

  3. Representative Palmeri added as a coauthor

  4. Read first time and referred to Committee on Agriculture

  5. Introduced by Representatives Brown, Anderson, Arney, Bare, Billings, Clancy, DeSanto, DeSmidt, Emerson, Fitzgerald, Goodwin, Hong, Hysell, J. Jacobson, Joers, Johnson, Madison, McCarville, Miresse, Neubauer, Phelps, Roe, Sheehan, Sinicki, Stubbs, Subeck, Tenorio and Udell; cosponsored by Senators Spreitzer, Smith, Carpenter, Dassler-Alfheim, Drake, Habush Sinykin, Hesselbein, Keyeski, Larson, Pfaff, Ratcliff and Roys

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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1 sponsors · 39 co-sponsors · 92 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (39)

Not signed on (92)

92 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 92 →

"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Subjects

environment agriculture
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

What does AB 851 do?
An Act to repeal 23.197 (15); to amend 20.866 (1) (u) and 93.73 (2) (b); to create 20.115 (7) (br), 20.115 (7) (tb) and 20.866 (2) (wg) of the statutes;
Who sponsors AB 851?
AB 851 is sponsored by Spreitzer, Smith, Carpenter, Dassler-Alfheim, Drake, Habush Sinykin, Hesselbein, Keyeski, Larson, Pfaff, Ratcliff, Roys, Brown, Brienne (Democrat), Anderson, Clinton (Democrat), Arney, Margaret (Democrat), Bare, Mike (Democrat), Billings, Jill (Democrat), Clancy, Ryan (Democrat), DeSanto, Karen (Democrat), DeSmidt, Ben (Democrat), Emerson, Jodi (Democrat), Fitzgerald, Joan (Democrat), Goodwin, Russell (Democrat), Hong, Francesca (Democrat), Hysell, Andrew (Democrat), Jacobson, Jenna (Democrat), Joers, Alex (Democrat), Johnson, Tara (Democrat), Madison, Darrin (Democrat), McCarville, Maureen (Democrat), Miresse, Vincent (Democrat), Neubauer, Greta (Democrat), Phelps, Christian (Democrat), Roe, Ann (Democrat), Sheehan, Joe (Democrat), Sinicki, Christine (Democrat), Stubbs, Shelia (Democrat), Subeck, Lisa (Democrat), Tenorio, Angelito (Democrat), and Udell, Randy (Democrat).
What is the current status of AB 851?
This bill has been introduced in the Assembly. Introduced January 16, 2026. It must pass committee before a floor vote.
Where can I track AB 851?
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Last checked for changes 3 months ago · updated continuously

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