Wisconsin 2025 Regular Session Status: Passed Senate Bipartisan · 7 R · 2 D cosponsors

SB 194 — Relating to: obtaining attorney fees and costs under the state’s public records law when an authority voluntarily or unilaterally releases a contested record after an action has been filed in court.

Last action — Failed to concur in pursuant to Senate Joint Resolution 1

Track this bill free

No card. One bill, free forever — alerts when it moves.

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

This bill has passed the Senate. Introduced April 14, 2025. It now moves to the second chamber.

Next likely step: consideration and a floor vote in the Assembly.

Prognosis

Likely to advance 74% · high confidence

Where this bill stands today.

Odds of enactment

Moderate

How often bills like it became law.

  • Passed Senate

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 32 sponsors

    1 primary, 31 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Bipartisan support

    Sponsored across 2 parties (7 R · 2 D) — cross-party backing.

  • Cleared a recorded vote

    Passed 1 recorded vote so far.

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 renumber 19.37 (2) (a); to create 19.37 (2) (a) 2. of the statutes;

Bill Text

Action History

  1. Failed to concur in pursuant to Senate Joint Resolution 1

  2. Representative Billings added as a cosponsor

  3. Representative Brown added as a cosponsor

  4. Representative Doyle added as a cosponsor

  5. Read first time and referred to committee on Rules

  6. Received from Senate

  7. Ordered immediately messaged

  8. Read a third time and passed

  9. Rules suspended to give bill its third reading

  10. Ordered to a third reading

  11. Read a second time

  12. Senators Ratcliff and Carpenter added as coauthors

  13. Placed on calendar 5-15-2025 pursuant to Senate Rule 18(1)

  14. Available for scheduling

  15. Report passage recommended by Committee on Judiciary and Public Safety, Ayes 8, Noes 0

  16. Executive action taken

  17. Senator Drake added as a coauthor

  18. Public hearing held

  19. Read first time and referred to Committee on Judiciary and Public Safety

  20. Introduced by Senators Wanggaard, Feyen, Kapenga, Quinn, Roys, Spreitzer, Stafsholt, Nass and Tomczyk; cosponsored by Representatives Novak, Swearingen, Anderson, Armstrong, Behnke, Franklin, Goeben, Gundrum, Gustafson, Kitchens, Knodl, Murphy, Mursau, Nedweski, O'Connor, Rodriguez, Steffen, Tittl, Tranel, Tusler, Wichgers, Wittke and Allen

Sponsors

  • Novak · Cosponsor
  • Swearingen · Cosponsor
  • Armstrong · Cosponsor
  • Behnke · Cosponsor
  • Franklin · Cosponsor
  • Goeben · Cosponsor
  • Gundrum · Cosponsor
  • Gustafson · Cosponsor
  • Kitchens · Cosponsor
  • Knodl · Cosponsor
  • Murphy · Cosponsor
  • Mursau · Cosponsor
  • Nedweski · Cosponsor
  • O'Connor · Cosponsor
  • Rodriguez · Cosponsor
  • Steffen · Cosponsor
  • Tittl · Cosponsor
  • Tranel · Cosponsor
  • Tusler · Cosponsor
  • Wichgers · Cosponsor
  • Wittke · Cosponsor
  • Allen · Cosponsor
  • Van Wanggaard · Primary
  • Dan Feyen · Cosponsor
  • Chris Kapenga · Cosponsor
  • Romaine Quinn · Cosponsor
  • Kelda Roys · Cosponsor
  • Mark Spreitzer · Cosponsor
  • Rob Stafsholt · Cosponsor
  • Steve Nass · Cosponsor
  • Cory Tomczyk · Cosponsor
  • J ANDERSON · Cosponsor

Sponsorship breakdown

Export CSV (upgrade) →

1 sponsors · 31 co-sponsors · 100 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (31)

Not signed on (100)

100 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 100 →

"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

Votes

Subjects

public-safety civil-rights elections
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 SB 194 do?
An Act to renumber 19.37 (2) (a); to create 19.37 (2) (a) 2. of the statutes;
Who sponsors SB 194?
SB 194 is sponsored by Novak, Swearingen, Armstrong, Behnke, Franklin, Goeben, Gundrum, Gustafson, Kitchens, Knodl, Murphy, Mursau, Nedweski, O'Connor, Rodriguez, Steffen, Tittl, Tranel, Tusler, Wichgers, Wittke, Allen, Wanggaard, Van (Republican), Feyen, Dan (Republican), Kapenga, Chris (Republican), Quinn, Romaine (Republican), Roys, Kelda (Democrat), Spreitzer, Mark (Democrat), Stafsholt, Rob (Republican), Nass, Steve (Republican), Tomczyk, Cory (Republican), and ANDERSON, J.
What is the current status of SB 194?
This bill has passed the Senate. Introduced April 14, 2025. It now moves to the second chamber.
Where can I track SB 194?
Track SB 194 free on One Click Politics — get push/email alerts when it moves.

Make your voice heard on SB 194

Find the representatives who decide this bill and tell them where you stand — for yourself, or mobilize your whole list in one click with One Click Politics advocacy software.

Find my representatives → Run a campaign

Stay ahead of SB 194

Last checked for changes 3 months ago · updated continuously

One Click Politics tracks every bill in Congress and all 50 states.

Track this bill →