Green Bay Reporter

The new bill authored by State Rep. Sortwell seeks to regulate when local governing bodies can reconsider previously rejected ordinances or resolutions, according to the Wisconsin State Assembly.

According to the Wisconsin State Legislature's official website, the bill was described as follows: "local government rules of proceedings and consideration of ordinances or resolutions for which enactment or adoption previously failed. (FE)".

The following is our breakdown, based on the actual bill text, and may include interpretation to clarify its provisions.

In essence, this bill mandates that the governing bodies of political subdivisions, such as county boards, town boards, village boards, and city common councils, cannot prohibit reconsideration of ordinances or resolutions that are substantially the same as previous versions that were voted on but not passed. Such reconsideration can only occur if at least two years have passed since the initial proposal. This stipulation applies to boards and councils, including those in first-class cities, except where specific exceptions are outlined, ensuring local government flexibility in revisiting legislative initiatives over time.

The bill was co-authored by Senator André Jacque (Republican-1st District).

Shae A. Sortwell has co-authored or authored another 48 bills since the beginning of the 2025 session, with none of them being enacted.

Sortwell graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay in 2006 with a BA.

Sortwell, a Republican, was elected to the Wisconsin State Assembly in 2019 to represent the state's 2nd Assembly district, replacing previous state representative André Jacque.

In Wisconsin, the legislative process starts when a senator, constituent, group, or agency proposes an idea for a bill. After drafting, the bill is introduced, numbered, and referred to a committee for review and public input. If approved, it moves through three readings and votes in both the Senate and Assembly. Once both chambers pass the same version, the bill goes to the governor, who can sign it, veto it, or let it become law without a signature. Only a small share of bills introduced each session ultimately become law. You can learn more about the Wisconsin legislative process here.

Bill Number	Date Introduced	Short Description
AB282	05/30/2025	Local government rules of proceedings and consideration of ordinances or resolutions for which enactment or adoption previously failed. (FE)
AB270	05/19/2025	A school psychologist loan program. (FE)
AB232	05/02/2025	Transferring adjudicatory functions for worker’s compensation from the Division of Hearings and Appeals in the Department of Administration to the Department of Workforce Development. (FE)
AB187	04/15/2025	Training completion awards for volunteer firefighters. (FE)
AB172	04/09/2025	Consumer data protection and providing a penalty. (FE)
AB149	03/17/2025	The nomination of presidential electors
AB132	03/13/2025	Creating a board to organize, promote, and host a Wisconsin nuclear power summit. (FE)
AB127	03/11/2025	The duty of a pharmacist to dispense lawfully prescribed drugs and devices. (FE)
AB108	03/11/2025	A nuclear power siting study and time limits for taking final action on certain certificate of public convenience and necessity applications. (FE)
AB88	02/28/2025	Civil action for injury or damages resulting from riot or vandalism, participation in a riot, prohibiting certain limitations or restrictions on law enforcement responses to riot or vandalism activity, and providing a penalty
AB87	02/28/2025	Restitution orders following a conviction for human trafficking and restoration of the right to vote to a person barred from voting as a result of a felony conviction. (FE)
AB86	02/28/2025	Imposing the penalty of life imprisonment for the crime of child trafficking and providing a penalty. (FE)
AB42	02/17/2025	Local regulation of fowl
AB41	02/17/2025	Local regulation of vegetable gardens
AB26	02/17/2025	Battery or threat to jurors and providing a penalty
AB17	02/06/2025	Creating an employee ownership conversion costs tax credit, a deduction for capital gains from the transfer of a business to employee ownership, and an employee ownership education and outreach program. (FE)