An Act to renumber and amend 941.2905 (1); to amend 20.455 (2) (gr), 51.20 (13) (cv) 4., 51.45 (13) (i) 4., 54.10 (3) (f) 4., 55.12 (10) (d), 175.60 (7) (d), 175.60 (15) (b) 4. b., 813.12 (6) (am) 1., 813.12 (6) (am) 2., 813.122 (9) (am) 1., 813.122 (9) (am) 2., 813.123 (8m) (a), 813.123 (8m) (b), 813.125 (5r) (a), 813.125 (5r) (b), 938.208 (1) (b), 938.34 (4m) (b) 2., 938.396 (2g) (n), 939.46 (3), 941.237 (1) (d), 941.2905 (2) (intro.), 941.296 (1) (b) and 968.20 (3) (b); to repeal and recreate 175.35 and 175.37; to create 20.455 (2) (gs), 66.05115, 146.27, 165.64, 941.2905 (1g) and 941.2905 (1m) (b) of the statutes; Relating to: permits for firearms dealers, firearms transactions and safety, firearms crimes, making an appropriation, and providing a penalty. (FE)
AB1077 would create a new state permitting system for firearms dealers in Wisconsin and substantially expand state regulation of firearm sales, storage, recordkeeping, and dealer conduct. A person who offers to sell at least five firearms in a 12-month period would need a Wisconsin DOJ permit for each sales location, in addition to any federal firearms license. The bill sets application, renewal, inspection, and appeal procedures, requires annual renewal fees, and authorizes DOJ inspections of permit holders. It also makes it unlawful for a dealer to transfer a firearm without the required state permit.
The bill also adds a seven-day waiting period after a dealer requests a firearms restrictions record search before a firearm may be transferred, while retaining the existing background-check requirement. Dealers would have to keep extensive electronic records, maintain monthly inventories, preserve transaction and compensation records, and make them available to DOJ and law enforcement. Separate provisions require enhanced security measures at dealer premises, including surveillance, alarms, storage rules, signage, trigger locks or secure cases at transfer, and 24-hour reporting of thefts, losses, unlawful transfers, and trace requests. The bill further expands law enforcement tracing and ballistic reporting through eTrace and NIBIN, and requires DOJ to compile and publish trace data trends.
AB1077 also creates or expands several criminal and civil enforcement provisions. It increases the penalty for straw purchasing for a prohibited person from a Class G felony to a Class D felony and creates a new Class D felony for purchasing or receiving a firearm on behalf of someone known or reasonably believed to intend to use it in a felony, federal terrorism offense, or drug trafficking crime. In addition, the bill creates a broad “reasonable controls and procedures” standard for gun industry members, authorizes public nuisance actions and attorney general enforcement against unlawful or unreasonable conduct, and allows damages, injunctions, abatement, and attorney fees. It also updates multiple court-notification statutes so DOJ receives firearm-prohibition information from mental health, protective order, domestic abuse, harassment, and juvenile proceedings for use in background checks and firearms restriction searches.
The bill’s impact on state law would be significant: it would add a new layer of state licensing over firearms dealers, impose new transfer delays and recordkeeping duties, mandate security and reporting practices, and broaden DOJ and attorney general oversight of the firearms industry. It would also change criminal penalties and create new enforcement tools affecting dealers, manufacturers, purchasers, and other gun industry members. The bill takes effect July 1, 2026, and includes an appropriation to administer the new permit system.
The available context shows no committee transcript or recorded votes, but the bill ultimately failed to pass pursuant to Senate Joint Resolution 1. Based on the text, the measure appears designed to strengthen firearm regulation and public-safety oversight, so supporters would likely view it as a comprehensive gun-safety package. The main points of contention are likely to be the new dealer permitting regime, the seven-day waiting period, the expanded inspection and record-access requirements, the broad public-nuisance liability for gun industry members, and the increased criminal penalties and enforcement authority.
AB1077 would create new statutory chapters and substantially revise existing firearms laws, especially chapters 165, 175, 941, and related court-notification provisions. It would require state permits for qualifying firearms dealers, impose a seven-day waiting period before firearm transfers, mandate detailed dealer recordkeeping and security measures, expand DOJ inspection and reporting authority, and increase penalties for straw purchasing and related firearm offenses. It also would direct law enforcement agencies to use eTrace and ballistic databases and require DOJ to analyze and publish firearm-trace data.
No committee discussion or vote record is provided, but the bill’s structure indicates a strong public-safety and gun-regulation orientation. The proposal appears to have been introduced by a sizable group of Democratic legislators and cosponsors, suggesting support among gun-control advocates. Its failure to pass indicates it did not secure enough legislative support, likely reflecting broader partisan or policy resistance to expanded firearms regulation.
The most likely points of contention are the new state permit requirement for dealers, the seven-day waiting period, and the extensive compliance obligations imposed on dealers and manufacturers, including surveillance, inventory, reporting, and DOJ inspection requirements. The bill’s broad “reasonable controls and procedures” standard and public-nuisance liability for gun industry members would also likely draw opposition from firearms businesses and gun-rights advocates because they create potentially expansive civil and regulatory exposure. Supporters would likely emphasize theft prevention, traceability, suicide prevention, and stronger enforcement against straw purchasing and illegal transfers.