Wisconsin Assembly Bill AB1193

Wisconsin 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 3/19/26
• Refer: 3/19/26
• Failed: 3/23/26

Caption

An Act to repeal subchapter V (title) of chapter 944 [precedes 944.30], 944.30, 944.31, 944.32, 944.33, 944.34 and 973.015 (2m) (a) to (g); to renumber and amend 944.36 and 973.015 (2m) (intro.); to amend 48.02 (1) (d), 48.355 (2d) (a) 2. a., 48.371 (3) (d), 48.57 (3p) (g) 3., 51.20 (13) (cr), 103.10 (1m) (b) 6., 103.34 (1) (b) 2., 165.60, 165.70 (1) (b), 165.76 (1) (am), 440.312 (2), 440.982 (2), 460.05 (1) (h) 1., 460.12 (1), 460.14 (2m) (a), 938.34 (15) (a) 1., 938.355 (2d) (a) 2., 938.371 (3) (d), 945.041 (1), 946.82 (4), 971.17 (1m) (a) 1., 973.075 (1) (b) 3. and 973.075 (2) (intro.); to create 134.47 of the statutes; Relating to: decriminalizing prostitution and creating a sex workers’ bill of rights.

Summary

AB1193 would decriminalize prostitution-related conduct for adults by repealing Wisconsin’s current criminal statutes on prostitution, solicitation, patronizing prostitution, keeping a place of prostitution, and related offenses in chapter 944. It also repeals a separate expungement provision tied to those offenses and renumbers the existing prohibition on solicitation of drinks in alcohol establishments, moving it out of the prostitution chapter and into the alcohol-beverage code. In place of the repealed criminal provisions, the bill creates a new section establishing a “sex workers’ bill of rights.” That section defines sex work broadly to include consensual sexual services, erotic performances, and related activities exchanged for money, goods, or other benefits. It states that adults engaged in sex work may not be arrested, charged, or prosecuted solely for that activity and gives them rights comparable to other workers, including minimum wage and hour protections, workplace safety protections, access to workers’ compensation and health benefits as applicable, privacy from surveillance, and protection from discrimination in housing, public services, financial services, and health care. The bill would also make conforming changes across many statutes that currently reference prostitution offenses. Those changes affect child welfare, juvenile justice, mental health commitment, DNA collection, professional licensing, law enforcement authority, racketeering, and forfeiture provisions, while preserving references to prostitution-related conduct where it involves minors or other exploitation-related offenses. In effect, the bill removes adult prostitution offenses from the criminal code but leaves intact and in some cases continues to reference trafficking, child sexual exploitation, and other nonconsensual or minor-related offenses. The overall sentiment reflected in the bill text is strongly reform-oriented: it treats sex work as labor, emphasizes civil rights and workplace protections, and seeks to reduce criminal penalties and collateral consequences for adults. At the same time, the bill’s failure to pass indicates it did not secure enough support to advance, suggesting significant opposition or insufficient consensus even though no committee transcript or recorded vote details are provided here. The main points of contention are likely to be the core policy shift away from criminalization and the bill’s broad labor-rights framework for sex workers. Supporters would view the measure as a public-health, labor-rights, and anti-discrimination reform, while opponents would likely object to decriminalization, concerns about exploitation and trafficking, and the implications for law enforcement and licensing systems. The bill specifically tries to address some of those concerns by preserving penalties and references for trafficking, child-related sexual offenses, and other coercive conduct.

Impact

AB1193 would substantially revise Wisconsin law by repealing the state’s adult prostitution offenses in chapter 944 and replacing them with a statutory declaration that consensual sex work is protected labor activity. It would also amend numerous cross-references in criminal, juvenile, child welfare, licensing, and forfeiture statutes so that adult prostitution is no longer treated as a crime, while preserving and continuing to reference trafficking, child exploitation, and other related offenses. The bill would create new anti-discrimination and workplace-rights protections for sex workers and would require state and local systems to treat sex workers more like other workers and less like criminal offenders.

Sentiment

The bill’s policy direction is clearly supportive of sex-worker decriminalization and labor-rights protections, with the text framing the issue as one of rights, safety, and nondiscrimination rather than punishment. However, the bill ultimately failed to pass pursuant to Senate Joint Resolution 1, which indicates that the proposal did not achieve sufficient legislative support. With no committee transcript or vote record available, the best reading is that the bill was controversial and likely faced meaningful resistance despite its reformist framing.

Contention

The central contention is whether consensual adult sex work should be decriminalized and regulated as labor, or remain subject to criminal enforcement. Supporters of the bill would likely emphasize worker safety, privacy, access to health care and benefits, and reduced stigma and collateral consequences. Opponents would likely focus on concerns about prostitution, trafficking, exploitation, public morality, and the practical effects on policing and licensing. A secondary point of contention is the bill’s broad civil-rights treatment of sex workers, including protections in housing, financial services, and health care, which would extend beyond criminal law into employment and anti-discrimination policy.