Wisconsin Assembly Bill AB96

Wisconsin 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 2/28/25
• Refer: 2/28/25
• Engrossed: 3/18/25
• Enrolled: 3/20/25
• Chaptered: 3/28/25
• Chaptered: 3/31/25
• Passed: 3/28/25
• Passed: 3/31/25

Caption

An Act Relating to: ratification of the agreement negotiated between the Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System and the Wisconsin State Building Trades Negotiating Committee, for the 2024-25 fiscal year, covering employees in the building trades crafts collective bargaining unit, and authorizing an expenditure of funds. (FE)

Summary

AB96 ratifies a tentative collective bargaining agreement for the 2024-25 fiscal year between the University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents and the Wisconsin State Building Trades Negotiating Committee. The agreement covers employees in the building trades crafts collective bargaining unit, except those assigned to the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and it must have already been approved by the affected employees and recommended by the Joint Committee on Employment Relations. The bill also authorizes the expenditure of state funds needed to implement the agreement from existing appropriations. It requires the Board of Regents to file an official, certified copy of the agreement with the secretary of state and makes clear that only the agreement included in that official copy is legislatively approved. The act takes effect the day after publication, with any provisions in the agreement that have different effective dates taking effect as specified in the agreement.

Impact

AB96 changes state law by giving legislative approval to a specific labor agreement under Wisconsin’s public-sector collective bargaining framework, Chapter 111, and by authorizing spending from appropriated funds to carry out the contract terms. Its practical effect is to implement wage, benefit, or working-condition terms negotiated for the UW System building trades crafts unit for the 2024-25 fiscal year, while excluding UW-Madison-assigned employees from coverage under this ratification. The bill primarily affects the University of Wisconsin System, the covered bargaining unit employees, and the state budget through the authorized expenditure.

Sentiment

The bill appears to have been broadly supported and noncontroversial. It passed the Assembly unanimously, 94-0, and the Senate by a wide margin, 31-1, indicating strong bipartisan or near-unanimous agreement on ratifying the negotiated labor contract. No committee transcript was provided, and the voting history suggests the measure was treated as routine implementation of an already negotiated agreement rather than a disputed policy change.

Contention

The main substantive issue is the ratification of a specific labor agreement and the associated use of public funds, but the available record shows little visible opposition. The only recorded dissent was a single Senate no vote, with no accompanying transcript to identify the objection. The bill also limits approval to the official filed agreement, which may matter if any side had side understandings not included in the certified text, but no explicit dispute over that point appears in the provided materials.