Wisconsin Senate Bill SB267

Wisconsin 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 5/20/25
• Refer: 5/20/25
• Report Pass: 9/23/25
• Refer: 10/14/25
• Engrossed: 10/14/25
• Refer: 1/16/26
• Enrolled: 2/20/26
• Chaptered: 4/9/26
• Passed: 4/9/26

Caption

An Act to amend 183.0122 (2) (d) 1. a. of the statutes; Relating to: the fee for filing limited liability company articles of organization with the Department of Financial Institutions. (FE)

Summary

SB267 expands Wisconsin’s existing filing-fee exemption for limited liability company articles of organization when all LLC members or organizers are “student entrepreneurs.” Under current law, the Department of Financial Institutions may not collect the $130 filing fee for an LLC formed by student entrepreneurs who are at least 18 years old and enrolled in a postsecondary institution in Wisconsin. The bill broadens that definition to include students enrolled in public, private, or tribal high schools in Wisconsin, as well as students in home-based private educational programs (homeschooling). The practical effect is to make it easier and less expensive for younger students to form startup LLCs, extending the fee waiver to a wider group of student-led business ventures. The bill applies only to articles of organization filed on or after its effective date, and it takes effect on the first day of the second month after publication. It amends s. 183.0122 (2) (d) 1. a. of the Wisconsin statutes, which governs LLC filing fees and the student entrepreneur exception.

Impact

SB267 changes Wisconsin’s LLC formation fee statute by expanding who qualifies as a “student entrepreneur” for purposes of the Department of Financial Institutions’ filing-fee exemption. The bill affects s. 183.0122 (2) (d) 1. a. and lowers the cost barrier for high school and homeschooled students to organize an LLC, while leaving the underlying $130 filing fee unchanged for other filers. It may modestly reduce state fee revenue and is intended to support youth entrepreneurship and small business formation.

Sentiment

The available voting history suggests the bill was broadly supported. The Assembly passed the measure on third reading and concurrence by a wide margin, 91-6, indicating strong bipartisan or cross-party approval. No committee transcript material is available, but the bill’s framing as a fee waiver for student startups suggests generally favorable sentiment toward encouraging entrepreneurship among students.

Contention

The main policy question is whether the student entrepreneur fee exemption should be limited to postsecondary students age 18 and older or extended to younger students in high school and homeschooling settings. Supporters appear to favor expanding access and encouraging early entrepreneurship, while any opposition likely centers on the loss of filing-fee revenue, the appropriateness of allowing minors to form LLCs, and whether the definition of student entrepreneur should be broadened beyond college students. The recorded floor vote shows limited opposition, suggesting these concerns did not generate major resistance.