Wisconsin Senate Bill SB9

Wisconsin 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 1/24/25
• Refer: 1/24/25
• Report Pass: 5/8/25
• Failed: 3/23/26

Caption

An Act to amend 341.14 (6r) (e) and 341.14 (6r) (fm) 7.; to create 341.14 (6r) (b) 23., 341.14 (6r) (cm) and 341.14 (6r) (f) 70. of the statutes; Relating to: special registration plates with white lettering on a black background. (FE)

Summary

SB9 creates a new special group for Wisconsin vehicle owners who want specialty registration plates with a black background and white lettering. The bill directs the Department of Transportation to issue plates for this group that display the word “Wisconsin” and the vehicle’s registration number, with up to seven characters, and it authorizes the department to establish the plate design and production process for this new plate type. The bill also establishes a new fee structure for the plates. In addition to the regular registration fee, applicants must make a voluntary payment of $25 for annual plates, or $50 for biennial plates if issued or renewed in the first year of the registration period, or $25 if issued or renewed in the second year. DOT may retain up to $23,700, or the actual initial production cost if lower, from those payments to cover startup costs, and any remaining money is deposited into the transportation fund.

Impact

SB9 would amend Wisconsin’s special registration plate statutes, specifically Wis. Stat. § 341.14, by adding a new authorized special group for black-and-white plates and by creating a corresponding fee and design provision. It expands the list of permissible special groups under the special plate program and modifies the general rule limiting new special groups after October 1, 1998, to expressly include this new category. The bill would affect the Department of Transportation, special plate applicants, and the transportation fund by creating a new revenue stream and allowing DOT to recover initial production costs from the voluntary payments.

Sentiment

The bill appears to have been a straightforward specialty-plate proposal with no recorded committee debate or vote details in the provided materials. Its framing suggests a consumer-interest measure aimed at offering a popular aesthetic plate option rather than a policy change with broader regulatory consequences. The fiscal note language and fee structure indicate an effort to make the program self-supporting, which may have made it more palatable from a budget standpoint, but the bill ultimately failed to pass pursuant to Senate Joint Resolution 1.

Contention

The main point of potential contention is the creation of a new special plate category and the associated voluntary payment requirement, since specialty plates can be viewed as a discretionary use of state administrative resources and a source of revenue rather than a core transportation function. Another possible issue is the bill’s exception to the long-standing statutory limitation on adding new special groups after 1998, which may raise concerns about expanding the special plate program further. No specific objections, supporters, or amendments are identified in the provided record.