Wisconsin Senate Bill SJR144

Wisconsin 2025-2026 Regular Session

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

Caption

To amend section 5 of article VIII of the constitution; Relating to: accounting and expenditure of state funds and reduction of deficit (first consideration).

Summary

SJR144 proposes a constitutional amendment to change how Wisconsin accounts for and manages state finances. It would require the state to report all money it receives or spends under generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), including component units, while still allowing the legislature to set the budgetary accounting basis used for budget purposes. The resolution also would prohibit the legislature from passing any bill that increases a projected deficit in any state fund when measured under GAAP. The proposal further requires the legislature to enact an annual or biennial budget bill that reduces any existing GAAP deficit in an affected state fund by at least 10 percent of any projected annual increase in tax revenues deposited into that fund each fiscal year. Once a deficit in a fund is eliminated, the legislature would be barred from passing any bill affecting that fund that would create a projected deficit under GAAP. Because it is a constitutional amendment, it would need approval by two successive legislatures and ratification by the voters before taking effect.

Impact

If adopted, the amendment would alter Article VIII, Section 5 of the Wisconsin Constitution and impose new constitutional constraints on state budgeting and fiscal reporting. It would expand the state’s accounting obligations to GAAP-based reporting for all receipts and expenditures, including component units, and would limit legislative flexibility by tying future bills and budget acts to deficit-reduction requirements and deficit-neutrality rules for affected state funds. The measure would affect the Legislature, the Department of Administration and other fiscal agencies involved in budget preparation, and any state fund whose projected balance is measured under GAAP.

Sentiment

The available record shows little direct debate or committee testimony, but the bill’s framing suggests a fiscally conservative emphasis on transparency, deficit reduction, and long-term budget discipline. Its introduction and referral indicate formal consideration, but the resolution ultimately failed to advance, as reflected by its last action of failing to adopt pursuant to Senate Joint Resolution 1. With no recorded votes or transcripts provided, there is no evidence of broad bipartisan support or organized opposition in the available materials, only that the proposal did not move forward.

Contention

The main points of contention are likely to be the amendment’s strict limits on legislative budgeting discretion and the feasibility of mandating deficit reduction based on GAAP rather than the existing budgetary accounting framework. Supporters would likely favor the transparency and fiscal restraint provisions, while critics may object that the amendment could constrain future legislatures, complicate budget management, and make it harder to respond to changing revenue conditions or policy priorities. The requirement that deficits be reduced by a fixed share of projected revenue growth, and the prohibition on any bill that would create a projected deficit once a fund is balanced, are the most restrictive features and likely the most debated.