WisconsinDrivers could request pollinator plates with required support payments
If enacted, Wisconsin would offer pollinator-support plates, require a payment with each plate, and direct some proceeds to conservation work.
What it does
People could request special plates showing support for pollinator protection, but the plate could be issued or renewed only after the required $25 or $50 payment is collected.
Pollinator-support plates would belong to an authorized special group, display “Protect Pollinators,” and use a design covering the entire plate.
The state would set aside $23,700 for the initial production of pollinator plates in the fiscal year when the act takes effect.
Argument forPeople who buy the plates could help fund conservation work because payments above initial production costs would go to the conservation fund.
Argument againstPeople wanting the plate may have to pay $25 annually or up to $50 for biennial registration, limiting access for some supporters.
More detail
The Department of Transportation would issue or renew pollinator-support plates only when it collects the required voluntary payment. The plates would be available to people interested in supporting pollinator protection. The payment would be $25 for an annual plate. For a biennial plate, the payment would be $50 in the first year or $25 in the second year. Money above $23,700, or above the actual initial production cost if that cost is lower, would go to the conservation fund for endangered-resource purposes. The payment may be deductible as a charitable contribution when tax law allows. This provision would apply when the act takes effect, on the first day of the 10th month after publication or the second day after publication of the 2025 biennial budget act, whichever is later.
The Department of Transportation would designate a pollinator-support group for special registration plates and would require the plates to display “Protect Pollinators” across the design. The designation would cover people interested in supporting pollinator protection and the special plates issued for that group. The department would consult the secretary of natural resources before choosing the identifying word or symbol. The pollinator plate would be included among the authorized special groups allowed after October 1, 1998. The designation and design rules would apply when the act takes effect, on the first day of the 10th month after publication or the second day after publication of the 2025 biennial budget act, whichever is later.
The state would transfer $23,700 from the general fund to the account used to produce and issue the pollinator plates. The money would support the initial production costs of the pollinator special plates. The transfer would occur in the fiscal year when the act takes effect. The transferred money could be used only for the initial production costs of these plates. The transfer would occur in the fiscal year in which the act takes effect.
Where do you stand?
Choose your position
Tell your reps
Take a position to see your representatives and ways to contact them.
Where it stands
- Introduced
- Passed Senate
- Passed House
- To Governor
- Became Law
Looking ahead
No hearings or votes scheduled.
History
- 2026
- Jun 1Senator Keyeski added as a coauthorLatest
- Mar 23Failed to pass pursuant to Senate Joint Resolution 1Major
- 2025
- Nov 18Fiscal estimate receivedMinor
- Jun 12Representative Haywood added as a cosponsor
- May 30Read first time and referred to Committee on Transportation and Local GovernmentMinor
- May 30Introduced by Senators Pfaff, Habush Sinykin, Cabral-Guevara, Carpenter, Drake, Hesselbein, Larson, Ratcliff, Roys, Smith, Spreitzer, Wirch and Dassler-Alfheim; cosponsored by Representatives Snodgrass, Behnke, DeSanto, Miresse, Arney, Billings, Cruz, DeSmidt, Doyle, Emerson, Fitzgerald, Joers, Johnson, Mayadev, Moore Omokunde, Palmeri, Rivera-Wagner, Roe, Sheehan, Sinicki, Stubbs, Subeck, Tenorio, Vining, Andraca, Udell and J. JacobsonIntroduced
Environment & EnergyAgricultureTaxes & Budget