Wisconsin coalition urges lawmakers to schedule floor votes on “Red Tape Reset” regulatory reform bills

A broad coalition of free-market advocacy and business organizations urged Wisconsin legislative leaders Thursday to schedule floor votes on the “Red Tape Reset” regulatory reform package before the end of the current session, according to a letter sent to lawmakers.

Addressed to Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, Assembly Majority Leader Tyler August, Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu, Senate President Mary Felzkowski and members of the Legislature, the letter says the coalition “respectfully urge[s] legislative leadership to schedule floor votes on the Red Tape Reset regulatory reform package before the end of session.”

The coalition represents employers, taxpayers, small businesses, and good-government advocates across Wisconsin.

Coalition: Red tape is “complex and burdensome”

The letter argues that Wisconsin has one of the country’s most cumbersome regulatory codes, noting: “Our Administrative Code contains more than 160,000 individual restrictions—13th highest nationwide and second highest in the Midwest. This level of red tape slows economic growth, discourages entrepreneurship, and increases costs for families and businesses.”

On the economic impact of reform, the coalition letter says: “Modernizing our regulatory system would unlock meaningful economic growth and help address the affordability challenges Wisconsin families and employers face every day. Research from the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty finds that reducing unnecessary red tape by 20% could generate more than $2.5 billion in additional economic activity for Wisconsin.”

What’s in the “Red Tape Reset” package

According to the letter, the coalition says the package “brings these same principles to Wisconsin.” It includes four key proposals:

AB 274 / SB 277 – Seven-Year Sunset of Administrative Rules: Requires every state regulation to be reviewed at least once every seven years, with agencies needing to show clear statutory authority and continued need. If they cannot, rules automatically expire.
AB 275 / SB 276 – Fee Shifting for Unlawful Rules: Allows citizens who successfully challenge an unlawfully adopted rule to recover attorneys’ fees.
AB 276 / SB 275 – Strengthened Scope Statements: Requires one scope statement per rule and sets a 60-day expiration for emergency rule scope statements.
AB 277 / SB 289 – Regulatory Budgeting: Requires agencies proposing costly new rules to identify offsetting reductions by modifying or repealing existing rules; without that, the new regulation cannot take effect without an affirmative vote of the Legislature.

Public support and business concerns

The coalition letter highlights polling and survey data as evidence of support for the reforms: “Polling from the Institute for Reforming Government shows that 67% of likely Wisconsin voters support requiring legislative review of any regulation that has been in effect for more than seven years. And according to the WMC Summer 2025 Employer Survey, 23% of Wisconsin business leaders identified reducing or reforming regulations as the single most important action state government could take to help their business—second only to health-care affordability.”

The letter states that the Legislature has a “timely opportunity to advance reforms that support small businesses, strengthen Wisconsin’s economy, and restore proper constitutional checks and balances.”

Coalition signatories

Organizations signing the letter include: