Sen. Hutton of Wisconsin Senate authors bill on administrative rule timelines

The new bill authored by State Sen. Rob Hutton seeks to establish clear expiration timelines for statements of scope in administrative rulemaking processes, according to the Wisconsin State Senate.

According to the Wisconsin State Legislature’s official website, the bill was described as follows: “statements of scope for administrative rules. (FE)”.

The following is our breakdown, based on the actual bill text, and may include interpretation to clarify its provisions.

In essence, the bill modifies the process for promulgating administrative rules by setting expiration timelines for statements of scope. It stipulates that an agency must declare whether the statement of scope pertains to an emergency or permanent rule. Each statement supports only one type of rule, and agencies cannot issue more than one rule per statement. Statements for emergency rules expire after six months, while those for permanent rules retain a 30-month expiration. After expiration, rules cannot be based on the respective scope statement. These provisions apply to statements published in the Wisconsin Administrative Register on the bill’s effective date.

The bill was co-authored by Representative Daniel Knodl (Republican-24th District), Senator Rachael Cabral-Guevara (Republican-19th District), Senator Dan Feyen (Republican-20th District), Senator Chris Kapenga (Republican-33rd District), Senator Steve L. Nass (Republican-11th District). It was co-sponsored by Representative David Armstrong (Republican-67th District), Representative Elijah R. Behnke (Republican-6th District), and Representative Calvin T. Callahan (Republican-35th District), along 25 other co-sponsors.

Rob Hutton has authored or co-authored another 34 bills since the beginning of the 2025 session, with none of them being enacted.

Hutton graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater in 1990 with a BA.

Hutton, a Republican, was elected to the Wisconsin State Senate in 2023 to represent the state’s 5th Senate district, replacing previous state senator Dale Kooyenga.

In Wisconsin, the legislative process starts when a senator, constituent, group, or agency proposes an idea for a bill. After drafting, the bill is introduced, numbered, and referred to a committee for review and public input. If approved, it moves through three readings and votes in both the Senate and Assembly. Once both chambers pass the same version, the bill goes to the governor, who can sign it, veto it, or let it become law without a signature. Only a small share of bills introduced each session ultimately become law. You can learn more about the Wisconsin legislative process here.