Madison, WI –Today, the Assembly passed AB 320 in a bipartisan fashion. This bill authored by Rep. Scott Allen (R-Waukesha) was written to help provide more funding for our courts.
A key funding source for the courts are the fees that are collected, but these fees have not been adjusted for decades nor have they been primarily used to fund courts in which they originate.
Most of our fees have not been updated since the 1980s even as the costs for administering the courts have gone up.
“Adjusting court fees would help us catch up to the costs of 2025 and to our neighboring states,” said. Rep Allen. “Iowa updated their court fees in 2020, Minnesota and Michigan in 2025, Missouri in 2023, and Illinois does so regularly. Wisconsin has failed to adjust court fees for decades.”
In order to make sure that we don’t have this problem again, the bill also requires that a report be prepared for the legislature every six years showing how the fees could be adjusted for inflation.
Another problem is that currently only 10% of the fees collected go to fund local courts. Under AB 320, 95% of the increases in the fees will stay with the county and municipal courts to fund their operations.
“For too long, the state government has kept the vast majority of the fees collected,” state Rep. Allen. “The fees collected by the courts should be used to fund the courts.”
The bill passed 65 to 32, and now advances to the Senate for consideration.
“I’m thankful for the bipartisan support of this important bill,” said Rep. Allen. “Making sure our courts are properly funded is one part of ensuring swift access to justice for all.”
