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Current Legislation

Assembly Bill 289

Assembly Bill 806 (Click "Quick Find" and type in AB806 for more information.)

Language Use in Wisconsin

Wisconsin does not have an official language and the state does not allow does not allow referenda or voter initiatives. 7.3 percent of this state's residents speak a language other than English.

These are foreign languages most commonly spoken as the primary language in a home in Pennsylvania:

Spanish (124,058) German (40,442) Miao, Hmong (15,125) Polish (11,282) French (incl. Patois, Cajun) (10,943)

Chinese (6,854) Italian (6,359) Scandinavian languages (5,171) Russian (4,664) Serbo-Croatian (4,346)

Text of Legislation
1.101 Official state language. The official language of this state is English.

1.102 Encouragement of cultural diversity.
(1) Except as provided in sub. (2), the legislature encourages the preservation of Wisconsin’s ethnic, cultural, religious, and linguistic heritage, through the teaching, learning, and practice of languages other than English, to facilitate a multilingual exchange of ideas and to foster mutual understanding and trust among all peoples.
(2) Subsection (1) does not apply to any action that is required to comply with s. 1.103 or any other action that is specifically required by law.

1.103 Use of English for governmental written expression.
Unless otherwise specifically authorized or required by law, all written expression by all units of state and local government in this state shall be in the English language, except that such expression may be in another language when appropriate to the circumstances of an individual case, the implementation of a program in a specific instance, or the discharge of a responsibility in a particular situation.

1.104 Use of other languages.
No unit of state or local government in this state may prohibit any person from becoming proficient in any language or restrict the oral or written use of any language for a nongovernmental purpose.

Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau

The bill provides that the legislature encourages the preservation of Wisconsin's ethnic, cultural, religious, and linguistic heritage, through the teaching, learning, and practice of languages other than English, to facilitate a multilingual exchange of ideas and to foster mutual understanding and trust among all peoples. However, this policy does not apply to any action that is specifically required to comply with any law. No specific legislative policy concerning cultural diversity exists currently.

The bill provides that, unless otherwise specifically required by law, all written expression by all units of state and local government in this state shall be in the English language, except that such expression may be in another language when appropriate to the circumstances of an individual case, the implementation of a program in a specific instance, or the discharge of a responsibility in a particular situation.

In addition, the bill precludes any unit of state or local government in this state from prohibiting any person from becoming proficient in any language or restricting the oral or written use of any language for a nongovernmental purpose. Currently, such action is prohibited under the federal and state constitutions, except that a governmental employer may regulate the conduct of employees while the employees are engaged in official responsibilities