Wisconsin Legislative Council
AMENDMENT MEMO
One Ea st Ma in Stre e t, Suite 401 • Ma dison, W I 53703 • (608) 266-1304 • le g.council@le gis.wisconsin.gov • http://www.le gis.wisconsin.gov/lc
Memo published: January 12, 2024 Contact: Anna Henning, Principal Attorney
2023 Senate Bill 411
Senate
Substitute Amendment 1
2023 SENATE BILL 411
If a fish is subject to a minimum size limit and taken by hook and line, current law generally allows
transportation of the fish only if: (1) the fish retains its head and tail; or (2) the dressed or fileted fish
continues to meet the applicable minimum size limit.
2023 Senate Bill 411 adds an alternative option for transporting such fish. Specifically, the bill allows
a person to transport a fish that is subject to a minimum size limit and taken by hook and line, if the
person provides, upon request, a physical or digital photograph that shows the fish before the head or
tail was removed alongside a ruler (or other method acceptable to the Department of Natural
Resources) for proving the length of the fish. The bill requires the photograph to bear a stamp of the
time and date on which the photograph was taken.
SENATE SUBSTITUTE AMENDMENT 1
Senate Substitute Amendment 1 reorganizes the affected provisions of the statutes, rather than only
amending them, and makes the following two substantive changes to the bill:
Specifies that, if a person displays a photograph to a warden using a cell phone or other electronic
device, the warden may not view any other content on the phone or device, and the display does not
constitute consent for viewing other content.
Applies the transportation requirements to fish that are subject to a “size limit,” rather than subject
to a “minimum size limit.”
BILL HISTORY
Representative James offered Senate Substitute Amendment 1 on November 6, 2023. On January 5,
2024, the Senate Committee on Financial Institutions and Sporting Heritage voted to recommend
adoption of the amendment and passage of the bill, as amended, both on votes of Ayes, 5; Noes, 0.
For a full history of the bill, visit the Legislature’s bill history page.
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