---
type: "Bill"
title: "Relating to: prohibiting use of choke holds by law enforcement officers in use of force policies. (FE)"
description: "Relating to: prohibiting use of choke holds by law enforcement officers in use of force policies. (FE)"
jurisdiction: "us/states/wi"
legislature: "Wisconsin Legislature"
session: "2021"
identifier: "SB 121"
citation: "Wisconsin SB 121 (2021)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Cowles", "Darling", "Feyen", "Jacque", "L. Taylor", "Nass", "Wanggaard"]
version_count: 2
action_count: 33
vote_count: 2
first_action: "2021-02-18T06:00:00+00:00"
last_action: "2022-03-10T06:00:00+00:00"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/6c2bafb5-354f-4dfb-a6d5-619f290ab4d5"
source_url: "https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/2021/proposals/reg/sen/bill/sb121"
source_hash: "19e4e0dea3de3db9f41115a5d3fff7dcf2134a9cde5117a69897a8198cf75210"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-wi"]
---

# Wisconsin SB 121 (2021) — Relating to: prohibiting use of choke holds by law enforcement officers in use of force policies. (FE)

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **Bill Text** (committee substitute) — [source](https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/document/proposaltext/2021/REG/SB121)
2. **Senate Substitute Amendment 1** (committee substitute) — [source](https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/document/amends/2021/REG/SB121-SSA1)

## Votes

- Report passage as amended recommended by Committee on Judiciary and Public Safety, Ayes 6, Noes 1 — **6–1** (pass) · upper
- Report adoption of Senate Substitute Amendment 1 recommended by Committee on Judiciary and Public Safety, Ayes 7, Noes 0 — **7–0** (pass) · upper

## Sponsors

- Cowles — primary (person)
- Darling — primary (person)
- Feyen — primary (person)
- Jacque — primary (person)
- L. Taylor — primary (person)
- Nass — primary (person)
- Wanggaard — primary (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2021-02-18T06:00:00+00:00** Introduced by Senators Wanggaard, L. Taylor, Darling, Cowles, Feyen, Jacque and Nass; cosponsored by Representatives Spiros, Armstrong, Brandtjen, Moses, Thiesfeldt and Tusler `introduction`
- **2021-02-18T06:00:00+00:00** Read first time and referred to Committee on Judiciary and Public Safety `reading-1, referral-committee`
- **2021-03-18T05:00:00+00:00** Public hearing held
- **2021-04-20T05:00:00+00:00** Representative L. Myers added as a cosponsor
- **2021-05-04T05:00:00+00:00** Senate Substitute Amendment 1 offered by Senator Wanggaard
- **2021-05-06T05:00:00+00:00** Executive action taken
- **2021-05-07T05:00:00+00:00** Report adoption of Senate Substitute Amendment 1 recommended by Committee on Judiciary and Public Safety, Ayes 7, Noes 0 `amendment-passage`
- **2021-05-07T05:00:00+00:00** Report passage as amended recommended by Committee on Judiciary and Public Safety, Ayes 6, Noes 1 `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2021-05-07T05:00:00+00:00** Available for scheduling
- **2021-05-26T05:00:00+00:00** Representative Drake added as a cosponsor
- **2021-05-28T05:00:00+00:00** Representative Steffen added as a cosponsor
- **2021-06-04T05:00:00+00:00** Placed on calendar 6-9-2021 pursuant to Senate Rule 18(1)
- **2021-06-09T05:00:00+00:00** Read a second time `reading-2`
- **2021-06-09T05:00:00+00:00** Senate Substitute Amendment 1 adopted `amendment-passage`
- **2021-06-09T05:00:00+00:00** Ordered to a third reading `reading-3`
- **2021-06-09T05:00:00+00:00** Rules suspended
- **2021-06-09T05:00:00+00:00** Read a third time and passed `passage, reading-3`
- **2021-06-09T05:00:00+00:00** Senator Carpenter added as a coauthor
- **2021-06-09T05:00:00+00:00** Ordered immediately messaged
- **2021-06-10T05:00:00+00:00** Received from Senate `receipt`
- **2021-06-14T05:00:00+00:00** Read first time and referred to calendar of 6-16-2021 `reading-1`
- **2021-06-16T05:00:00+00:00** Rules suspended to withdraw from calendar and take up `withdrawal`
- **2021-06-16T05:00:00+00:00** Read a second time `reading-2`
- **2021-06-16T05:00:00+00:00** Ordered to a third reading `reading-3`
- **2021-06-16T05:00:00+00:00** Rules suspended
- **2021-06-16T05:00:00+00:00** Read a third time and concurred in `passage, reading-3`
- **2021-06-16T05:00:00+00:00** Ordered immediately messaged
- **2021-06-16T05:00:00+00:00** Received from Assembly concurred in `receipt`
- **2021-06-17T05:00:00+00:00** Report correctly enrolled `enrolled`
- **2021-06-22T05:00:00+00:00** Presented to the Governor on 6-22-2021 `executive-receipt`
- **2021-06-23T05:00:00+00:00** Report approved by the Governor on 6-22-2021. 2021 Wisconsin Act 48 `executive-signature`
- **2021-06-23T05:00:00+00:00** Published 6-23-2021 `became-law`
- **2022-03-10T06:00:00+00:00** Representative Anderson added as a cosponsor

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/6c2bafb5-354f-4dfb-a6d5-619f290ab4d5`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Wisconsin legislature records).