Wisconsin Legislative Spotlight

The Week of July 5, 2010

The final scheduled floorperiod of the 2009-10 legislative session ended on May 26. The legislature is in an interim period for the remainder of the biennial session. The schedule for the current legislative session was established by 2009 Senate Joint Resolution 1. Senate and Assembly committees will meet during the interim to consider administrative rules and conduct informational hearings.

Supreme Court Upholds Gay Marriage Constitutional Amendment

On June 30, the State Supreme Court ruled the adoption of a constitutional amendment prohibiting gay marriages to be valid. The opinion, written by Justice Gableman, states that the amendment was adopted in conformity with the separate amendment rule of the constitution, which mandates voters must be able to vote separately on separate amendments. For more information on the separate amendment rule, see the LRB’s informational memorandum on the topic published last week.

Committee Activity

For information on upcoming hearings refer to the Schedule of Committee Activities.

Bill Statistics for 2009 Session

In the 2009 legislative session, 406 bills have been signed into law. Six bills have been vetoed in their entirety, and 5 bills were vetoed in part.

There were 978 assembly bills and 708 senate bills introduced during the 2009 session. Additionally, one senate bill was introduced during the June 2009 Special Session, and 2 assembly bills were introduced during the December 2009 Special Session. All introduced legislation can be found on the Legislature's Searchable Infobases site, or by using the "Request text and history of legislative proposals" function on the home page.

Legislative Council Committees, 2010 Interim

On May 27, the Legislative Council released a list of proposed study committees with the results of the balloting of the council. The committees are to report to the 2011 legislature.

From the LRB Library

On July 5, 2010, a statewide ban on smoking in public places and workplaces will go into effect. The library recommends the following resources for more information on this topic.

Indoor Smoking Ban in Wisconsin, Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau, Legislative Briefs, no. 09-01, May 2009.

Smoking Ban, Wisconsin Legislative Council, Information Memorandum, IM-2010-07, 2010. Includes a frequently asked questions section.

The League of Wisconsin Municipalities has a Smoking Ban Law Web page with links to other helpful documents and Web sites.

Recent Publications

• The Legislative Reference Bureau published a research bulletin summarizing the 2009-2010 Wisconsin Legislative Session and an informational memorandum on Wisconsin Constitutional Amendments and the Separate Amendment Rule. The LRB also published a Governing Wisconsin brief on Public Lands.
• The Legislative Council Staff released an information memorandum, Smoking Ban, which relates to 2009 Wisconsin Act 12, as amended by 2009 Wisconsin Act 276, and which takes effect on July 5, 2010. The memorandum summarizes the legislation and provides answers to frequently asked questions.
• The Legislative Audit Bureau released two new reports late in June, one on State Fair Park and one on the state's fraud hotline.
• The Legislative Fiscal Bureau has issued a publication on the Department of Transportation’s Plan for Adjusting 2009-10 Appropriations to Allocate Additional Federal Transportation Aid.

For more information about Legislative Service Agency publications, see the left panel of the Spotlight index page.

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Last revised: November 13, 2012