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Wisconsin Legislative SpotlightMaintained by the Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau (LRB), this page provides an overview of recent and upcoming activities in the Wisconsin Legislature. The LRB revises its content weekly during legislative floorperiods. Links to more detailed information are highlighted in the text. |
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. Inauguration of the new legislature elected on November 2 will be January 3, 2011.
The November 2 general election included election of all 99 members of the Wisconsin Assembly and Senators for all odd-numbered districts in the 33-member Wisconsin Senate. Although official results will not be reported until as late as November 16, unofficial results indicate that the Republican Party gained the majority in both houses: 19 Republicans and 14 Democrats in the Senate, and 60 Republicans, 38 Democrats, and 1 independent in the Assembly. Recounts are possible in close races in some districts and may alter those numbers slightly. Each house will have one more female legislator in 2011-2012 than in 2009-10 — 8 in the Senate and 23 in the Assembly. For an historical look at the partisan composition of the Wisconsin Legislature, see page 272 of the 2009-2010 Wisconsin Blue Book.
Wisconsin Department of Transportation Secretary Frank J. Busalacchi requested that work stop temporarily on projects for high speed rail link between Milwaukee and Madison as an extension of the Chicago to Milwaukee route and part of an eventual extension to St. Paul and Minneapolis. Governor-elect Scott Walker has expressed opposition to the project.
See the Schedule of Committee Activities for information about locations and times of committee hearings held by standing or special committees. The calendar for this week includes meetings of several Legislative Council Special Committees.
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.
For more information about Legislative Service Agency publications, see the left panel of the Spotlight index page.
The LRB library recommends the following resources on elections and voting.
Wisconsin Votes: An Electoral History, Robert Booth Fowler, 2008. (324/ F82)
Send comments to LRB.Reference@legis.wisconsin.gov
Last revised: November 13, 2012