Wisconsin Legislative Spotlight

The Week of December 13, 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. Inauguration of the new legislature elected on November 2 will take place on January 3, 2011.

Senate Committee Chairs Announced

Senator Scott Fitzgerald has announced the names and chairpersons of standing committees for the 2011 biennium. The committee chairs are listed alphabetically by committee name.

• Agriculture, Forestry and Higher Education, Sen. Dan Kapanke
• Economic Development, Veterans and Military Affairs, Sen. Randy Hopper
• Education, Sen. Luther Olsen
• Energy, Biotechnology and Consumer Protection, Sen. Robert Cowles
• Financial Institutions and Rural Issues, Sen. Dale Schultz
• Health, Sen. Leah Vukmir
• Insurance and Housing, Sen. Frank Lasee
• Judiciary, Utilities, Commerce and Government Operations, Sen. Rich Zipperer
• Labor, Public Safety and Urban Affairs, Sen. Van Wanggaard
• Natural Resources and Environment, Sen. Neal Kedzie
• Public Health, Human Services and Revenue, Sen. Pam Galloway
• State and Federal Relations, Information Technology, Sen. Sheila Harsdorf
• Transportation and Elections, Sen. Mary Lazich
• Workforce Development, Small Business and Tourism, Sen. Terry Moulton

Assembly Republican Committee Appointments Completed

The Assembly Republican leadership recently announced its appointments to the 2011 session standing committees. The listing of committee chairs can be found on last week's issue of the Spotlight.

• Aging and Long Term Care, Reps. Knodl, Petryk, Van Roy, Bernier
• Agriculture, Reps. Nerison, Tranel, A. Ott, Mursau, Murtha, Tauchen, Brooks, Ripp, Marklein
• Children and Families, Reps. Pridemore, Krug, Kestell, Williams, Thiesfeldt
• Colleges and Universities, Reps. Nass, Knudson, Ballweg, Pridemore, Knodl, Farrow, Wynn
• Consumer Protection and Personal Privacy, Reps. Ripp, August, Huebsch, Spanbauer, Kooyenga
• Criminal Justice and Corrections, Reps. Kleefisch, Jacque, Kestell, Bies, Brooks, Krug
• Education, Reps. Kestell, Marklein, Nass, Pridemore, Knudson, Thiesfeldt, Wynn
• Election and Campaign Finance Reform, Reps. Tauchen, Bernier, Stone, Pridemore, Weininger
• Energy and Utilities, Reps. Honadel, Klenke, Petersen, Tauchen, Larson, Severson, Weininger
• Financial Institutions, Reps. Kramer, Kooyenga, Kaufert, Huebsch, Kerkman, Gottlieb, Marklein, Tranel
• Forestry, Reps. Mursau, Tiffany, Williams, Murtha
• Health, Reps. Stone, Severson, Kaufert, Van Roy, Strachota, Petersen, Litjens
• Homeland Security and State Affairs, Reps. Van Roy, Kuglitsch, Ballweg, Kleefisch, August, Kooyenga
• Housing, Reps. Murtha, Litjens, Farrow, Rivard, Steineke
• Insurance, Reps. Petersen, Weininger, Kestell, Nygren, August, Kapenga, Tranel, Ziegelbauer
• Jobs, Economy and Small Business, Reps. Williams, Endsley, Stone, Kapenga, Klenke, Knilans, Kuglitsch, Loudenbeck, Petryk
• Judiciary and Ethics, Reps. J. Ott, Larson, Kerkman, Kleefisch, Jacque
• Labor and Workforce Development, Reps. Ballweg, Kapenga, Nass, Honadel, Kuglitsch, Litjens
• Natural Resources, Reps. Gunderson, Rivard, Williams, Kleefisch, Mursau, Nerison, J. Ott, Severson, Steineke, Tiffany
• Public Health and Public Safety, Reps. Bies, Knilans, Petrowski, Loudenbeck, Ziegelbauer
• Rural Economic Development and Rural Affairs, Reps. A. Ott, Steineke, Petrowski, Murtha, Tauchen, Ripp, Krug, Larson, Rivard
• Tourism, Recreation and State Properties, Reps. Kaufert, Loudenbeck, Gunderson, Bies, Meyer, Bernier, Klenke, Tiffany
• Transportation, Reps. Petrowski, Farrow, A. Ott, Stone, Van Roy, Honadel, Ripp, Endsley, Knilans
• Urban and Local Affairs, Reps. Brooks, Thiesfeldt, Spanbauer, Jacque, Knudson, Ziegelbauer
• Veterans and Military Affairs, Reps. Spanbauer, Wynn, Petrowski, Bies, Nerison, Petryk
• Ways and Means, Reps. Huebsch, Kerkman, Nass, Petersen, Knodl, Endsley, Ziegelbauer
• Rules, Reps. Suder, Fitzgerald, Kramer, Knodl, Gunderson, Murtha, Williams

Legislative Leadership for 2011-12

A list of 2011 Assembly and Senate leadership positions can be found on last week's issue of the Spotlight.

November 2010 General Election

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. Official results were certified by the Government Accountability Board on December 1 and are posted on its Web site . 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. 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.

Committee Activity

See the Schedule of Committee Activities for information about locations and times of committee hearings held by standing or special committees.

Bill Statistics for 2009-2010 Legislative 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.

From the LRB Library

Drunk Driving Resources

December is National Drunk Driving Prevention Month and the library recommends the following resources.:

• Drunk Driving / Wisconsin Department of Transportation. An informational web page with links to more resources.
• December Law of the Month / Wisconsin Department of Transportation. A brief summary of the some of the recent changes to drunk driving penalties.
• Increased Penalties and Ignition Interlock Requirements For Drunk Driving Offenses (Legislative Brief 10-2) / Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau (April 2010).
• Drunk Driving: Changes Made in Laws Relating to Operating a Motor Vehicle While Intoxicated (2009 Senate Bill 66, as Passed by the Legislature) / Wisconsin Legislative Council (January 2010).
• Ignition Interlock Devices (Tap the Power) / Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau (March 2009).

Recent Publications

• The Legislative Reference Bureau published Wisconsin Briefs on Salaries of State Elected Officials, Effective January 2011 and Wisconsin State Officers.

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

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Send comments to LRB.Reference@legis.wisconsin.gov

Last revised: November 13, 2012