Wisconsin Legislative Spotlight

The Week of January 10, 2011

New Legislative Session

The 2011-2012 legislative session began when the new legislature was sworn in on January 3, 2011. The 2011 legislature has 36 new members, and two members who served in the Assembly during the 2009 session will be taking new seats in the Senate. There are 19 Republicans and 14 Democrats in the Senate, and 57 Republicans, 38 Democrats, and 1 Independent in the Assembly. Three Assembly seats are vacant following gubernatorial appointments. Each house has 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.

The schedule of floorperiods for the new session was established by Senate Joint Resolution 1.

2011-12 Committee chairs and membership have been announced.
Assembly Senate

Governor’s Inauguration and Cabinet Appointments

Governor Scott Walker was inaugurated on January 3, 2011, in the Capitol Rotunda. He recently announced his cabinet:

• Administration: Mike Huebsch
• Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection: Ben Brancel
• Children and Families: Eloise Anderson
• Commerce: Paul Jadin
• Corrections: Gary Hamblin
• Financial Institutions: Peter Bildsten
• Health Services: Dennis Smith
• Natural Resources: Cathy Stepp
• Regulation and Licensing: Dave Ross
• Revenue: Rick Chandler
• Tourism: Stephanie Klett
• Transportation: Mark Gottlieb
• WHEDA Executive Director: Wyman Wynston
• Workforce Development: Manuel Perez

January 2011 Special Session

Governor Walker called the legislature into special session on January 4 to consider legislation on a variety of topics, including tax credits, tort law, medical savings accounts, and other legislation relating to taxation.

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. Be sure to select "Jan 2011 Special Session" as the session to be able to view Special Session bills.

Committee Activity

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

From the LRB Library

The LRB Library has completed its annual update to the Subject Index to Executive Orders of Governors Knowles, Lucey, Dreyfus, Earl, Thompson, McCallum, Doyle, Acting Governor Schreiber, Lieutenant Governors Olson and Flynn, and Secretary of State Zimmerman, January 1965 - December 13, 2010. The executive orders in this index are not available online. Paper copies can be found in the Theobald Legislative Library’s Wisconsin Documents Collection filed by name of governor. This index is available on the LRB Publications page under “Publications from the LRB Library.”

Recent Publications

• The Legislative Reference Bureau published Wisconsin Briefs on Salaries of State Elected Officials, Effective January 2011 and Wisconsin State Officers. A new "Tap the Power" focuses on Resources for Legislators.
• The Legislative Audit Bureau has published its biennial report.
• The Legislative Fiscal Bureau has released an Overview of State Agency Major Request Items for the 2011-13 Wisconsin State Budget.
• The Legislative Council has published its General Report to the 2009 Legislature and updated its Wisconsin Legislator Briefing Book for 2011-12.

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

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Last revised: November 15, 2012