Wisconsin Legislative Spotlight

The Week of January 17, 2011

2011-2012 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 Cabinet Appointments

Governor Scott Walker has made the following cabinet appointments:

• 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

Policy regarding business taxation and its effect on Wisconsin's economic development is a major focus thus far in the 2011-2012 session. The LRB library recommends the following resources on this topic:

• The Wisconsin Corporate Income and Franchise Taxes . Wisconsin Department of Revenue, Division of Research and Policy. [2010] A general overview of corporate and franchise taxation in Wisconsin.
• Corporate Income/Franchise Tax. Wisconsin Legislative Fiscal Bureau. 2009. A paper explaining “a general rationale for the tax, a description of the method by which the tax is applied to corporations, and summary and comparative data about the tax.” pg. 1.
• Business Tax Credits for ....Wisconsin Department of Revenue. 2008. This paper discusses the purpose, qualifications, and how more information can be obtained about each tax credit.

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