Maintained 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. Links to more detailed information are highlighted in the text.
The Wisconsin Legislature stands adjourned pursuant to Senate Joint Resolution 1. The 2013-14 legislative session will commence on January 7, 2013.
The Government Accountability Board will publish official election results after all counties have certified results and the deadline has passed for candidates to request recounts. According to the GAB's Web site, this will likely occur on June 23. Based on unofficial returns as well as counties that have completed their canvasses:
Walker, Kleefisch Retained. The attempt to recall Governor Scott Walker and Lieutenant Governor Rebecca Kleefisch was unsuccessful. Each received about 53% of the statewide vote, according to complete, unofficial returns. No recall can be attempted again for the remainder of their terms, ending in January 2015.
Two of Three Senators Retained. Senator Scott Fitzgerald of the 13th District defeated his opponent with 59% of the vote. Senator Terry Moulton of the 23rd District won with 57% of the vote.
Lehman Defeats Wanggaard. According to the official Racine County canvass, former Senator John Lehman defeated Senator Van Wanggaard by 834 votes, but a recount requested by Sen. Wanggaard commenced on June 20. If the recount confirms that former Senator Lehman received more votes, the Democrats will have a 17-16 majority in the Senate upon Lehman's inauguration.
Petrowski Elected to Senate. Representative Jerry Petrowski defeated his opponent in the 29th Senate District recall election with 61% of the vote. Incumbent Senator Pam Galloway resigned her seat after a successful recall petition was filed against her.
June 1 was the deadline for candidates to file nominating petitions for the August primary. No incumbent filed in two senate districts and 21 assembly districts. In two districts, two incumbents have both filed to run: Evan Wynn and Andy Jorgensen have both filed in the 43rd Assembly District; Samantha Kerkman and John Steinbrink have both filed in the 61st Assembly District.
The Government Accountability Board must still review the filed petitions for sufficiency before determining who has qualified to appear on the primary ballot.
The Legislature has RSS feeds for recent session activity. Also see our Facebook page and Twitter.
For details of upcoming committee meetings, see the Schedule of Committee Activities.
During the 2011-12 legislative session, 286 acts have been signed into law. They can be found under the acts section of the Legislative Documents site. All enrolled bills from the current session have now either been signed into law or vetoed
The Library recommends the following resources related to current events:
For more information about Legislative Service Agency publications, see the left panel of the Spotlight index page.
Send comments to LRB.Reference@legis.wisconsin.gov
Last revised: April 18, 2013