The Legislature, Legislative Procedure, and the Joint Legislative Council

Wisconsin legislators, along with members of the U.S. Congress and state legislators across the country, routinely request information from administrative agencies on behalf of their constituents. This representational activity, commonly referred to as “casework,” is rooted in a citizen’s constitutional right to petition government. Each legislator determines the scope of casework he or she will provide as a service to help constituents deal with administrative agencies by acting as “facilitators, ombudsmen, and in some cases advocates.”

This issue brief provides background on extraordinary sessions, explains the key differences between an extraordinary session and special session, and summarizes a recent Wisconsin Supreme Court decision that upheld the authority of the Legislature to convene in extraordinary session.

This issue brief provides background on special sessions, including an explanation of the constitutional provisions and legislative rules that apply to special sessions. This issue brief also explains the key differences between a special session and extraordinary session.

This issue brief provides an overview of the responsibilities and procedures of the Joint Committee on Employment Relations (commonly referred to as “JCOER”). The committee is tasked with reviewing proposed changes to the state employee compensation plan, proposed adjustments for the University of Wisconsin (UW) System budgeted salary base, and tentative collective bargaining agreements with UW employees and employees of other state agencies.

The current Legislative Council staff consists of 20 attorneys and analysts and four administrative staff. The staff’s responsibilities to the Legislature have greatly expanded over time. The staff provides confidential, nonpartisan services to all members of the Legislature to support the institution as a whole and the work of individual legislators.

Today’s Joint Legislative Council is a 22-member committee whose membership includes the entire leadership of the Legislature. The Joint Legislative Council and the Legislative Council staff continue to conduct studies, commonly referred to as study committees, which develop legislation to address important issues facing the Legislature.

2017 Wisconsin Act 369 established legislative oversight of Wisconsin Department of Justice (DOJ) decisions to settle certain civil actions. Those legislative oversight requirements survived a broad constitutional challenge in a 2017 Wisconsin Supreme Court decision, SEIU v. Vos. A more specific challenge was recently filed.

The principal function of the Legislature is the enactment of laws through the passage of bills. Generally, more than 1,000 bills are introduced in each legislative session, and a few hundred of those are enacted into law. This information memorandum provides an overview of the legislative process, including the preparation and introduction of bills and resolutions, amendment of bills, and enactment of laws. In addition, this information memorandum highlights informational resources relating to the legislative process, and provides a list of commonly used terms in the Legislature.

In Nancy Bartlett v. Tony Evers, 2020 WI 68, the Wisconsin Supreme Court accepted an original action challenging four series of Governor Tony Evers’ partial vetoes of 2019 Wisconsin Act 9. The Court invalidated three of the four challenged vetoes, but did not reach a majority as to the rationale for invalidating any of the three overturned vetoes. Therefore, the Court did not announce any new limits on the Governor’s future use of the partial veto authority. This issue brief provides relevant background information, summarizes the Court’s decision, and briefly describes the varied and conflicting ways that the Court’s justices, in separate writings, articulate the scope of gubernatorial veto power.