The Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau (LRB) is a

nonpartisan Nonpartisanism is a lack of affiliation with, and a lack of bias towards, a political party. While an Oxford English Dictionary definition of ''partisan'' includes adherents of a party, cause, person, etc., in most cases, nonpartisan refers sp ...

agency Agency may refer to: Organizations * Institution, governmental or others ** Advertising agency or marketing agency, a service business dedicated to creating, planning and handling advertising for its clients ** Employment agency, a business that ...

that provides legal advice, legislative drafting services, and public policy research and analysis to the

Wisconsin Legislature The Wisconsin Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The Legislature is a bicameral body composed of the upper house, Wisconsin State Senate, and the lower Wisconsin State Assembly, both of which have had Republican ...

, and reference services to the legislature, state agencies, and the public. The LRB staff is responsible for nearly all drafting of legislation in Wisconsin, operating at the request of legislators and state agencies. LRB staff also maintain and update the official Wisconsin statutes and the rules of the legislature. LRB publishes the biennial report of laws passed at each session of the legislature and the biennial report of the state government, the ''

Wisconsin Blue Book The ''Wisconsin Blue Book'' is a biennial publication of the Wisconsin's Legislative Reference Bureau. The ''Blue Book'' is an almanac containing information on the government, economics, demographics, geography and history of the state of Wisc ...

''. In addition, the LRB operates a legislative library, and provides research and library services to the general public. The Wisconsin Legislature's Joint Committee on Legislative Organization acts as the governing body overseeing the Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau and selects the director, who employs and oversees all bureau staff. The director is Richard A. Champagne.

History

The Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau traces its origin to the Wisconsin Legislative Reference Library, which was established by an act of the Legislature in 1901
1901 Wisc. Act 168
. The Legislative Reference Library was a first-of-its-kind

Progressive Era The Progressive Era (late 1890s – late 1910s) was a period of widespread social activism and political reform across the United States focused on defeating corruption, monopoly, waste and inefficiency. The main themes ended during Am ...

innovation which sought to utilize the expertise of the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

and the resources of Wisconsin's state law library to improve the quality and consistency of the lawmaking process in the Legislature. The Wisconsin Legislative Reference Library became a model for the

Congressional Research Service The Congressional Research Service (CRS) is a public policy research institute of the United States Congress. Operating within the Library of Congress, it works primarily and directly for members of Congress and their committees and staff on a c ...

, which opened in 1914. The Library's duties were expanded over the years. They became responsible for bill drafting in 1907
1907 Wisc. Act 508
, and became responsible for compiling and publishing the ''Blue Book'' in 1929
1929 Wisc. Act 194
. The Legislative Reference Library was renamed to the Legislative Reference Bureau in 1963. Initially under the supervision of the Free Library Commission, the 1963 law also placed the bureau under the supervision of the Legislature's Joint Committee on Legislative Organization.

Publications

* The ''

'' is a comprehensive report of the status, activities, organization, and personnel of the state government, as well as economic statistics, population data, and other information relevant to the state of the state. The ''Blue Book'' is published biennially. * The ''Wisconsin Elections Project'' is a series of publications offering information on candidates, redistricting, election results, legislative actions, and historical data. * The ''Wisconsin History Project'' is a series of articles on the history of Wisconsin politics and government. * The ''Wisconsin Policy Project'' is a series on Wisconsin's current public policy issues. * The ''LRB Reports'' cover a range of topics on the state government and the legislative process. * ''Legislating in Wisconsin'' is a series of articles focusing on the organization of the Legislature and the legislative process. * ''Reading the Constitution'' is a publication that explains aspects of the Wisconsin Constitution.

References

External links

Official website

Wisconsin Blue Books
{{authority control State agencies of Wisconsin Government agencies established in 1901 1901 establishments in Wisconsin

History

Publications

See also

References

External links