The Wisconsin Legislature is the state legislature of the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

. The Legislature is a

bicameral Bicameralism is a type of legislature, one divided into two separate assemblies, chambers, or houses, known as a bicameral legislature. Bicameralism is distinguished from unicameralism, in which all members deliberate and vote as a single grou ...

body composed of the

upper house An upper house is one of two Debate chamber, chambers of a bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house.''Bicameralism'' (1997) by George Tsebelis The house formally designated as the upper house is usually smalle ...

Wisconsin State Senate The Wisconsin Senate is the upper house of the Wisconsin State Legislature. Together with the larger Wisconsin State Assembly they constitute the legislative branch of the state of Wisconsin. The powers of the Wisconsin Senate are modeled after t ...

, and the

lower Lower may refer to: *Lower (surname) *Lower Township, New Jersey *Lower Receiver (firearms) *Lower Wick Gloucestershire, England See also *Nizhny Nizhny (russian: Ни́жний; masculine), Nizhnyaya (; feminine), or Nizhneye (russian: Ни́� ...

Wisconsin State Assembly The Wisconsin State Assembly is the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Together with the smaller Wisconsin Senate, the two constitute the legislative branch of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Representatives are elected for two-year terms, ...

, both of which have had

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

majorities since January 2011. With both houses combined, the legislature has 132 members representing an equal number of constituent districts. The Legislature convenes at the state capitol in

Madison Madison may refer to: People * Madison (name), a given name and a surname * James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States Place names * Madison, Wisconsin, the state capital of Wisconsin and the largest city known by this ...

. The current sitting is the 105th Wisconsin Legislature.

History

The United States first organized

in 1787 under the

Northwest Ordinance The Northwest Ordinance (formally An Ordinance for the Government of the Territory of the United States, North-West of the River Ohio and also known as the Ordinance of 1787), enacted July 13, 1787, was an organic act of the Congress of the Co ...

after

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

yielded the land to them in the

Treaty of Paris Treaty of Paris may refer to one of many treaties signed in Paris, France: Treaties 1200s and 1300s * Treaty of Paris (1229), which ended the Albigensian Crusade * Treaty of Paris (1259), between Henry III of England and Louis IX of France * Trea ...

. It became the Wisconsin

Territory A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, particularly belonging or connected to a country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually either the total area from which a state may extract power resources or a ...

in 1836 and a

on May 29, 1848.Highlights of History in Wisconsin
Wisconsin Blue Book 2011-2012 (accessed April 25, 2013) The 1850s saw an influx of European immigrants.19th Century Immigration
Wisconsin Historical Society (accessed April 25, 2013) The Legislature was dominated alternately by two political parties in its first century: the

and Progressive parties. In 1995, the Republican Party took control of the legislature for the first time since 1969, and have maintained their control of both houses since, except for a brief period between 2009 and 2011. In the 2016 Wisconsin elections, Republicans secured their largest majority in the Assembly since 1956, and in 2018, the party maintained their overwhelming control of the legislature despite receiving fewer total votes. Congressional districts have been disputed since at least 2016. After Republican Governor Scott Walker then signed a

redistricting Redistribution (re-districting in the United States and in the Philippines) is the process by which electoral districts are added, removed, or otherwise changed. Redistribution is a form of boundary delimitation that changes electoral dist ...

plan, at least one U.S. court found the districts to be unconstitutional partisan

gerrymandering In representative democracies, gerrymandering (, originally ) is the political manipulation of electoral district boundaries with the intent to create undue advantage for a party, group, or socioeconomic class within the constituency. The m ...

. Other controversies include "prison gerrymandering," where prisons are counted towards the population of a district despite its inmates coming from elsewhere.

Membership

Qualifications and terms

To serve in the Wisconsin Legislature, individuals must be a

resident Resident may refer to: People and functions * Resident minister, a representative of a government in a foreign country * Resident (medicine), a stage of postgraduate medical training * Resident (pharmacy), a stage of postgraduate pharmaceuti ...

of the state for at least one year preceding his or her election and be a qualified elector in the district they are elected to represent.Article IV
Wisconsin Constitution (accessed April 25, 2013) All 99 members of the Wisconsin Assembly are elected in a two-year term cycle without

term limits A term limit is a legal restriction that limits the number of terms an officeholder may serve in a particular elected office. When term limits are found in presidential and semi-presidential systems they act as a method of curbing the potenti ...

. Similarly, all 33 members of the Wisconsin Senate are elected in a four year cycle, also without term limits. Half of the Senate is elected every two years. Prior to an amendment in the

Wisconsin Constitution The Constitution of the State of Wisconsin is the governing document of the U.S. State of Wisconsin. It establishes the structure and function of state government, describes the state boundaries, and declares the rights of state citizens. The ...

in 1881, Assembly members served a one-year term, while Senators were elected every two years. The 105th Wisconsin Legislature began on January 2, 2021.

Officers

Members of both houses of the Legislature vote within their ranks to select presiding officers, such as the Speaker of the Assembly and the

President of the Senate President of the Senate is a title often given to the presiding officer of a senate. It corresponds to the speaker in some other assemblies. The senate president often ranks high in a jurisdiction's succession for its top executive office: for e ...

. These high level positions reflect the party majority in both chambers. An amendment to the state constitution in 1979 removed the

Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin The lieutenant governor of Wisconsin is the first person in the line of succession of Wisconsin's executive branch, thus serving as governor in the event of the death, resignation, removal, impeachment, absence from the state, or incapacity due to ...

as the presiding officer of the Senate, allowing Senators to vote within their ranks for a chamber president. Similarly,

majority A majority, also called a simple majority or absolute majority to distinguish it from #Related terms, related terms, is more than half of the total.Dictionary definitions of ''majority'' aMerriam-Websterminority leaders are also selected by party strength in the legislative houses and within their own respective caucus.

Salary and benefits

Legislators in both the Senate and the Assembly receive an annual salary of $55,141. Senators receive per diem of up to $115 to cover living expenses when they are in Dane County, Wisconsin on state business, unless their district is in

Dane County Dane County is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 561,504, making it the second-most populous county in Wisconsin. The county seat is Madison, which is also the state capital. Dane County is the ...

, in which case they receive per diem of up to $57.50. Assembly members outside of Dane County receive overnight per diem up to $155. Otherwise, they receive $76.50 per diem, the same rate as assembly members in Dane County. Legislators also receive $75 per month in "out-of-session" pay when the Legislature is in session for three days or less. Over two years, each legislator is allotted $66,008 to cover general office expenses, printing, postage and district mailings.

Rules and procedures

In both chambers of the Wisconsin Legislature, a quorum is defined as a majority of current members. The majority of a quorum is needed to pass legislation on the floor of the chamber.Procedures Derived from State Constitution
Wisconsin Legislature (accessed April 25, 2013) Three-fifths of the members elected is the quorum necessary for passage or concurrence in either house of any fiscal bill. Proposals may not be introduced or offered unless they are put in proper form by the legislative reference staff if requested by members or members-elect of the legislature. Both houses of the legislature review a bill before it becomes law, and if each chamber approves the bill, the state's

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

will review it. If the Governor signs the bill, it passes into law, but if the Governor

veto A veto is a legal power to unilaterally stop an official action. In the most typical case, a president or monarch vetoes a bill to stop it from becoming law. In many countries, veto powers are established in the country's constitution. Veto ...

es the bill, it will return to the legislature. It is possible for the legislature to override a veto and pass the bill into law itself, but this requires a two-thirds majority vote in both the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

and the State Assembly.

Law of Wisconsin

State law is contained in the

and the various statutes enacted by the Legislature. The interpretation of state law and its application in specific cases are undertaken by the

Wisconsin Supreme Court The Wisconsin Supreme Court is the highest appellate court in Wisconsin. The Supreme Court has jurisdiction over original actions, appeals from lower courts, and regulation or administration of the practice of law in Wisconsin. Location The Wi ...

, based in

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the county seat of Dane County and the capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census the population was 269,840, making it the second-largest city in Wisconsin by population, after Milwaukee, and the 80th-lar ...

. The law of the

Menominee The Menominee (; mez, omǣqnomenēwak meaning ''"Menominee People"'', also spelled Menomini, derived from the Ojibwe language word for "Wild Rice People"; known as ''Mamaceqtaw'', "the people", in the Menominee language) are a federally recog ...

also applies within the

Menominee Indian Reservation The Menominee Indian Reservation is an Indian reservation located in northeastern Wisconsin held in trust by the United States for the Menominee Tribe of Wisconsin. It is the largest Indian reservation east of the Mississippi River. In the Menomin ...

. The "Laws of Wisconsin" are published annually by the state's legislative reference bureau, "no later than the end of each session".

Theft by Contractor law

Wisconsin state law defines construction payments made to a

prime contractor A general contractor, main contractor or prime contractor is responsible for the day-to-day oversight of a construction site, management of vendors and trades, and the communication of information to all involved parties throughout the course of ...

as funds to be held in

trust Trust often refers to: * Trust (social science), confidence in or dependence on a person or quality It may also refer to: Business and law * Trust law, a body of law under which one person holds property for the benefit of another * Trust (bus ...

by the prime contractor on behalf of any sub-contractors, and any action by the prime contractor to access these funds for their own business use in advance of settling claims for payment to a sub-contractor is defined as theft by the contractor. State law treats such theft as a

felony A felony is traditionally considered a crime of high seriousness, whereas a misdemeanor is regarded as less serious. The term "felony" originated from English common law (from the French medieval word "félonie") to describe an offense that resu ...

,Court of Appeals of Wisconsin
State of Wisconsin v. Angela A. Keyes: Published Opinion
2007 WI APP 163, published 14 June 2007, accessed 3 September 2022 including cases where a contractor covers its own expenses in advance of payment to a sub-contractor.Michael Johnson Legal LLC
Theft by Contractor in Wisconsin
published 28 April 2021, accessed 14 October 2022 The case of State of Wisconsin v. Angela A. Keyes (2007) examined how Wisconsin Statute § 779.02 (5) applies in "a situation where a prime contractor also acts as a subcontractor and takes a profit on materials it supplies to a project before all other subcontractors are paid", ruling that the prime contractor in this case had wrongly paid themselves as sub-contractor ahead of other sub-contractors.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Bicameral legislatures Wisconsin law State law in the United States