Wisconsin State Assembly

Last updated

Wisconsin State Assembly
Wisconsin State Legislature
Seal of Wisconsin.svg
Type
Type
Term limits
None
History
New session started
January 3, 2023
Leadership
Robin Vos (R)
since January 7, 2013
Speaker pro tempore
Kevin Petersen (R)
since January 3, 2023
Majority Leader
Tyler August (R)
since January 3, 2023
Minority Leader
Greta Neubauer (D)
since January 10, 2022
Structure
Seats99
WI Assembly 1999.svg
Political groups
Majority
  •    Republican (54)

Minority

Length of term
2 years
AuthorityArticle IV, Wisconsin Constitution
Salary$57,408/year + $155.70 per diem
Elections
Last election
November 5, 2024
Next election
November 3, 2026
Redistricting Legislative control
Meeting place
Wisconsin State Assembly.jpg
State Assembly Chamber
Wisconsin State Capitol
Madison, Wisconsin
Website
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.

Contents

Members of the Assembly are elected to two-year terms during the fall elections. In the event of a vacancy in an Assembly seat between elections, a special election may be held to fill the position.

The Wisconsin Constitution limits the size of the State Assembly to between 54 and 100 members inclusive. Since 1973, the state has been divided into 99 Assembly districts apportioned amongst the state based on population as determined by the decennial census, for a total of 99 representatives. From 1848 to 1853 there were 66 assembly districts; from 1854 to 1856, 82 districts; from 1857 to 1861, 97 districts; and from 1862 to 1972, 100 districts. [1] The size of the Wisconsin State Senate is tied to the size of the Assembly; it must be between one-fourth and one-third the size of the Assembly. Presently, the Senate has 33 members, with each Senate district formed by combining three neighboring Assembly districts.

The Assembly chamber is located in the west wing of the Wisconsin State Capitol building, in Madison, Wisconsin.

History

The United States first organized Wisconsin in 1787 under the Northwest Ordinance after Great Britain yielded the land to them in the Treaty of Paris. It became the Wisconsin Territory in 1836. The then-territorial assembly, after elections, was seated in Burlington for three sessions before they relocated to the permanent capital, Madison.

During the period of territorial assembly, the assembled members helped to set up the court system, established the borders and number of counties, and regularized the spelling of Wisconsin. In 1842, an assemblyman (Charles Arndt, a Whig of Brown County) was shot dead by another assemblyman, James Vineyard, a Democrat of Grant County, over an appointment for Grant County sheriff.

Wisconsin became a U.S. state on May 29, 1848, and special elections were held to fill the first session of the State Assembly; at the time, the body consisted of 66 members. [2] The Assembly was expanded to 82 seats in 1852, and then to 97 seats in 1856, then to 100 seats in 1861, which is the maximum allowed in the Constitution of Wisconsin. The membership remained at 100 seats until the 1971 redistricting act, which decreased membership to 99 in order to comply with federal equal representation requirements within the limits of the Wisconsin Constitution. The current number of 99 seats is set in order to maintain a 3:1 ratio of Assembly to Senate seats.

On July 8, 2015, a case was filed with the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin arguing that Wisconsin's 2011 state assembly map was unconstitutional partisan gerrymandering favoring the Republican-controlled legislature which discriminated against Democratic voters. This case became filed with the court as Whitford v Gill. [3] The case made it to the United States Supreme Court, which vacated and remanded the case. The Supreme Court held that the plaintiff challenging the state assembly map did not have standing to sue. In the Opinion of the Court, Chief Justice John Roberts stated that "[a] federal court is not 'a forum for generalized grievances," and the requirement of such a personal stake 'ensures that courts exercise power that is judicial in nature." Gill v. Whitford, 128 S.Ct. 1916 (2018). We enforce that requirement by insisting that a plaintiff [have] Article III standing..." Justice Elena Kagan filed a concurring opinion, in which Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, and Sonia Sotomayor joined. Justice Clarence Thomas filed an opinion concurring in part and concurring in the judgment, in which Justice Neil Gorsuch joined. [4]

Salary and benefits

Desks and voting board Wisconsin State Assembly Chairs and Electronic Vote Board.jpg
Desks and voting board

Representatives elected or re-elected in the fall of 2016 receive an annual salary of $57,408. [5]

In addition to their salaries, representatives are allowed to claim a per diem for travel expenses. The maximum rate is set by the 2001 Wisconsin Act 16 to 90% of the U.S. General Services Administration rate, but the houses are permitted to establish additional criteria for determining per diem. The State Assembly per diem is set to $155.70 per overnight stay and $77.85 for day visits. A maximum of 153 days may be claimed for per diem in 2023, and 80 days may be claimed in 2024. Over two years, each representative is allotted $12,000 to cover general office expenses, printing, postage and district mailings.

According to a 1960 study, at that time Assembly salaries and benefits were so low that in Milwaukee County, positions on the County Board of Supervisors and the Milwaukee Common Council were considered more desirable than seats in the Assembly, and an average of 23% of Milwaukee legislators did not seek re-election. This pattern was not seen to hold to the same extent in the rest of the state, where local offices tended to pay less well. [6]

Current session

Composition

4554
DemocraticRepublican
AffiliationParty
(Shading indicates majority caucus)
Vacant
Democratic Republican Total
Begin of 101st legislature (2013)3959981
End 101st (2014)60990
Begin 102nd (2015)3663990
End 102nd (2016)
Begin 103rd (2017)3564990
End 103rd (2018)
Begin 104th (2019)3663990
End 104th (2020)3462963
Begin 105th (2021)3860981
End 105th (2022)3857954
Begin 106th (2023)3564990
Current composition34981
Latest voting share
Assembly districts and party affiliation after the 2024 election
Republican Party
Democratic Party WisconsinAssembly2024Comp.svg
Assembly districts and party affiliation after the 2024 election
  Republican Party
  Democratic Party

Assembly officers

PositionNameParty
Speaker Robin Vos Republican
Speaker Pro Tempore Kevin D. Petersen Republican
Majority Leader Tyler August Republican
Assistant Majority Leader Jon Plumer Republican
Majority Caucus Chair Rob Summerfield Republican
Minority Leader Greta Neubauer Democratic
Assistant Minority Leader Kalan Haywood Democratic
Minority Caucus Chair Lisa Subeck Democratic
Chief ClerkTed Blazel
Sergeant-at-Arms Anne Tonnon Byers

Members

The corresponding state senate districts are shown as a senate district is formed by nesting three assembly districts.

Senate
District
Assembly
District
RepresentativePartyAgeResidenceFirst Elected
01 01 Joel Kitchens Rep67 Sturgeon Bay 2014
02 Shae Sortwell Rep39 Two Rivers 2018
03 Ron Tusler Rep40 Harrison 2016
02 04 David Steffen Rep52 Howard 2014
05 Joy Goeben Rep52 Hobart 2022
06 Elijah Behnke Rep41 Chase 2021
03 07 Karen Kirsch Dem56 Greenfield 2024
08 Sylvia Ortiz-Velez Dem Milwaukee 2020
09 Priscilla Prado Dem41 Milwaukee 2024
04 10 Darrin Madison Dem27 Milwaukee 2022
11 Sequanna Taylor Dem45 Milwaukee 2024
12 Russell Goodwin Dem Milwaukee 2024
05 13 Robyn Vining Dem48 Wauwatosa 2018
14 Angelito Tenorio Dem28 West Allis 2024
15 Adam Neylon Rep40 Pewaukee 2013
06 16 Kalan Haywood Dem25 Milwaukee 2018
17 Supreme Moore Omokunde Dem45 Milwaukee 2020
18 Margaret Arney Dem42 Wauwatosa 2024
07 19 Ryan Clancy Dem48 Milwaukee 2022
20 Christine Sinicki Dem64 Milwaukee 1998
21 Jessie Rodriguez Rep47 Oak Creek 2013
08 22 Paul Melotik Rep67 Grafton 2023
23 Deb Andraca Dem54 Whitefish Bay 2020
24 Dan Knodl Rep67 Germantown 2008
09 25 Paul Tittl Rep63 Manitowoc 2012
26 Joe Sheehan Dem67 Sheboygan 2024
27 Lindee Brill Rep43 Sheboygan Falls 2024
10 28 Robin Kreibich Rep65 New Richmond 1992
29 Treig Pronschinske Rep48 Mondovi 2016
30 Shannon Zimmerman Rep52 River Falls 2016
11 31 Tyler August Rep41 Walworth 2010
32 Amanda Nedweski Rep49 Pleasant Prairie 2022
33 Robin Vos Rep56 Rochester 2004
12 34 Rob Swearingen Rep61 Rhinelander 2012
35 Calvin Callahan Rep25 Tomahawk 2020
36 Jeffrey Mursau Rep70 Crivitz 2004
13 37 Mark Born Rep48 Beaver Dam 2012
38 William Penterman Rep28 Columbus 2021
39 Alex Dallman Rep32 Green Lake 2020
14 40 Karen DeSanto Dem60 Baraboo 2024
41 Tony Kurtz Rep58 Wonewoc 2018
42 Maureen McCarville Dem66 DeForest 2024
15 43 Brienne Brown Dem51–52 Whitewater 2024
44 Ann Roe Dem58–59 Janesville 2024
45 Clinton Anderson Dem31 Beloit 2022
16 46 Joan Fitzgerald Dem59–60 Fort Atkinson 2024
47 Randy Udell Dem63–64 Fitchburg 2024
48 Andrew Hysell Dem53 Sun Prairie 2024
17 49 Travis Tranel Rep39 Cuba City 2010
50 Jenna Jacobson Dem43 Oregon 2022
51 Todd Novak Rep59 Dodgeville 2014
18 52 Lee Snodgrass Dem55 Appleton 2020
53 Dean Kaufert Rep67 Neenah 1990
54 Lori Palmeri Dem57 Oshkosh 2022
19 55 Nate Gustafson Rep29 Fox Crossing 2022
56 Dave Murphy Rep70 Greenville 2012
57 Kevin David Petersen Rep60 Waupaca 2006
20 58 Rick Gundrum Rep59 Slinger 2018
59 Robert Brooks Rep59 Saukville 2014
60 Jerry L. O'Connor Rep71 Fond du Lac 2022
21 61 Bob Donovan Rep68 Greenfield 2022
62 Angelina Cruz Dem45–46 Racine 2024
63 Robert Wittke Rep67 Racine 2018
22 64 Tip McGuire Dem37 Kenosha 2019
65 Ben DeSmidt Dem Kenosha 2024
66 Greta Neubauer Dem33 Racine 2018
23 67 David Armstrong Rep63 Rice Lake 2020
68 Rob Summerfield Rep44 Bloomer 2016
69 Karen Hurd Rep52 Withee 2022
24 70 Nancy VanderMeer Rep66 Tomah 2014
71 Vinnie Miresse Dem47 Stevens Point 2024
72 Scott Krug Rep49 Nekoosa 2010
25 73 Angela Stroud Dem43–44 Ashland 2024
74 Chanz Green Rep33 Grandview 2022
75 Duke Tucker Rep54 Grantsburg 2024
26 76 Francesca Hong Dem36 Madison 2020
77 Renuka Mayadev Dem50–51 Madison 2024
78 Shelia Stubbs Dem53 Madison 2018
27 79 Lisa Subeck Dem53 Madison 2014
80 Mike Bare Dem41 Verona 2022
81 Alex Joers Dem32 Middleton 2022
28 82 Scott Allen Rep59 Waukesha 2014
83 Dave Maxey Rep52 New Berlin 2022
84 Chuck Wichgers Rep59 Muskego 2016
29 85 Patrick Snyder Rep68 Weston 2016
86 John Spiros Rep63 Marshfield 2012
87 Brent Jacobson Rep40 Mosinee 2024
30 88 Ben Franklin Rep42 De Pere 2024
89 Ryan Spaude Dem31 Ashwaubanon 2024
90 Amaad Rivera-Wagner Dem43 Green Bay 2024
31 91 Jodi Emerson Dem51 Eau Claire 2018
92 Clint Moses Rep48 Menomonie 2020
93 Christian Phelps Dem31 Eau Claire 2024
32 94 Steve Doyle Dem66 Onalaska 2011
95 Jill Billings Dem62 La Crosse 2011
96 Tara Johnson Dem62–63 Shelby 2024
33 97 Cindi Duchow Rep65 Delafield 2015
98 Jim Piwowarczyk Rep54–55 Hubertus 2024
99 Barbara Dittrich Rep60 Oconomowoc 2018

Committees

The following is a list of the Assembly Committees: [7]

Past composition of the Assembly

See also

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References

  1. Wisconsin Blue Book, 1991 , p. 229.
  2. "History of Dane County, Wisconsin : containing an account of its settlement, growth, development and resources, an extensive and minute sketch of its cities, towns and villages--their improvements, industries, manufactories, churches, schools and societies, its war record, biographical sketches, portraits of prominent men and early settlers : the whole preceded by a history of Wisconsin, statistics of the state, and an abstract of its laws and constitution and of the Constitution of the United States". content.wisconsinhistory.org. Retrieved May 5, 2023.
  3. "Whitford v. Gill | Brennan Center for Justice". www.brennancenter.org. Retrieved December 30, 2016.
  4. "Gill v. Whitford". SCOTUS blog. Retrieved February 9, 2019.PD-icon.svg This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .
  5. "Salaries of Wisconsin State Elected Officials, 2023" (PDF). Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau. February 2023. Retrieved June 9, 2023.
  6. Hagensick, A. Clarke (1964). "Influences of Partisanship and Incumbency on a Nonpartisan Election System". The Western Political Quarterly . 17 (1): 117–124. doi:10.2307/445376. JSTOR   445376.
  7. docs.legis.wisconsin.gov , retrieved November 27, 2020