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.

Wisconsin State Assembly
Wisconsin State Legislature
Type
Type
Term limits
None
History
New session started
January 4, 2021
Leadership
Robin Vos (R)
since January 7, 2013
Speaker pro tempore
Tyler August (R)
since October 8, 2013
Majority Leader
Jim Steineke (R)
since January 5, 2015
Minority Leader
Gordon Hintz (D)
since October 1, 2017
Structure
Seats99
Political groups
Majority
  •   Republican (60)

Minority

Vacant

  •    (1)
Length of term
2 years
AuthorityArticle IV, Wisconsin Constitution
Salary$50,950/year + $153 per diem
Elections
Last election
November 3, 2020
(99 seats)
Next election
November 8, 2022
(99 seats)
RedistrictingLegislative Control
Meeting place
State Assembly Chamber
Wisconsin State Capitol
Madison, Wisconsin
Website
Wisconsin State Assembly

Representatives are elected for two-year terms, elected during the fall elections. If a vacancy occurs in an Assembly seat between elections, it may be filled only by a special election.

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

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.[2] 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 Kagan filed a concurring opinion, in which Justices Ginsburg, Breyer, and Sotomayor joined. Justice Thomas filed an opinion concurring in part and concurring in the judgment, in which Justice Gorsuch joined.[3]

Salary and benefits

Desks and voting board

Representatives elected or re-elected in the fall of 2016 receive an annual salary of $50,950.[4]

In addition to their salaries, representatives outside Dane County may receive up to $88 per day in living expenses while in Madison on state business. Members of the Dane County delegation are allowed up to $44 per day in expenses. Each representative also receives $75 per month in "out-of-session" pay when the legislature is in session for three days or less. 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.[5]

Current session

Composition

38 60
Democratic Republican
Affiliation Party
(Shading indicates majority caucus)
Vacant
Democratic Republican Total
Begin of 101st legislature (2013) 39 59 98 1
End 101st (2014) 60 99 0
Begin 102nd (2015) 36 63 99 0
End 102nd (2016)
Begin 103rd (2017) 35 64 99 0
End 103rd (2018)
Begin 104th (2019) 36 63 99 0
End 104th (2020) 34 62 96 3
Begin 105th (2021) 38 60 98 1
Latest voting share 38.78% 61.22%

Assembly officers

Position Name Party
Speaker Robin Vos Republican
Speaker Pro Tempore Tyler August Republican
Majority Leader Jim Steineke Republican
Assistant Majority Leader Kevin David Petersen Republican
Majority Caucus Chair Tyler Vorpagel Republican
Minority Leader Gordon Hintz Democratic
Assistant Minority Leader Dianne Hesselbein Democratic
Minority Caucus Chair Mark Spreitzer Democratic
Chief Clerk Patrick Fuller
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
RepresentativePartyCurrent AgeResidenceFirst Elected
01 01 Joel Kitchens Rep 63 Sturgeon Bay 2014
02 Shae Sortwell Rep 35 Two Rivers 2018
03 Ron Tusler Rep 36 Appleton 2016
02 04 David Steffen Rep 48 Howard 2014
05 Jim Steineke Rep 50 Kaukauna 2010
06 Gary Tauchen Rep 67 Bonduel 2006
03 07 Daniel Riemer Dem 34 Milwaukee 2012
08 Sylvia Ortiz-Velez Dem Milwaukee 2020
09 Marisabel Cabrera Dem 45 Milwaukee 2018
04 10 David Bowen Dem 34 Milwaukee 2014
11 Dora Drake Dem Milwaukee 2020
12 LaKeshia Myers Dem 36 Milwaukee 2018
05 13 Sara Rodriguez Dem Brookfield 2020
14 Robyn Vining Dem 44 Wauwatosa 2018
15 Joe Sanfelippo Rep 56 New Berlin 2012
06 16 Kalan Haywood Dem 21 Milwaukee 2018
17 Supreme Moore Omokunde Dem 41 Milwaukee 2020
18 Evan Goyke Dem 38 Milwaukee 2012
07 19 Jonathan Brostoff Dem 37 Milwaukee 2014
20 Christine Sinicki Dem 60 Bay View 1998
21 Jessie Rodriguez Rep 43 Franklin 2013
08 22 Janel Brandtjen Rep 54 Waukesha 2014
23 Deb Andraca Dem Whitefish Bay 2020
24 Dan Knodl Rep 62 Germantown 2008
09 25 Paul Tittl Rep 59 Manitowoc 2012
26 Terry Katsma Rep 62 Oostburg 2014
27 Tyler Vorpagel Rep 35 Plymouth 2014
10 28 Gae Magnafici Rep 68 Dresser 2018
29 Clint Moses Rep Menomonie 2020
30 Shannon Zimmerman Rep 48 River Falls 2016
11 31 Amy Loudenbeck Rep 51 Clinton 2010
32 Tyler August Rep 38 Walworth 2010
33 Cody Horlacher Rep 33 Mukwonago 2014
12 34 Rob Swearingen Rep 57 Rhinelander 2012
35 Calvin Callahan Rep Wilson 2020
36 Jeffrey Mursau Rep 66 Crivitz 2004
13 37 John Jagler Rep 51 Watertown 2012
38 Barbara Dittrich Rep 56 Oconomowoc 2018
39 Mark Born Rep 44 Beaver Dam 2012
14 40 Kevin David Petersen Rep 56 Waupaca 2006
41 Alex Dallman Rep Green Lake 2020
42 Jon Plumer Rep 65 Lodi 2018
15 43 Don Vruwink Dem 68 Milton 2016
44 Sue Conley Dem Janesville 2020
45 Mark Spreitzer Dem 34 Beloit 2014
16 46 Gary Hebl Dem 69 Sun Prairie 2004
47 Jimmy P. Anderson Dem 34 Fitchburg 2016
48 Samba Baldeh Dem 50 Madison 2020
17 49 Travis Tranel Rep 35 Cuba City 2010
50 Tony Kurtz Rep 54 Wonewoc 2018
51 Todd Novak Rep 55 Dodgeville 2014
18 52 Jeremy Thiesfeldt Rep 54 Fond du Lac 2010
53 Michael Schraa Rep 59 Oshkosh 2012
54 Gordon Hintz Dem 47 Oshkosh 2006
19 55 Rachael Cabral-Guevara Rep Fox Crossing 2020
56 Dave Murphy Rep 66 Greenville 2012
57 Lee Snodgrass Dem Appleton 2020
20 58 Rick Gundrum Rep 55 Slinger 2018
59 Timothy Ramthun Rep 63 Campbellsport 2018
60 Robert Brooks Rep 55 Saukville 2011
21 61 Samantha Kerkman Rep 46 Powers Lake 2000
62 Robert Wittke Rep 63 Racine 2018
63 Robin Vos Rep 52 Rochester 2004
22 64 Tip McGuire Dem Somers 2019
65 Tod Ohnstad Dem 68 Kenosha 2012
66 Greta Neubauer Dem 29 Racine 2018
23 67 Rob Summerfield Rep 40 Bloomer 2016
68 Jesse James Rep 48 Altoona 2018
69 Donna Rozar Rep Marshfield 2020
24 70 Nancy VanderMeer Rep 62 Tomah 2014
71 Katrina Shankland Dem 33 Stevens Point 2012
72 Scott Krug Rep 45 Wisconsin Rapids 2010
25 73 Nick Milroy Dem 46 Superior 2008
74 Beth Meyers Dem 61 Bayfield 2014
75 David Armstrong Rep Rice Lake 2020
26 76 Francesca Hong Dem Madison 2020
77 Shelia Stubbs Dem 49 Madison 2018
78 Lisa Subeck Dem 49 Madison 2014
27 79 Dianne Hesselbein Dem 49 Middleton 2012
80 Sondy Pope-Roberts Dem 70 Mount Horeb 2002
81 Dave Considine Dem 68 Baraboo 2014
28 82 Ken Skowronski Rep 82 Franklin 2013
83 Chuck Wichgers Rep 55 Muskego 2016
84 Mike Kuglitsch Rep 61 New Berlin 2010
29 85 Patrick Snyder Rep 64 Schofield 2016
86 John Spiros Rep 59 Marshfield 2012
87 James W. Edming Rep 75 Glen Flora 2014
30 88 John Macco Rep 62 De Pere 2014
89 --Vacant--
90 Kristina Shelton Dem 40 Green Bay 2020
31 91 Jodi Emerson Dem 47 Eau Claire 2018
92 Treig Pronschinske Rep 54 Mondovi 2016
93 Warren Petryk Rep 66 Eleva 2010
32 94 Steve Doyle Dem 62 Onalaska 2011
95 Jill Billings Dem 59 La Crosse 2011
96 Loren Oldenburg Rep 55 Viroqua 2018
33 97 Scott Allen Rep 55 Waukesha 2014
98 Adam Neylon Rep 36 Pewaukee 2013
99 Cindi Duchow Rep 62 Delafield 2015

Currently the list of Assembly Committees[6] is quite lengthy.

Images

Past composition of the Assembly

See also

References

  1. Wisconsin Blue Book, 1991, p. 229.
  2. "Whitford v. Gill | Brennan Center for Justice". www.brennancenter.org. Retrieved December 30, 2016.
  3. "Gill v. Whitford". SCOTUS blog. Retrieved February 9, 2019. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  4. "Salaries of Elected Officials Effective January 2017" (PDF). Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau. Retrieved February 21, 2019.
  5. Hagensick, A. Clarke (1964). "Influences of Partisanship and Incumbency on a Nonpartisan Election System". The Western Political Quarterly. 17 (1): 117–124. JSTOR 445376.
  6. docs.legis.wisconsin.gov, retrieved November 27, 2020
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