Wisconsin Senate
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The Wisconsin Senate is the upper house of the Wisconsin State Legislature. Together with the Wisconsin State Assembly they constitute the legislative branch of the state of Wisconsin. The powers of the Wisconsin Senate are modeled after those of the U.S. Senate. The Wisconsin Senate is controlled by the Republican Party, as it has been for 20 of the past 22 years (only 2009-2010 are exceptions).
The Wisconsin Constitution ties the size of the State Senate to that of the Assembly, by limiting its size to no less than 1/4, nor more than 1/3, of the size of the Assembly. Currently, Wisconsin is divided into 33 Senate Districts (1/3 of the current Assembly membership of 99) apportioned throughout the state based on population as determined by the decennial census, for a total of 33 senators. A Senate district is formed by combining three Assembly districts. Similar to the U.S. Senate, in addition to its duty of reviewing and voting on all legislation passed through the legislature, the State Senate has the exclusive responsibility of confirming certain gubernatorial appointments, particularly cabinet secretaries and members of boards and commissions. Senators are elected for four-year terms, staggered so that approximately half of the Senate is up for election every two years. If a vacancy occurs in a Senate seat between elections, it may be filled only by a special election. The Senate chamber is in the south wing of the Wisconsin State Capitol, in Madison. In February 2024, the legislative maps of the Senate, along with the State Assembly, were redrawn following a court decision that found them to be unconstitutionally gerrymandered in favor of Republicans.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Salary and benefitsEdit
The salary of all legislators serving in the 2023 Wisconsin Legislature is $57,408, which is an increase of 4% from the previous biennium. In addition to salaries, senators outside Dane County may receive a per diem up to $115 to cover living expenses while they are in Dane County on state business. Members of the Dane County delegation may receive a per diem of half the amount to cover expenses.
Current sessionEdit
CompositionEdit
| Template:Down-arrow | ||
| 15 | 18 | |
| Democratic | Republican | |
Senate officersEdit
| Position | Name | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Template:Party color cell | President of the Senate | Mary Felzkowski | ||
| Template:Party color cell | President Pro Tempore of the Senate | Patrick Testin | ||
| Template:Party color cell | Majority leader | Devin LeMahieu | ||
| Template:Party color cell | Assistant Majority Leader | Dan Feyen | ||
| Template:Party color cell | Majority Caucus Chair | Van Wanggaard | ||
| Template:Party color cell | Majority Caucus Vice Chair | Joan Ballweg | ||
| Template:Party color cell | Minority Leader | Dianne Hesselbein | ||
| Template:Party color cell | Assistant Minority Leader | Jeff Smith | ||
| Template:Party color cell | Minority Caucus Chair | Chris Larson | ||
| Template:Party color cell | Minority Caucus Vice Chair | Mark Spreitzer | ||
| Chief Clerk | Cyrus Anderson | |||
| Sergeant-at-Arms | Tom Engels | |||
MembersEdit
Notable past membersEdit
- C. Latham Sholes (1848–1850; 1856–1858), invented the QWERTY keyboard
- Angus Cameron (1863–1864; 1871–1872), former U.S. Senator from Wisconsin (1875–1885)
- Gaylord Nelson (1949–1958), former Governor of Wisconsin (1959–1963) and U.S. Senator from Wisconsin (1963–1981)
- Henry Maier (1951–1960), former Mayor of Milwaukee (1960–1988)
- James B. Brennan (1959–1962), former U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin (1962–1969) and Milwaukee City Attorney (1972–1984)
- William Bablitch (1972–1983), former Justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court (1983–2003)
- Tom Petri (1973–1979), former U.S. House Representative (1979–2015)
- Jim Sensenbrenner (1975–1979), former U.S. House Representative (1979–2021)
- Russ Feingold (1983–1993), former U.S. Senator from Wisconsin (1993–2011)
- John Norquist (1983–1988), former Mayor of Milwaukee (1988–2004)
- Tom Barrett (1989–1993), former U.S. House Representative (1993–2003) and former Mayor of Milwaukee (2004–2021)
- Gwen Moore (1993–2005), current U.S. House Representative (2005–present)
- Glenn Grothman (2005–2015), current U.S. House Representative (2015–present)
- Tom Tiffany (2012–2020), current U.S. House Representative (2020–present)
- Fred Risser (1962-2021), longest-serving state legislator in American history
- Scott Fitzgerald (1995–2021), current U.S. House Representative (2021–present)
List of senate presidents (since 1979)Edit
| # | President | Party | Start of service | End of service |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fred Risser | Democratic | May 1, 1979 | April 20, 1993 |
| 2 | Brian Rude | Republican | April 20, 1993 | July 9, 1996 |
| - | Fred Risser | Democratic | July 9, 1996 | April 21, 1998 |
| - | Brian Rude | Republican | April 21, 1998 | January 4, 1999 |
| - | Fred Risser | Democratic | January 4, 1999 | January 6, 2003 |
| 3 | Alan Lasee | Republican | January 6, 2003 | January 8, 2007 |
| - | Fred Risser | Democratic | January 8, 2007 | January 3, 2011 |
| 4 | Mike Ellis | Republican | January 3, 2011 | July 17, 2012 |
| - | Fred Risser | Democratic | July 17, 2012 | January 7, 2013 |
| - | Mike Ellis | Republican | January 7, 2013 | January 5, 2015 |
| 5 | Mary Lazich | Republican | January 5, 2015 | January 3, 2017 |
| 6 | Roger Roth | Republican | January 3, 2017 | January 4, 2021 |
| 7 | Chris Kapenga | Republican | January 4, 2021 | January 6, 2025 |
| 8 | Mary Felzkowski | Republican | January 6, 2025 | present |
Past composition of the SenateEdit
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See alsoEdit
ReferencesEdit
External linksEdit
- Wisconsin State Senate Template:Webarchive official government website
- State Senate of Wisconsin at Project Vote Smart
- Template:Ballotpedia
- Legislature Salary
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