Wisconsin State Senate

Wisconsin State Senate
Wisconsin State Senate
	Wisconsin State Legislature
Type
Type	Upper house
Term limits	None
History
New session started	January 3, 2017
Leadership
President of the Senate	Roger Roth (R) ; Since January 3, 2017
President pro tempore	Howard Marklein (R) ; Since January 3, 2017
Majority Leader	Scott L. Fitzgerald (R) ; Since January 8, 2013
Minority Leader	Jennifer Shilling (D) ; Since January 5, 2015
Structure
Seats	33
Political groups	Majority Republican (18); Minority Democratic (15);
Length of term	4 years
Authority	Article IV, Wisconsin Constitution
Salary	$50,950/year + $153 per diem
Elections
Last election	November 8, 2016; (16 seats)
Next election	November 6, 2018 (17 seats)
Meeting place
	State Senate Chamber; Wisconsin State Capitol; Madison, Wisconsin
Website
	Wisconsin State Senate

The Wisconsin Senate, the powers of which are modeled after those of the U.S. Senate, is the upper house of the Wisconsin State Legislature, smaller than the Wisconsin State Assembly. Together, they constitute the legislative branch of the state of Wisconsin.

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 (as part of the system of checks and balances) 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.

Salary and benefits

The salary for legislators serving in the 2017 Wisconsin Legislature - $50,950 - is unchanged from the previous session. The salary for legislators serving in the 2015 session was increased by 2 percent from the $49,943 rate that had been in effect for the previous three bienniums. Before that increase, the most recent increase was an increase of 5 per-cent from the 2007 session to the 2009 session. The Speaker of the Assembly receives an additional stipend, which is currently $25 per month.^[1]

In addition to their salaries, senators outside Dane County may receive a per diem up to $88 to cover living expenses while they are in Dane County on state business. Members of the Madison delegation may receive a per diem up to $44 to cover expenses. Each senator 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 senator is allotted $66,008 to cover general office expenses, printing, postage and district mailings.

2016 general election

Podium in the Senate

Following the 2016 elections, the Wisconsin State Senate maintained a Republican majority in January 2017 for several reasons. Democrat Julie Lassa lost her re-election to Patrick Testin. Following the retirement and death of Republican Senator Rick Gudex, Republican Dan Feyen defeated Democrat Mark Harris. The Senate currently has 18 Republicans and 15 Democrats.

Current session

Composition


18	15
Republican	Democratic

Affiliation	Party (Shading indicates majority caucus)		Total

	Republican	Democratic		Vacant
Begin 100th Legislature (2011)	19	14	33	0
End 100th (2012)	16	17	33	0

Begin 101st (2013)	18	15	33	0
End 101st (2014)	17	15	32	1

Begin 102nd (2015)	18	14	32	1
End 102nd (2016)	18	14	32	1

Begin 103rd (2017)	20	13	33	0
October 10, 2017^[2]	19		32	1
December 29, 2017^[3]	18		31	2
January 16, 2018^[4]		14	32	1
June 12, 2018^[5]		15	33	0
Latest voting share	7001550000000000000♠55%	7001450000000000000♠45%

Senate officers

Position		Name
	President of the Senate	Roger Roth
	President Pro Tempore of the Senate	Howard Marklein
	Majority leader	Scott Fitzgerald
	Assistant Majority Leader	Leah Vukmir
	Majority Caucus Chair	Van Wanggaard
	Majority Caucus Vice Chair	Patrick Testin
	Minority Leader	Jennifer Shilling
	Assistant Minority Leader	Janet Bewley
	Minority Caucus Chair	Mark Miller
	Minority Caucus Vice Chair	Janis Ringhand
Chief Clerk		Jeffrey Renk

Members

Senator	District	Party	Residence	Current age	First elected	Next election
Caleb Frostman	01	Dem	Sturgeon Bay	33	2018	2018
Robert Cowles	02	Rep	Green Bay	68	1987	2020
Tim Carpenter	03	Dem	Milwaukee	58	2002	2018
Lena Taylor	04	Dem	Milwaukee	52	2004	2020
Leah Vukmir	05	Rep	Wauwatosa	60	2010	2018
La Tonya Johnson	06	Dem	Milwaukee	46	2016	2020
Chris Larson	07	Dem	Milwaukee	37	2010	2018
Alberta Darling	08	Rep	River Hills	74	1992	2020
Devin LeMahieu	09	Rep	Sheboygan	46	2014	2018
Patty Schachtner	10	Dem	Somerset	57	2018	2020
Stephen Nass	11	Rep	Whitewater	66	2014	2018
Tom Tiffany	12	Rep	Hazelhurst	60	2012	2020
Scott Fitzgerald	13	Rep	Juneau	54	1994	2018
Luther Olsen	14	Rep	Ripon	67	2004	2020
Janis Ringhand	15	Dem	Evansville	68	2014	2018
Mark F. Miller	16	Dem	Monona	75	2004	2020
Howard Marklein	17	Rep	Spring Green	64	2014	2018
Dan Feyen	18	Rep	Fond du Lac	50	2016	2020
Roger Roth	19	Rep	Appleton	40	2014	2018
Duey Stroebel	20	Rep	Saukville	59	2015	2020
Van H. Wanggaard	21	Rep	Racine	66	2014	2018
Robert Wirch	22	Dem	Kenosha	74	1996	2020
Terry Moulton	23	Rep	Chippewa Falls	72	2010	2018
Patrick Testin	24	Rep	Stevens Point	30	2016	2020
Janet Bewley	25	Dem	Ashland	66	2014	2018
Fred Risser	26	Dem	Madison	91	1962	2020
Jon Erpenbach	27	Dem	Middleton	57	1998	2018
David Craig	28	Rep	Vernon	39	2016	2020
Jerry Petrowski	29	Rep	Marathon	68	2012	2018
Dave Hansen	30	Dem	Green Bay	70	2000	2020
Kathleen Vinehout	31	Dem	Alma	60	2006	2018
Jennifer Shilling	32	Dem	La Crosse	49	2011	2020
Chris Kapenga	33	Rep	Delafield	46	2015	2018

Past notable members

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), current U.S. House Representative (1979–present)
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 current Mayor of Milwaukee (2004–present)
Gwen Moore (1993–2005), current U.S. House Representative (2005–present)
Glenn Grothman (2005–2015), current U.S. House Representative (2015–present)

Past composition of the Senate

References

↑ Salaries of elected officials effective January 2017 LRB REPORTS FEBRUARY 2017, VOL. 1, NO. 2
↑ Sen. Sheila Harsdorf (R-10) resigns to take appointment as head of state Department of Agriculture
↑ Sen. Frank Lasee (R-1) resigns to take a job with Gov. Scott Walker's administration
↑ Democrat Patty Schachtner was elected to District 10.
↑ Democrat Caleb Frostman was elected to District 1

External links

Wisconsin State Senate official government website
State Senate of Wisconsin at Project Vote Smart
Wisconsin State Senate at Ballotpedia
Legislature Salary

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.

[1] Salaries of elected officials effective January 2017 LRB REPORTS FEBRUARY 2017, VOL. 1, NO. 2

[2] Sen. Sheila Harsdorf (R-10) resigns to take appointment as head of state Department of Agriculture

[3] Sen. Frank Lasee (R-1) resigns to take a job with Gov. Scott Walker's administration

[4] Democrat Patty Schachtner was elected to District 10.

[5] Democrat Caleb Frostman was elected to District 1

Members of the Wisconsin State Senate
102nd Wisconsin Legislature (2015–2017) President of the Senate: Roger Roth (R) President pro tempore: Howard Marklein (R) Majority leader: Scott L. Fitzgerald (R) Minority leader: Jennifer Shilling (D)
Caleb Frostman (D) Robert Cowles (R) Tim Carpenter (D) Lena Taylor (D) Leah Vukmir (R) La Tonya Johnson (D) Chris Larson (D) Alberta Darling (R) Devin LeMahieu (R) Patty Schachtner (D) Stephen Nass (R) Tom Tiffany (R) Scott L. Fitzgerald (R) Luther Olsen (R) Janis Ringhand (D) Mark F. Miller (D) Howard Marklein (R) Dan Feyen (R) Roger Roth (R) Duey Stroebel (R) Van Wanggaard (R) Robert Wirch (D) Terry Moulton (R) Patrick Testin (R) Robert Jauch (D) Fred Risser (D) Jon Erpenbach (D) David Craig (R) Jerry Petrowski (R) Dave Hansen (D) Kathleen Vinehout (D) Jennifer Shilling (D) Chris Kapenga (R)
Republican (18) Democratic (15) Wisconsin Legislature Wisconsin State Assembly Wisconsin State Senate

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