69th Wisconsin Legislature

The Sixty-Ninth Wisconsin Legislature convened from to in regular session.
This session saw the first legislative terms of Gaylord Nelson, Patrick Lucey, Ruth Bachhuber Doyle, and Robert T. Huber, all of whom would—over the course of the subsequent two decades—play important roles in the transition of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin from a permanent minority party to competitive status with the state Republican Party, by winning over many former Wisconsin Progressive Party voters.
Senators representing even-numbered districts were newly elected for this session and were serving the first two years of a four-year term. Assembly members were elected to a two-year term. Assembly members and even-numbered senators were elected in the general election of November 2, 1948. Senators representing odd-numbered districts were serving the third and fourth year of a four-year term, having been elected in the general election of November 5, 1946.
The governor of Wisconsin during this entire term was Republican Oscar Rennebohm, of Dane County, serving his first full two-year term, having won election in the 1948 Wisconsin gubernatorial election. He had previously been elected lieutenant governor in 1946, and ascended to the gubernatorial office following the death of governor Walter Samuel Goodland in March 1947.

Major events

January 3, 1949: Second inauguration of Oscar Rennebohm as Governor of Wisconsin.
January 20, 1949: Second inauguration of Harry S. Truman as President of the United States.
April 4, 1949: The North Atlantic Treaty was signed by representatives of twelve countries, including the United States, establishing the NATO defensive alliance.
April 5, 1949: 1949 Wisconsin Spring election:
* Edward J. Gehl was elected to the Wisconsin Supreme Court.
* Wisconsin voters ratified an amendment to the state constitution to allow the state to take on debt to pay for veterans' housing.
* Wisconsin voters rejected an amendment to the state constitution to repeal the prohibition on taxing federal lands.
June 19, 1949: Wisconsin Supreme Court justice D. Wickhem died in office.
August 29, 1949: The Soviet Union held their first succerssful atomic bomb test.
July 14, 1949: Wisconsin Governor Oscar Rennebohm appointed Timothy Brown to the Wisconsin Supreme Court, to succeed the deceased justice John D. Wickhem.
October 1, 1949: Mao Zedong proclaimed the establishment of the People's Republic of China.
December 7, 1949: The government of the Republic of China retreated to the island of Taiwan and declared Taipei to be their new capital.
June 25, 1950:
* Forces of the Korean People's Army began an invasion of the Republic of Korea, initiating the Korean War.
* The United Nations Security Council unanimously adopted United Nations Security Council Resolution 82, condemning North Korea's invasion of South Korea.
June 27, 1950: U.S. president Harry Truman ordered U.S. forces to the defense of the Republic of Korea.
October 19, 1950: Chinese forces joined the Korean War, supporting North Korea.
November 7, 1950: 1950 United States general election:
* Walter J. Kohler Jr. elected Governor of Wisconsin.
* Alexander Wiley re-elected United States senator from Wisconsin.

Major legislation

August 11, 1949: An Act... relating to discontinuing the Wisconsin veterans' authority and transferring its functions to the department of veterans' affairs, a veterans' housing trust fund, veterans' housing loans, incentive grants for veterans' housing and making appropriations, . Utilized the recently ratified amendment to the state constitution to create new veterans programs.
1949 Joint Resolution 1: Second legislative passage of a proposed amendment to the state constitution to enable the state to take on debt to pay for veterans' housing. This amendment was ratified by voters at the April 1949 election.
1949 Joint Resolution 2: Second legislative passage of a proposed amendment to the state constitution to repeal a portion of the constitution which had prohibited taxing land owned by the federal government. This amendment was rejected by voters at the April 1949 election. But the same amendment was later ratified in 1951.

Sessions

Regular session: January 12, 1949September 13, 1949

Leaders

Senate leadership

President of the Senate: George M. Smith
President pro tempore: Frank E. Panzer
Majority leader: Warren P. Knowles

Assembly leadership

Members

Members of the Senate

Members of the Senate for the Sixty-Ninth Wisconsin Legislature:

Members of the Assembly

Members of the Assembly for the Sixty-Ninth Wisconsin Legislature:

Committees

Senate committees

Senate Standing Committee on Agriculture and ConservationM. Olson, chair
Senate Standing Committee on CommitteesJ. Miller, chair
Senate Standing Committee on Contingent ExpendituresB. Gettelman, chair
Senate Standing Committee on Education and Public WelfareR. P. Robinson, chair
Senate Standing Committee on HighwaysJ. Miller, chair
Senate Standing Committee on the JudiciaryG. W. Buchen, chair
Senate Standing Committee on Labor and ManagementG. A. Bubolz, chair
Senate Standing Committee on Legislative ProcedureF. E. Panzer, chair
Senate Standing Committee on State and Local GovernmentR. Schlabach, chair
Senate Standing Committee on Veterans AffairsM. Laird, chair

Assembly committees

Assembly Standing Committee on AgricultureO. R. Rice, chair
Assembly Standing Committee on Commerce and ManufacturingE. A. Hinz, chair
Assembly Standing Committee on ConservationR. S. Travis, chair
Assembly Standing Committee on Contingent ExpendituresB. Tremain, chair
Assembly Standing Committee on EducationW. W. Clark, chair
Assembly Standing Committee on ElectionsH. W. Timmer, chair
Assembly Standing Committee on Engrossed BillsW. M. Rohan, chair
Assembly Standing Committee on Enrolled BillsT. S. Jones, chair
Assembly Standing Committee on Excise and FeesH. R. Abraham, chair
Assembly Standing Committee on HighwaysH. A. Harper, chair
Assembly Standing Committee on Insurance and BankingF. Pfennig, chair
Assembly Standing Committee on the JudiciaryV. W. Thomson, chair
Assembly Standing Committee on LaborE. L. Genzmer, chair
Assembly Standing Committee on MunicipalitiesP. A. Luedtke, chair
Assembly Standing Committee on PrintingA. F. Betts, chair
Assembly Standing Committee on Public WelfareE. W. Hanson, chair
Assembly Standing Committee on RevisionE. W. Hanson, chair
Assembly Standing Committee on RulesJ. Spearbraker, chair
Assembly Standing Committee on State AffairsB. J. Gehrmann, chair
Assembly Standing Committee on TaxationM. F. Burmaster, chair
Assembly Standing Committee on Third ReadingC. E. Nelson, chair
Assembly Standing Committee on TransportationR. Bice, chair
Assembly Standing Committee on Veterans and Military AffairsM. Catlin, chair

Joint committees

Joint Standing Committee on FinanceF. B. Porter & A. R. Ludvigsen, co-chairs
Joint Standing Committee on Revisions, Repeals, and Uniform LawsA. Busby & C. Finch, co-chairs
Joint Legislative CouncilM. Laird, chair