Wisconsin Legislature Joint Committee on Finance
The Joint Committee on Finance or Joint Finance Committee is a powerful joint committee of the Wisconsin Legislature, responsible for overseeing all legislation dealing with state income or spending in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It also controls final approval of many state payments and assessments, even after legislation has become law. Because of its prominent role in state finances, the committee is one of the most coveted assignments for Wisconsin legislators, and its members are heavily courted by interest groups and lobbyists.
Background and history
The predecessor to the Joint Committee on Finance, the Joint Committee on Claims, was almost as old as the state of Wisconsin, being established by, enacted during the 10th Wisconsin Legislature. The committee on claims was empowered to consider "all bills or accounts requiring the appropriation of money by the Legislature."The Joint Committee on Finance was a product of the progressive era of Wisconsin politics. The impetus for the new organization was the perception that state finances had become a sprawling mess of thousands of different appropriations scattered through dozens of different pieces of legislation and overseen by multiple different committees. This sprawl made it difficult for the Legislature to understand or enforce specific revenue targets for any given institution.
At the start of the 50th Wisconsin Legislature, in January 1911, was introduced, proposing the expansion of the eight-member Joint Committee on Claims into a 14-member Joint Committee on Finance. The law passed without opposition and was signed by Governor Francis E. McGovern on March 2, 1911, as. The new joint committee had vastly expanded power; all bills containing appropriations, providing for revenue, or relating to taxation would have to receive the committee's approval. The expansive power of the committee, overseeing both expenditure and revenue, remains unique among U.S. state governments.
The committee began to organize in February 1911, and had their first meeting on February 28, 1911, in room 203-North of the Wisconsin State Capitol. Even before their first meeting, the Legislature passed, which authorized the Joint Finance Committee to employ experts in accounting and statistics in the formulation of public financial statements. was replicated in each successive term, with legislation specifically authorizing the committee to hire a clerk and necessary expert staff.
Current membership
| Majority | Minority |
|