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. The Assembly is controlled by the Republican Party, as it has been for 28 of the past 30 years.
Members of the Assembly are elected to two-year terms during the fall elections. In the event of a vacancy in an Assembly seat between elections, a special election may be held to fill the position.
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. 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

The United States first organized Wisconsin in 1787 under the Northwest Ordinance after Great Britain yielded the land to them in the Treaty of Paris. It became the Wisconsin Territory in 1836. The then-territorial assembly, after elections, was seated in Burlington for three sessions before they relocated to the permanent capital, Madison.
During the period of territorial assembly, the assembled members helped to set up the court system, established the borders and number of counties, and regularized the spelling of Wisconsin. In 1842, an assemblyman was shot dead by another assemblyman, James Vineyard, a Democrat of Grant County, over an appointment for Grant County sheriff.
Wisconsin became a U.S. state on May 29, 1848, and special elections were held to fill the first session of the State Assembly; at the time, the body consisted of 66 members. The Assembly was expanded to 82 seats in 1852, and then to 97 seats in 1856, then to 100 seats in 1861, which is the maximum allowed in the Constitution of Wisconsin. The membership remained at 100 seats until the 1971 redistricting act, which decreased membership to 99 in order to comply with federal equal representation requirements within the limits of the Wisconsin Constitution. The current number of 99 seats is set in order to maintain a 3:1 ratio of Assembly to Senate seats.
In the 2010s, the Assembly was heavily gerrymandered, with a 53–45% Democratic majority in the popular vote in the 2018 election translating into a 63–36 Republican majority in the Assembly. According to the Oshkosh Northwestern, many experts recognized Wisconsin as the most gerrymandered state in the United States, a claim rated "Mostly True" by Politifact. After the Republican redistricting in 2021, the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism reported the efficiency gap had further increased to 16.6% in favor of Republicans.
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. 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 " 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. We enforce that requirement by insisting that a plaintiff Article III standing..." Justice Elena Kagan filed a concurring opinion, in which Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, and Sonia Sotomayor joined. Justice Clarence Thomas filed an opinion concurring in part and concurring in the judgment, in which Justice Neil Gorsuch joined.
On December 22, 2023, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled in Clarke v. Wisconsin Elections Commission that the gerrymandered districts were unconstitutional and must be redrawn before the 2024 legislative elections.

Salary and benefits

Representatives elected or re-elected in the fall of 2016 receive an annual salary of $57,408.
In addition to their salaries, representatives are allowed to claim a per diem for travel expenses. The maximum rate is set by the 2001 Wisconsin Act 16 to 90% of the U.S. General Services Administration rate, but the houses are permitted to establish additional criteria for determining per diem. The State Assembly per diem is set to $155.70 per overnight stay and $77.85 for day visits. A maximum of 153 days may be claimed for per diem in 2023, and 80 days may be claimed in 2024. 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.

Current session

Composition

Assembly officers

Members

The corresponding state senate districts are shown as a senate district is formed by nesting three assembly districts.
Senate
District		Assembly
District		RepresentativePartyAgeResidenceFirst elected
0101RepSturgeon Bay2014
0102RepTwo Rivers2018
0103RepHarrison2016
0204RepHoward2014
0205RepHobart2022
0206RepChase2021
0307DemGreenfield2024
0308DemMilwaukee2020
0309DemMilwaukee2024
0410DemMilwaukee2022
0411DemMilwaukee2024
0412DemMilwaukee2024
0513DemWauwatosa2018
0514DemWest Allis2024
0515RepPewaukee2013
0616DemMilwaukee2018
0617DemMilwaukee2020
0618DemWauwatosa2024
0719DemMilwaukee2022
0720DemMilwaukee1998
0721RepOak Creek2013
0822RepGrafton2023
0823DemWhitefish Bay2020
0824RepGermantown2008
0925RepManitowoc2012
0926DemSheboygan2024
0927RepSheboygan Falls2024
1028RepNew Richmond1992
1029RepMondovi2016
1030RepRiver Falls2016
1131RepWalworth2010
1132RepPleasant Prairie2022
1133RepRochester2004
1234RepRhinelander2012
1235RepTomahawk2020
1236RepCrivitz2004
1337RepBeaver Dam2012
1338RepHutisford2021
1339RepMarkesan2020
1440DemBaraboo2024
1441RepWonewoc2018
1442DemDeForest2024
1543DemWhitewater2024
1544DemJanesville2024
1545DemBeloit2022
1646DemFort Atkinson2024
1647DemFitchburg2024
1648DemSun Prairie2024
1749RepCuba City2010
1750DemOregon2022
1751RepDodgeville2014
1852DemAppleton2020
1853RepNeenah1990
1854DemOshkosh2022
1955RepFox Crossing2022
1956RepGreenville2012
1957RepWaupaca2006
2058RepSlinger2018
2059RepSaukville2014
2060RepFond du Lac2022
2161RepGreenfield2022
2162DemRacine2024
2163RepCaledonia2018
2264DemKenosha2019
2265DemKenosha2024
2266DemRacine2018
2367RepRice Lake2020
2368RepBloomer2016
2369RepWithee2022
2470RepTomah2014
2471DemStevens Point2024
2472RepRome2010
2573DemAshland2024
2574RepGrandview2022
2575RepGrantsburg2024
2676DemMadison2020
2677DemMadison2024
2678DemMadison2018
2779DemMadison2014
2780DemVerona2022
2781DemMiddleton2022
2882RepWaukesha2014
2883RepNew Berlin2022
2884RepMuskego2016
2985RepWeston2016
2986RepMarshfield2012
2987RepMosinee2024
3088RepDe Pere2024
3089DemAshwaubanon2024
3090DemGreen Bay2024
3191DemEau Claire2018
3192RepMenomonie2020
3193DemEau Claire2024
3294DemOnalaska2011
3295DemLa Crosse2011
3296DemShelby2024
3397RepDelafield2015
3398RepHubertus2024
3399RepOconomowoc2018