99th Wisconsin Legislature

The Ninety-Ninth Wisconsin Legislature was convened on January 5, 2009. The session was scheduled to end on January 3, 2011, and the final adjournment for regular legislative activity occurred on May 26, 2010.^[1] During the course of the 99th Legislature, there were two special sessions and four extraordinary sessions called for various legislative purposes.

99th Wisconsin Legislature
← 98th 100th →
Wisconsin State Capitol
Overview
Legislative body	Wisconsin Legislature
Meeting place	Wisconsin State Capitol
Term	January 5, 2009 – January 3, 2011
Election	November 4, 2008
Senate
Members	33
Senate President	Fred A. Risser (D)
President pro tempore	Pat Kreitlow (D)
Party control	Democratic
Assembly
Members	99
Assembly Speaker	Michael J. Sheridan (D)
Speaker pro tempore	Tony Staskunas (D)
Party control	Democratic
Sessions
Regular January 5, 2009 – May 26, 2010 May 2009 Extraordinary May 12, 2009 – May 13, 2009 June 2009 Extraordinary June 9, 2009 – June 11, 2009 June 2009 Special June 24, 2009 – June 27, 2009 Dec. 2009 Extraordinary December 16, 2009 – December 16, 2009 Dec. 2009 Special December 16, 2009 – March 9, 2010 Dec. 2010 Extraordinary December 15, 2010 – December 16, 2010

Major events

• January 20, 2009: Barack Obama was inaugurated as the 44th President of the United States.
• February 17, 2009: The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 was signed into law by President Obama.
• March 6, 2009: The Dow Jones Industrial Average hit 6,443.27, its lowest level of the financial crisis of 2007–2008. It was 54% from its peak at 14,164 on October 9, 2007.
• May 12, 2009: The Wisconsin Senate called an extraordinary session to deal with Assembly Bill 255 – relating to eligibility for unemployment benefits and other matters relating to disbursement of funds from the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
• June 9, 2009: The Wisconsin Senate called an extraordinary session to deal with Senate Bill 232 – relating to payment of funds to state public schools.
• June 24, 2009: Wisconsin governor Jim Doyle called a Special session of the Legislature to act upon legislation relating to the hospital assessment, medical assistance and collecting federal revenue related to the assessment.^[2]
• December 16, 2009: The Wisconsin Senate called an extraordinary session to deal with Senate Bill 66 – relating to laws on driving under the influence of alcohol.^[3]
• December 16, 2009: Governor Doyle called a special session of the Legislature to act on Senate Bill 405 and Assembly Bill 534 – relating to rules governing the Milwaukee Public Schools.^[4]
• November 2, 2010: Scott Walker was elected 45th governor of Wisconsin.

Major legislation

• January 29, 2009: Act relating to payment of Wisconsin supplemental and extended unemployment insurance benefits in this state. 2009 Wisc. Act 1
• May 15, 2009: Act relating to eligibility for unemployment insurance benefits and payment of extended benefits; excluding recovery and reinvestment act moneys from the calculation of expenditure restraint payments; eligibility for participation in the programs of a community action agency; financial assistance under the Clean Water Fund Program and the Safe Drinking Water Loan Program; the confidentiality of pupil records provided to the Department of Public Instruction; financial assistance for criminal justice programs; authorizing political subdivisions to make residential energy efficiency improvement loans and impose special charges for the loans; definition of low-income household under energy and weatherization assistance programs; eligibility and notice changes for state continuation of coverage for health insurance; changes to enterprise zone jobs credits; state aid to school districts; providing an exemption from emergency rule procedures; granting rule-making authority; and making an appropriation. 2009 Wisc. Act 11
• June 11, 2009: Act relating to the payment of state school aid in June 2009. 2009 Wisc. Act 23
• December 22, 2009: Act relating to operating a vehicle while intoxicated, granting rule-making authority, making an appropriation, and providing a penalty. 2009 Wisc. Act 100 – lowering the legal blood-alcohol limit for operating a vehicle from 0.1 to 0.08, among other changes to law.
• May 18, 2010: Act relating to financial assistance related to bioenergy feedstocks, biorefineries, and conversion to biomass energy; the definition of the term agricultural use for the purpose of determining the assessed value of a parcel of land; requiring a strategic bioenergy feedstock assessment; creation of a bioenergy council; the agricultural and forestry diversification programs; biofuels training assessment; a study of regulatory burdens relating to biofuel production facilities; marketing orders and agreements for bioenergy feedstocks; exempting personal renewable fuel production and use from the motor vehicle fuel tax, the petroleum inspection fee, and business tax registration requirements; an income and franchise tax credit for installing or retrofitting pumps that mix motor vehicle fuels from separate storage tanks; offering gasoline that is not blended with ethanol to motor fuel dealers; state renewable motor vehicle fuels sales goals; use of petroleum-based transportation fuels by state vehicles; use of alternative fuels in flex fuel vehicles owned by the state; use of public alternative fuel refueling facilities; duties of the Office of Energy Independence; granting rule-making authority; requiring the exercise of rule-making authority; making appropriations; and providing penalties. 2009 Wisc. Act 401

Party summary

Senate

 

Senate Partisan composition

  Democratic: 18 seats

  Republican: 15 seats

Affiliation	Party (Shading indicates majority caucus)		Total
	Democratic	Republican		Vacant
End of previous legislature	18	15	33	0
Beginning of this legislature	18	15	33	0
Final voting share	54.55%	45.45%
Beginning of next session	14	19	33	0

Assembly

 

Assembly Partisan composition

  Democratic: 52 seats

  Independent: 1 seat

  Republican: 46 seats

Affiliation	Party (Shading indicates majority caucus)			Total
	Democratic	Ind.	Republican		Vacant
End of previous session	47	0	52	99	0
Beginning of this legislature	52	1	46	99	0
Final voting share	52.53%	1.01%	46.46%
Beginning of next session	38	1	60	99	0

Sessions

• Regular session: January 5, 2009 – May 26, 2010
• May 2009 Extraordinary session: May 12, 2009 – May 13, 2009
• June 2009 Extraordinary session: June 9, 2009 – June 11, 2009
• June 2009 Special session (JN9): June 24, 2009 – June 27, 2009
• December 2009 Extraordinary session: December 16, 2009
• December 2009 Special session (DE9): December 16, 2009 – March 9, 2010

Officers

Senate

• President of the Senate: Sen. Fred Risser
• President pro tempore: Sen. Pat Kreitlow
• Chief Clerk: Hon. Robert J. Marchant
• Sergeant at arms: Hon. Edward A. Blazel

Democratic leadership Majority leader: Sen. Russ Decker Assistant minority leader: Sen. Dave Hansen Caucus chairperson: Sen. John W. Lehman Caucus vice chairperson: Sen. Kathleen Vinehout Caucus sergeant at arms: Sen. Jim Holperin

Republican leadership Minority leader: Sen. Scott L. Fitzgerald Assistant minority leader: Sen. Glenn Grothman Caucus chairperson: Sen. Joe Leibham Caucus vice chairperson: Sen. Sheila Harsdorf Caucus sergeant at arms: None

Assembly

• Speaker of the Assembly: Rep. Michael J. Sheridan
• Speaker pro tempore: Rep. Tony Staskunas
• Chief clerk: Hon. Patrick E. Fuller
• Sergeant at arms: Hon. William Nagy

Democratic leadership Majority Leader: Rep. Tom Nelson Assistant majority leader: Rep. Donna J. Seidel Caucus chairperson: Rep. Peter W. Barca Caucus vice chairperson: Rep. Barbara Toles Caucus secretary: Rep. Ann Hraychuck Caucus sergeant at arms: Rep. Marlin Schneider

Republican leadership Minority Leader: Rep. Jeff Fitzgerald Assistant minority leader: Rep. Mark Gottlieb Caucus chairperson: Rep. Scott Suder Caucus vice chairperson: Rep. Joel Kleefisch Caucus secretary: Rep. Mary Williams Caucus sergeant at arms: Rep. Gary Tauchen^[5]

Members

Senate

Members of the Wisconsin Senate for the Ninety-ninth Wisconsin Legislature (33):

District	Home	Senator	Party
1	De Pere	Alan Lasee	Republican
2	Green Bay	Robert Cowles	Republican
3	Milwaukee	Tim Carpenter	Democratic
4	Milwaukee	Lena Taylor	Democratic
5	Wauwatosa	Jim Sullivan	Democratic
6	Milwaukee	Spencer Coggs	Democratic
7	South Milwaukee	Jeffrey Plale	Democratic
8	River Hills	Alberta Darling	Republican
9	Sheboygan	Joe Leibham	Republican
10	River Falls	Sheila Harsdorf	Republican
11	Elkhorn	Neal Kedzie	Republican
12	Conover	Jim Holperin	Democratic
13	Juneau	Scott L. Fitzgerald	Republican
14	Ripon	Luther Olsen	Republican
15	Beloit	Judy Robson	Democratic
16	Monona	Mark Miller	Democratic
17	Richland Center	Dale Schultz	Republican
18	Fond du Lac	Randy Hopper	Republican
19	Neenah	Michael G. Ellis	Republican
20	West Bend	Glenn Grothman	Republican
21	Racine	John W. Lehman	Democratic
22	Pleasant Prairie	Robert Wirch	Democratic
23	Chippewa Falls	Pat Kreitlow	Democratic
24	Stevens Point	Julie Lassa	Democratic
25	Poplar	Robert Jauch	Democratic
26	Madison	Fred Risser	Democratic
27	Waunakee	Jon Erpenbach	Democratic
28	New Berlin	Mary Lazich	Republican
29	Schofield	Russ Decker	Democratic
30	Green Bay	Dave Hansen	Democratic
31	Alma	Kathleen Vinehout	Democratic
32	La Crosse	Dan Kapanke	Republican
33	Brookfield	Theodore Kanavas	Republican

Assembly

Members of the Assembly for the Ninety-ninth Wisconsin Legislature (99):^[6]

District	Home	Assemblyperson	Party
1	Sister Bay	Garey Bies	Republican
2	Francis Creek	Ted Zigmunt	Democrat
3	Forest Junction	Alvin Ott	Republican
4	Green Bay	Phil Montgomery	Republican
5	Kaukauna	Tom Nelson	Democrat
6	Bonduel	Gary Tauchen	Republican
7	Milwaukee	Peggy Krusick	Democrat
8	Milwaukee	Pedro Colón	Democrat
9	Milwaukee	Josh Zepnick	Democrat
10	Milwaukee	Annette Polly Williams	Democrat
11	Milwaukee	Jason Fields	Democrat
12	Milwaukee	Frederick P. Kessler	Democrat
13	Milwaukee	David Cullen	Democrat
14	Wauwatosa	Leah Vukmir	Republican
15	West Allis	Tony Staskunas	Democrat
16	Milwaukee	Leon Young	Democrat
17	Milwaukee	Barbara Toles	Democrat
18	Milwaukee	Tamara Grigsby	Democrat
19	Milwaukee	Jon Richards	Democrat
20	Milwaukee	Christine Sinicki	Democrat
21	S. Milwaukee	Mark Honadel	Republican
22	Whitefish Bay	Sandy Pasch	Democrat
23	Mequon	Jim Ott	Republican
24	Germantown	Dan Knodl	Republican
25	Manitowoc	Bob Ziegelbauer	Democrat
26	Sheboygan	Terry Van Akkeren	Democrat
27	Elkhart Lake	Steve Kestell	Republican
28	Balsam Lake	Ann Hraychuck	Democrat
29	Baldwin	John Murtha	Republican
30	Hudson	Kitty Rhoades	Republican
31	Whitewater	Stephen Nass	Republican
32	Williams Bay	Thomas Lothian	Republican
33	Pewaukee	Scott Newcomer	Republican
34	Eagle River	Dan Meyer	Republican
35	Merrill	Donald Friske	Republican
36	Crivitz	Jeffrey Mursau	Republican
37	Fort Atkinson	Andy Jorgensen	Democrat
38	Oconomowoc	Joel Kleefisch	Republican
39	Horicon	Jeff Fitzgerald	Republican
40	Waupaca	Kevin David Petersen	Republican
41	Markesan	Joan Ballweg	Republican
42	Baraboo	Fred Clark	Democrat
43	Whitewater	Kim Hixson	Democrat
44	Janesville	Michael J. Sheridan	Democrat
45	Beloit	Chuck Benedict	Democrat
46	Sun Prairie	Gary Hebl	Democrat
47	Lodi	Keith Ripp	Republican
48	Madison	Joe Parisi	Democrat
49	Fennimore	Phil Garthwaite	Democrat
50	Reedsburg	Ed Brooks	Republican
51	Dodgeville	Steve Hilgenberg	Democrat
52	Fond du Lac	John Townsend	Republican
53	Oshkosh	Richard Spanbauer	Republican
54	Oshkosh	Gordon Hintz	Democrat
55	Neenah	Dean Kaufert	Republican
56	Appleton	Roger Roth	Republican
57	Appleton	Penny Bernard Schaber	Democrat
58	West Bend	Patricia Strachota	Republican
59	Cascade	Daniel LeMahieu	Republican
60	Port Washington	Mark Gottlieb	Republican
61	Racine	Robert L. Turner	Democrat
62	Racine	Cory Mason	Democrat
63	Caledonia	Robin Vos	Republican
64	Kenosha	Peter Barca	Democrat
65	Pleasant Prairie	John Steinbrink	Democrat
66	Burlington	Samantha Kerkman	Republican
67	Chippewa Falls	Jeffrey Wood	Independent
68	Eau Claire	Kristen Dexter	Democrat
69	Abbotsford	Scott Suder	Republican
70	Milladore	Amy Sue Vruwink	Democrat
71	Stevens Point	Louis Molepske	Democrat
72	Wisconsin Rapids	Marlin Schneider	Democrat
73	Superior	Nick Milroy	Democrat
74	Port Wing	Gary Sherman	Democrat
75	Rice Lake	Mary Hubler	Democrat
76	Madison	Terese Berceau	Democrat
77	Madison	Spencer Black	Democrat
78	Madison	Mark Pocan	Democrat
79	Verona	Sondy Pope-Roberts	Democrat
80	Oregon	Brett Davis	Republican
81	Madison	Kelda Roys	Democrat
82	Greendale	Jeff Stone	Republican
83	Waterford	Scott Gunderson	Republican
84	New Berlin	Mark Gundrum	Republican
85	Wausau	Donna Seidel	Democrat
86	Marathon	Jerry Petrowski	Republican
87	Medford	Mary Williams	Republican
88	Green Bay	James Soletski	Democrat
89	Marinette	John Nygren	Republican
90	Green Bay	Karl Van Roy	Republican
91	Trempealeau	Chris Danou	Democrat
92	Black River Falls	Mark Radcliffe	Democrat
93	Eau Claire	Jeff Smith	Democrat
94	West Salem	Michael Huebsch	Republican
95	La Crosse	Jennifer Shilling	Democrat
96	Westby	Lee Nerison	Republican
97	Waukesha	Bill Kramer	Republican
98	Pewaukee	Rich Zipperer	Republican
99	Hartford	Don Pridemore	Republican

Changes from the 98th Legislature

See also: Wisconsin state elections, 2008

Open seats

• In the 12th Senate District, Democrat Roger Breske was appointed Railroad Commissioner, leaving Democrat Jim Holperin to defeat Republican Tom Tiffany.^[7]
• In the 18th Senate District, Republican Carol Roessler was appointed Administrator of State and Local Finance, leaving Republican Randy Hopper to defeat Democrat Jessica King.^[8]
• In the 22nd Assembly District, Democrat Sheldon Wasserman ran for the Wisconsin State Senate, leaving fellow Democrat Sandy Pasch to defeat Republican Yash Wadhwa^[9]
• In the 24th Assembly District, Republican Suzanne Jeskewitz decided not to run for re-election, leaving Republican Dan Knodl to defeat Democrat Charlene Brady.^[10][11]
• In the 47th Assembly District, Republican Eugene Hahn declined to run for re-election, leaving Republican Keith Ripp to defeat Democrat Trish O'Neil in the contest for the open seat.^[12][13]
• In the 50th Assembly District, Republican Sheryl Albers retired, leaving Republican Ed Brooks to defeat Democrat Tom Crofton^[14]
• In the 53rd Assembly District, Republican Carol Owens retired, leaving Republican Richard Spanbauer to defeat Democrat Jeff Mann.^[15][16]
• In the 57th Assembly District, Republican Steve Wieckert retired,^[17] and Democrat Penny Bernard Schaber defeated Republican Jo Egelhoff in the general election^[18]
• In the 64th Assembly District, Democrat James Kreuser became County Executive for Kenosha County, leaving former Congressman and fellow Democrat Peter Barca to retake his former seat, running unopposed in the general election.^[16]
• In the 73rd Assembly District, Democrat Frank Boyle retired, leaving Democrat Nick Milroy to defeat the independent Jeff Monaghan.^[19]
• In the 81st Assembly District, Democrat David Travis retired, leaving Democrat Kelda Roys to win the seat after running unopposed in the general election.^[20]
• In the 91st Assembly District, Democrat Barbara Gronemus retired, leaving Democrat Chris Danou to defeat Republican Dave Hegenbarth.^[16][21]
• In the 92nd Assembly District, Republican Terry Musser retired, leaving Democrat Mark Radcliffe to defeat Dan Hellman^[21][22]

Incumbents defeated

• In the 2nd Assembly District, Republican Frank Lasee was defeated in the general election by Democrat Ted Zigmunt.^[18]
• In the 42nd Assembly District, Republican J.A. Hines lost his bid for re-election against Democrat Fred Clark^[12]
• In the 68th Assembly District, Republican Terry Moulton was defeated by Democrat Kristen Dexter.^[23]

Other

• In the 67th Assembly District, Jeffrey Wood successfully ran for re-election as an independent after dropping his affiliation with the Republican Party in 2008.^[12]

References

1. 2009 Senate Joint Resolution 1 (Wisconsin), January 5, 2009 http://www.legis.wisconsin.gov/2009/data/SJR-1.pdf
2. Vigue, Carla (June 23, 2009). . Office of the Governor of Wisconsin (Press release). Archived from the original on December 25, 2010. Retrieved August 2, 2020 – via Wayback Machine.
3. Marley, Patrick (December 16, 2009). "Legislature passes tougher DUI laws; Doyle to sign measure". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved August 3, 2020.
4. Markey, Patrick; Sandler, Larry; Richards, Erin (December 8, 2009). "Doyle calls special legislative session for MPS changes". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
5. 2009 Wisconsin Blue Book p. 254
6. Representatives to the Assembly for the 2009-10 Legislative Session July 16, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
7. Richard Moore, "In Senate race, both sides accuse each other of dirty deals" The Lakeland Times, November 4, 2010.
8. Dan Benson, "Republican Hopper wins Fox Valley Senate seat 2011-06-05 at the Wayback Machine", Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, November 4, 2008.
9. Larry Sandler "Pasch, Krusick and Vukmir win Assembly races" Milwaukee Journal Sentinel November 5, 2008.
10. Don Behm, "Washington County Board panel picks successor to Knodl" Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
11. Editorial:"Brady is a good fit" Milwaukee Journal Sentinel October 24, 2008.
12. Jacob Stein, "'Wave of change' pushes Democrats into control of state Assembly 2008-12-10 at the Wayback Machine" Wisconsin State Journal, November 5, 2008.
13. WISC-TV, "47th District Assembly Candidates Focus On Economy^{[permanent dead link]}"
14. Steve Rundio "Election officials expect big turnout" Tomah Journal, October 30, 2008.
15. "Primaries will trim field for Assembly 2012-02-25 at the Wayback Machine" Appleton Post-Crescent, August 31, 2008.
16. Wisconsin State Elections Board Canvass Summary, Fall General Election: November 4, 2008 May 22, 2013, at the Wayback Machine.
17. Jim Collar "Appleton's Steve Wieckert announces retirement from Assembly Archived 2012-09-07 at archive.today" Appleton Post-Crescent March 22, 2008.
18. "Democrats take control of state Legislature" Green Bay Press-Gazette November 6, 2008.
19. "Milroy Wins Archived 2012-09-09 at archive.today" KDLH-TV, November 4, 2008.
20. Jason Joyce, "Kelda Helen Roys wins 81st Assembly District, will replace 30-year incumbent Dave Travis", Isthmus September 9, 2008.
21. "Radcliffe tops Hellman in 92nd District" Jackson County Chronicle November 10, 2008.
22. Steven Walters, "Musser is 11th Assembly member to not seek re-election 2009-10-10 at the Wayback Machine" Milwaukee Journal Sentinel All Politics Blog, May 21, 2008.
23. J.R. Ross "Dems pull off sweep 2011-07-18 at the Wayback Machine" WisPolitics.com, November 5, 2008.

External links