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Wisconsin State Assembly
Wisconsin State Assembly
Wisconsin State Legislature
Type
Type	Lower house
Term limits	None
History
New session started	January 3, 2023
Leadership
Speaker	Robin Vos (R) ; since January 7, 2013
Speaker pro tempore	Kevin Petersen (R) ; since January 3, 2023
Majority Leader	Tyler August (R) ; since January 3, 2023
Minority Leader	Greta Neubauer (D) ; since January 10, 2022
Structure
Seats	99
Political groups	Majority Republican (54); Minority Democratic (45);
Length of term	2 years
Authority	Article IV, Wisconsin Constitution
Salary	$57,408/year + $155.70 per diem
Elections
Last election	November 5, 2024
Next election	November 3, 2026
Redistricting	Legislative control
Meeting place
	State Assembly Chamber; Wisconsin State Capitol; Madison, Wisconsin
Website
	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.

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.^[1] 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 (Charles Arndt, a Whig of Brown County) 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.^[2] 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.

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.^[3] 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 "[a] 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 (2018). We enforce that requirement by insisting that a plaintiff [have] 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.^[4]

Salary and benefits

Representatives elected or re-elected in the fall of 2016 receive an annual salary of $57,408.^[5]

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.^[6]

Current session

Composition

↓
45	54
Democratic	Republican

Affiliation	Party (Shading indicates majority caucus)			Vacant

	Democratic	Republican	Total
Begin of 101st legislature (2013)	39	59	98	1
End 101st (2014)	39	60	99	0

Begin 102nd (2015)	36	63	99	0
End 102nd (2016)	36	63	99	0

Begin 103rd (2017)	35	64	99	0
End 103rd (2018)	35	64	99	0

Begin 104th (2019)	36	63	99	0
End 104th (2020)	34	62	96	3

Begin 105th (2021)	38	60	98	1
End 105th (2022)	38	57	95	4

Begin 106th (2023)	35	64	99	0
Current composition	34	64	98	1
Latest voting share	34.7%	65.3%

Assembly officers

Position		Name	Party
	Speaker	Robin Vos	Republican
	Speaker Pro Tempore	Kevin D. Petersen	Republican
	Majority Leader	Tyler August	Republican
	Assistant Majority Leader	Jon Plumer	Republican
	Majority Caucus Chair	Rob Summerfield	Republican
	Minority Leader	Greta Neubauer	Democratic
	Assistant Minority Leader	Kalan Haywood	Democratic
	Minority Caucus Chair	Lisa Subeck	Democratic
Chief Clerk		Ted Blazel
Sergeant-at-Arms		Anne Tonnon Byers

Members

The corresponding state senate districts are shown as a senate district is formed by nesting three assembly districts.

Senate District	Assembly District	Representative	Party	Age	Residence	First Elected
01	01	Joel Kitchens	Rep	67	Sturgeon Bay	2014
	02	Shae Sortwell	Rep	39	Two Rivers	2018
	03	Ron Tusler	Rep	40	Harrison	2016
02	04	David Steffen	Rep	52	Green Bay	2014
	05	Joy Goeben	Rep	52	Hobart	2022
	06	Elijah Behnke	Rep	41	Oconto	2021
03	07	Karen Kirsch	Dem	56	Greenfield	2024
	08	Sylvia Ortiz-Velez	Dem		Milwaukee	2020
	09	Priscilla Prado	Dem	41	Milwaukee	2024
04	10	Darrin Madison	Dem	27	Milwaukee	2022
	11	Sequanna Taylor	Dem	45	Milwaukee	2024
	12	Russell Goodwin	Dem		Milwaukee	2024
05	13	Robyn Vining	Dem	48	Wauwatosa	2018
	14	Angelito Tenorio	Dem	28	West Allis	2024
	15	Adam Neylon	Rep	40	Pewaukee	2013
06	16	Kalan Haywood	Dem	25	Milwaukee	2018
	17	Supreme Moore Omokunde	Dem	45	Milwaukee	2020
	18	Margaret Arney	Dem	42	Wauwatosa	2024
07	19	Ryan Clancy	Dem	47	Milwaukee	2022
	20	Christine Sinicki	Dem	64	Milwaukee	1998
	21	Jessie Rodriguez	Rep	47	Oak Creek	2013
08	22	Paul Melotik	Rep	67	Grafton	2023
	23	Deb Andraca	Dem	54	Whitefish Bay	2020
	24	Dan Knodl	Rep	67	Germantown	2024
09	25	Paul Tittl	Rep	63	Manitowoc	2012
	26	Joe Sheehan	Dem	67	Sheboygan	2024
	27	Lindee Brill	Rep	43	Sheboygan Falls	2024
10	28	Robin Kreibich	Rep	65	Eau Claire	2024
	29	Treig Pronschinske	Rep	48	Mondovi	2016
	30	Shannon Zimmerman	Rep	52	River Falls	2016
11	31	Tyler August	Rep	41	Clinton	2010
	32	Amanda Nedweski	Rep	49	Pleasant Prairie	2022
	33	Robin Vos	Rep	56	Rochester	2004
12	34	Rob Swearingen	Rep	61	Rhinelander	2012
	35	Calvin Callahan	Rep	25	Tomahawk	2020
	36	Jeffrey Mursau	Rep	70	Crivitz	2004
13	37	Mark Born	Rep	48	Beaver Dam	2012
	38	William Penterman	Rep	28	Columbus	2021
	39	Alex Dallman	Rep	32	Green Lake	2020
14	40	Karen DeSanto	Dem	60	Baraboo	2024
	41	Tony Kurtz	Rep	58	Wonewoc	2018
	42	Maureen McCarville	Dem	66	DeForest	2024
15	43	Brienne Brown	Dem	51–52	Whitewater	2024
	44	Ann Roe	Dem	58–59	Janesville	2024
	45	Clinton Anderson	Dem	31	Beloit	2022
16	46	Joan Fitzgerald	Dem	59–60	Fort Atkinson	2024
	47	Randy Udell	Dem	63–64	Fitchburg	2024
	48	Andrew Hysell	Dem	53	Sun Prairie	2024
17	49	Travis Tranel	Rep	39	Cuba City	2010
	50	Jenna Jacobson	Dem	43	Oregon	2022
	51	Todd Novak	Rep	59	Dodgeville	2014
18	52	Lee Snodgrass	Dem	55	Appleton	2020
	53	Dean Kaufert	Rep	67	Neenah	2024
	54	Lori Palmeri	Dem	57	Oshkosh	2022
19	55	Nate Gustafson	Rep	29	Neenah	2022
	56	Dave Murphy	Rep	70	Greenville	2012
	57	Kevin David Petersen	Dem	60	Waupaca	2006
20	58	Rick Gundrum	Rep	59	Slinger	2018
	59	Robert Brooks	Rep	59	Saukville	2014
	60	Jerry L. O'Connor	Rep	71	Fond du Lac	2022
21	61	Bob Donovan	Rep	68	Greenfield	2022
	62	Angelina Cruz	Dem	45–46	Racine	2024
	63	Robert Wittke	Rep	67	Racine	2018
22	64	Tip McGuire	Dem	37	Kenosha	2019
	65	Ben DeSmidt	Dem		Kenosha	2012
	66	Greta Neubauer	Dem	33	Racine	2018
23	67	David Armstrong	Rep	63	Rice Lake	2020
	68	Rob Summerfield	Rep	44	Bloomer	2016
	69	Karen Hurd	Rep	52	Fall Creek	2022
24	70	Nancy VanderMeer	Rep	66	Tomah	2014
	71	Vinnie Miresse	Dem	47	Stevens Point	2024
	72	Scott Krug	Rep	49	Nekoosa	2010
25	73	Angela Stroud	Dem	43–44	Gingles	2024
	74	Chanz Green	Rep	33	Grandview	2022
	75	Duke Tucker	Rep	54	West Marshland	2024
26	76	Francesca Hong	Dem	36	Madison	2020
	77	Renuka Mayadev	Dem	50–51	Madison	2024
	78	Shelia Stubbs	Dem	53	Madison	2018
27	79	Lisa Subeck	Dem	53	Madison	2014
	80	Mike Bare	Dem	41	Verona	2022
	81	Alex Joers	Dem	32	Middleton	2022
28	82	Scott Allen	Rep	59	Waukesha	2014
	83	Dave Maxey	Rep	51	New Berlin	2022
	84	Chuck Wichgers	Rep	59	Muskego	2016
29	85	Patrick Snyder	Rep	68	Schofield	2016
	86	John Spiros	Rep	63	Marshfield	2012
	87	Brent Jacobson	Rep	40	Mosinee	2024
30	88	Ben Franklin	Rep	42	De Pere	2024
	89	Ryan Spaude	Dem	31	Ashwaubanon	2024
	90	Amaad Rivera-Wagner	Dem	43	Green Bay	2024
31	91	Jodi Emerson	Dem	51	Eau Claire	2018
	92	Clint Moses	Rep	48	Menomonie	2020
	93	Christian Phelps	Dem	31	Eau Claire	2024
32	94	Steve Doyle	Dem	66	Onalaska	2011
	95	Jill Billings	Dem	62	La Crosse	2011
	96	Tara Johnson	Dem	62–63	Shelby	2024
33	97	Cindi Duchow	Rep	65	Delafield	2015
	98	Jim Piwowarczyk	Rep	54–55	Erin	2024
	99	Barbara Dittrich	Rep	60	Oconomowoc	2018