WISCONSIN BLUE BOOK 1987-1988


  All representatives to the Assembly are elected biennially in the November
general election.
From 1862 to 1971 the Assembly had 100 members. Our Wisconsin Constitution,
however,
requires Senate districts to consist of whole Assembly districts, and the
equal protection guaran-
tee of the U.S. Constitution requires districts to be equal in their number
of inhabitants. Begin-
ning with the election in 1972, the 99 members of the Assembly have been
elected from Assembly
districts grouped, 3 each, into the 33 Senate districts.
  Members of the Wisconsin Legislature are elected on a partisan basis. All
elections to fill
legislative vacancies are for the remainder of the unexpired term. Midterm
vacancies may be
filled only through special elections called by the governor. Beginning with
the first general elec-
tions after redistricting, Senate midterm vacancies are filled from the new
districts.


   The life of a legislator includes consideration of bills on the chamber
floor, attending committee
meetings, and responding to constituent correspondence. Here Representative
John D. Medinger
(Assembly assistant majority leader) is reviewing letters from constituents
(photo courtesy of Assembly
Democratic Caucus).


   Under the campaign finance reporting law enacted by the 1973 Legislature,
candidates for the
legislature as well as for other public offices are required to make full,
detailed disclosure of
campaign contributions and expenditures to the Elections Board, created by
the same law, and
are limited in the amounts of such contributions received and expenditures
made. 1977 law
authorized legislative candidates, as well as candidates for statewide executive
and judicial office,
to receive money from a state campaign fund (based on revenues from a $1
check-off of state
income taxes) provided they accept specific spending and contribution limits,
receive a certain
number of votes in the primary, and raise a specified initial amount of private
contributions.
   Like other public officials, under the code of ethics provisions of Sections
19.41 to 19.59 of the
Wisconsin Statutes, legislators and candidates must file a financial statement
of their economic
interests with the state Ethics Board.
  Political Parties In The Legislative Process. Partisan political organization
is an integral part
of the Wisconsin legislative process. Over the long pull, most Wisconsin
legislators have been
members of either the Democratic or the Republican Party; since 1949 all
legislators have been
affiliated with one of these 2 political parties. The strongest representation
of other parties was


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