LEGISLATIVE BRANCH                   
                    241




                          1997-1998 SESSION SCHEDULE
       January  6, 1997 .....................................  1997  Inauguration
       January  14, 1997 ....................................  Floorperiod
       January  28-30, 1997..................................  Floorperiod
       February 12, 1997 ................................... Floorperiod
(Governor's budget message)
       February  25-26, 1997.................................  Floorperiod
       March 4-20, 1997  ...................................  Floorperiod
         April 24, 1997.................................... Bills sent to
governor
       May 13-29, 1997 .................................... Floorperiod
       June 10-26, 1997, or budget passage..................... Floorperiod
         August 14, 1997 .................................. Bills sent to
governor
       September 16-30, 1997 ...............................  Floorperiod
       November 4-6, 1997 ................................. Floorperiod
       November 18-20, 1997................................ Floorperiod
         December 18, 1997................................ Bills sent to
governor
       January 13-22, 1998..................................  Floorperiod
       February 3-12, 1998..................................  Floorperiod
       March 10-26, 1998................................... Floorperiod
          April 23, 1998....................................  Bills sent
to governor
       April 28-30, 1998....................................  Floorperiod
(Veto review)
       May 1, 1998 - January 4, 1999.......................... Interim, committee
work
          May 28, 1998  ....................................  Bills sent
to governor
       January 4, 1999 .....................................  1999 Inauguration

  Any floorperiod may be convened earlier or extended beyond its scheduled
ending date by majority action of the member-
ship or the organization committees of the 2 houses. Every calendar day in
1997 and 1998 that is not reserved for a floorper-
iod is designated a day for committee activity. The Committee on Senate Organization
may schedule sessions on committee
activity days for senate action on gubernatorial nominations, but the assembly
does not have to hold skeleton sessions during
these appointment reviews. The legislature may call itself into extraordinary
session on any committee activity day, and
the governor may call a special session either during a floorperiod or on
any of the intervening days.
Source: 1997 Senate Joint Resolution 1.
  Members of the legislature, the chief clerks and the sergeants at arms
are entitled to an allow-
ance not to exceed $75 per day for living expenses for each day on which
they attend a legislative
session in Madisorq if they certify by affidavit that they have established
temporary residence at
the state capital. Those who choose not to establish temporary residence
are entitled to half the
amount. All members are reimbursed for one weekly round trip from the capital
to their homes.
   Legislators receive regulated allowances for their office and mailing
expenses while attending
legislative sessions. Interim expense allowances are paid for postage and
clerical assistance ($25
for representatives and $75 for senators) for each month during which the
legislature is in session
3 days or less if authorized by the assembly speaker for representatives
and by the senate majority
leader for senators. They are reimbursed for expenses incurred while serving
as legislative mem-
bers of a state or interstate agency or when specifically authorized to attend
meetings of such
agencies.
   Legislative Sessions. The members of each new legislature usually convene
in the State Capi-
 tol at 2 p.m. on the first Monday in January of each odd-numbered year to
take the oath of office,
 select officers and organize for business. The initial meeting occurs on
January 3 if the first
 Monday falls on January 1 or 2.
   Because of an 1881 constitutional limitation that it could meet only once
in 2 years, the legisla-
 ture used to structure its meetings in the pattern of a continuous biennial
session with periodic
 recesses. It would meet in regular session from January through June of
the odd-numbered year
 and then recess after completing the major portion of its work. It then
reconvened from time to
 time in the remainder of the biennium, as needed. When each legislature
completed its work,
 it adjourned sine die, meaning it did not set a date to reconvene. At that
point, the 2-year session
 was over, and the legislature could not return unless called into special
session by the governor.
    In 1968, the state constitution was amended to permit the legislature
to determine its own meet-
 ing schedule for the biennium. Beginning with the 1971 Legislature, annual
sessions were for-
 mally initiated by law with the requirement that regular sessions bcgin
in January of each year.
 Early in each biennium, the Joint Committee on Legislative Organization
develops a work sched-
 ule for the 2-year period and submits it to the legislature in the form
of a joint resolution. The