It’s getting that time again, it’s January of an odd numbered year, and both parties are gearing up for the 107th Legislative Session. Although the official start of the session is January 6, 2025, the planning, organizing and jockeying for position has already begun. The Republicans have retained both houses of the legislature. In the Assembly, it looks like Speaker Vos might be hard pressed to find the 50 votes needed to re-elect him as speaker. However, the speaker was nominated by the caucus for another term.
Although it will not be the purpose of the Wisconsin Capitol Report to opine on rumor or innuendo about the personal lives of lawmakers and staff, the election of the speaker and the leadership team is important enough to assess the situation and “read the room” if you will. The speaker (any speaker) is going to need 50 votes to be confirmed in early January. With 54 Republicans in the Assembly, Speaker Vos can only lose four votes. There’s potentially six to twelve republican members that could very well not vote for Vos.
Many observers believe that no matter who is elected the next speaker, the caucus needs to empower themselves with a “Legislator’s Bill of Rights” that would protect their ability to represent their constituents. Each and every legislator should have ample staff that is experienced enough to wade through some of the red tape at the agency level that legislative staff wade through on a daily basis on behalf of the people who the legislator represents.
Whether someone is a Democrat or Republican or other, they deserve to have their concerns addressed. A representative should only be removed from their committees for the most egregious reasons, not because you didn’t vote for the speaker, or adhere to leadership’s every whim. That is not what our forefathers envisioned. NOTE: Rep. Greta Neubauer will retain her position as the Assembly Minority Leader.
The Senate Leadership
Devin LeMahieu has once again been elected Majority leader however there is a change for Senate President. Conservative leaning Chris Kapenga has been replaced by the more moderate Mary Felzkowski. It is believed that Senator Kapenga is not planning on running for reelection in 2026. Felzkowski is a supporter of expanding abortion, and she supports the easing of marijuana laws. Senate Minority Leader Dianne Hesselbein has also been reelected. The Republicans hold an 18 to 15 majority, but it is feared by conservatives that the leadership will be relying on Democrat support to get their bills through. The Republicans relied on the Democrats to get the Wedding Barn bill passed last session. We of course will be following things closely.
The Budget
The Budget is first up – As many have been pointing out, the budget has exploded in the past three budgets, and we can’t help but to report that the Republicans are responsible for the increased spending.
The Capitol Report has already heard from some legislators that they are aware of the spending issues and are gearing up for a fight. It will be one of the main purposes of the Capitol Report to keep our citizens informed of any developments. For now, let’s go over the approximate timeline.
December 2024, the various agencies in Wisconsin, like the DNR and DOT have put together their budget requests and sent them to the governor for consideration. Those agency requests are generally available in December of this year. Altogether the agencies are asking for a 10.9% increase in funding. That would put the budget at $111 billion.
Mid-February – The Governor will release his budget minutes before his “Budget Address” to the Legislature in mid-February and will be available online shortly thereafter.
Late March – The Joint Finance Committee (JFC) will begin holding hearings and passing bits and pieces of the budget, agency by agency.
May – June – The budget, after JFC completes its overhaul of the governor’s budget, must pass both houses of the legislature.
June – July – The budget, last cycle, was enacted in early July of 2023.
Author Bill Savage has spent 18 years at the Wisconsin State Capitol as Chief of Staff to State Representative(s) Don Pridemore and Janel Brandtjen.
