The Legislative Branch The Wisconsin Assembly Currently made up of 99 assemblymen/women. Each assemblyperson serves a two year term Each person represents an assembly district. Must be a qualified elector of their district One Year Resident Over the age of 18 The Wisconsin Senate Currently made up of 33 members of senators Each Wisconsin senator serves a 4 year term Each senator represents a senate district Must be a qualified elector of their district. One Year Resident Over the age of 18

The State Assembly Who is Your Assembly Rep 49th District Travis Tranel (Rep.) 50th District Ed Brooks (Rep.) 51st District Howard Marklein (Rep.)

The State Assembly Who is Your Senator 17th Senate District Dale Schultz

Lawmaking The Wisconsin Legislature The State Militia Other Duties Any house may take up a bill submitted by any representative. Majority vote in both houses required to send to governor for approval Bill must be published before it is enforced All sessions are open to the public except in cases of state security The State Militia Can decide who makes up the militia Can makes laws organizing and disciplining the militia Other Duties Assembly impeaches Senate hears impeachment trial Amendments Approved by majority of both houses Published Next legislature must approve State referendum must approve the amendment.

The Executive Branch The Governor of Wisconsin Chooses a Lieutenant Governor to run with. Serves a 4 year term Must be a qualified elector in the state of Wisconsin. U.S. Citizen A qualified voter in the state of Wisconsin The Lieutenant Governor Runs on same ticket as governor Serves a 4 year term Must be qualified to serve as governor as he/she will replace the governor if they are unable to serve. Next in line would be the Secretary of State.

Enforcing Laws and Regulations The main duty of the governor of Wisconsin is to insure that any and all laws created by the legislature are carried out by the various departments in charge of implementing the laws.

The State of the State Address The governor is responsible for presenting the current state of Wisconsin and then bring up any issues and suggest any possible solutions to solving these problems.

Final Approval Any bill passed by the Wisconsin Legislature must be presented to the governor for final approval where he may veto the bill, veto portions of a bill, approve the bill, and/or approve parts of the bill. The Line-Item Veto Since the amending of the constitution in 1990, the line item veto cannot be used to create new words or create new sentences.

The State Militia The governor is the commander-in-chief of the state militia, which is the Wisconsin National Guard, and may call it up in times of emergency. The governor is the commander-in-chief of the state militia, which is the Wisconsin National Guard, and may call it up in times of emergency.

Convene Legislature The governor may call the legislature into special sessions in times of emergency. Other Emergencies The governor may convene the legislature anywhere in the state in case of an invasion or if contagious diseases make the capital unfit for meeting.

Law Enforcement The governor has the power to grant pardons, reprieves, and commute sentences, except in the case of treason and impeachment by submitting them to the legislature with his/her reasoning. Treason Governor can suspend the sentence until the next legislature when they may vote to pardon, commute, or reprieve the accused.

Governor runs on the same ticket as the Lt. Governor since 1967 The governor is elected in a direct election with the majority vote getter winning. Governor runs on the same ticket as the Lt. Governor since 1967 Majority of Assembly can impeach the governor Senate is the court for all impeachments and requires 2/3 vote of all senators to convict No elected representative can be recalled until a year after they were elected. 25% of voters in the previous election must sign a petition for recall Governor must compete in primary and election. Can only be recalled one time in a term.

Chain of Command In much the same way as the National government has a chain of command, the state government has a chain of command to insure that the governor’s duties are carried out in his/her absence. The governor is replaced by the Lieutenant Governor, and if there is a vacancy in the office of Lt. Gov., the Secretary of State acts as governor. Gov. Scott Walker Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch Sec. State Doug La Follete

Wisconsin Supreme Court The Wisconsin Supreme Court is at the top of the Wisconsin Court System and has appellate jurisdiction over all courts but may also have original jurisdiction over cases of their choosing. Elections and Qualifications Elected for 10 year terms Must be licensed to practice law Must be licensed for 5 years Must be a qualified elector of Wisconsin Must not hold any other public office Must not be over the age of 70 upon taking office. Current Events Justice David Prosser recently won reelection after a statewide recount.

Wisconsin Court System The Wisconsin Court System is made up of the Supreme Court, Appeals Court, Circuit Courts, and Municipal Courts. Court of Appeals 16 judges elected by qualified electors of the district for a 6 year term and live in the district A chief judge is appointed by the supreme court for 3 years who administers the district There are 4 districts with headquarters in; Madison Waukesha Wausau Milwaukee Circuit Courts 249 circuit court judges elected by qualified electors of the district for a 6 year term and live in the district A chief judge is appointed by the supreme court for 2 years who administers the district There are circuit court branches in each of the 72 counties with the following combined counties Buffalo/Pepin Florence/Forest Shawano/Menominee

Municipal Courts Municipal Courts may be created by any municipality or combined municipalities with the municipal judge chosen by the qualified electors of those municipalities. Municipal Courts deal with traffic, and ordinance violations and juvenile matters including curfew violations, underage drinking, drug offenses, and truancy issues. Richland Center Mayor Paul F. Corcoran