About the Legislative Council

The Legislative Council was created in 1947. Initially, the Council consisted of five senators and seven assemblymen. The staff consisted of an Executive Secretary and two assistants. The Council was charged to conduct studies of matters of concern to the Legislature, either during or between sessions of the Legislature, and to report its recommendations to the next general or special session.

To conduct these studies, the Council was authorized to appoint subcommittees "consisting of members of the legislature and such citizens having special knowledge on a particular subject as the council may determine...". Members of the Council and its subcommittees were not compensated for their service beyond reimbursement for actual and necessary expenses.

Creation of the Council launched two important experiments in legislative governance: it provided a mechanism for the open and deliberative study of complex problems and the development of legislative solutions to those problems; and it involved private citizens in the legislative process.

In the 50-plus years since its creation, the Council has been renamed the Joint Legislative Council and expanded to 22 members, including the entire leadership of the Legislature. The Council’s charge is essentially unchanged and its role in the legislative process continues today as it originally did. The experiments in legislative study and citizen involvement have been great successes and are now institutions in Wisconsin government.

A major focus of the Legislative Council continues to be service to the special committees created by the Council, although the staff now provides numerous other services as well. Members of the staff support the work of standing and statutory committees, assisting the chairpersons and clerks with matters of policy and parliamentary procedure and providing the committees with substantive analyses of the matters before them. They also provide assistance to individual legislators, assisting in the research and development of legislative proposals, analysis and interpretation of pending legislation and response to issues raised by constituents, lobbyists and others. Other responsibilities include organizing and facilitating the biennial conference for new legislators and providing technical review of all proposed administrative rules.

The Council frequently hosts a series of seminars that address current issues through the use of national experts and University of Wisconsin staff. In addition, the staff have developed training seminars for new legislators, staff members and individuals involved in the administrative procedure process.

A series of publications are developed by the Council staff. The series are:

• Amendment Memos: brief explanation of changes to legislation as it progresses through the Legislature.
• Act Memos: brief summaries of bills that have passed the Legislature and become law.
• Legislator Briefing Book: a major compendium of background information and information in major issue areas. Each chapter is a “self-contained” discussion of a given subject.
• Information Memoranda: detailed discussion of a topic that is of major concern to the Legislature.
• Reports: detailed summaries of recommendations from special study committees.

The staff of the Wisconsin Legislative Council consist of approximately 30 employees. Individuals on staff have advanced degrees in Political Science, Environmental Science and Law. The staff is active in the National Conference of State Legislatures and the Council of State Governments. State law requires that all work by the staff for legislators is nonpartisan and confidential.