2025-2026 Legislative Bulletin

January 6th, 2025

Beginning of a New Legislative Session

This afternoon, the state Senate and the Assembly kicked off the 2025-2026 Legislative Session with their inauguration ceremonies. These ceremonies seated members who were elected in November, which includes the entire 99-member Assembly, which serves two-year terms, and 16 members of the 33-member Senate, which serves staggered four-year terms. 

The 2025-2026 Legislative Session is different in many ways than the beginning of sessions’ past as near record numbers of new legislators are being seated. This includes many new legislators with previous experience in local government. With the new session commencing, legislative proposals may now be introduced, hearings may be held, and bills may be considered on the floors of both chambers. 

The start of the new legislative session means new League Legislative Bulletins, our weekly Government Affairs e-newsletter with details on state legislative and agency developments relevant to municipal governments across the state. This session, we’re announcing a new partnership with The Wheeler Report, a nonpartisan daily subscription news service that covers state government. 

On alternating Mondays, subscribers to our Legislative Bulletin newsletter will receive content from the League’s Government Affairs team, followed the next Monday by content curated by The Wheeler Report. This partnership will ensure that a broader range of topics is delivered to subscribers, making doubly certain that you stay the most up to date on what’s happening in the state’s capital. 

Committee Assignments Finalized

The start of the 2025-2026 Legislative Session also means new committee assignments. While many committees have different chairs and all committees have different compositions with new members, the chairs of the two local government committees are unchanged from last session. Senator Cory Tomczyk of Mosinee will chair the Senate Committee on Transportation and Local Government, and Representative Todd Novak of Dodgeville will chair the Assembly Committee on Local Government. The Co-Chairs of the Joint Committee on Finance will also be returning with Senator Marklein of Spring Green and Representative Born of Beaver Dam heading up the legislature’s powerful budget writing committee. 

This document provides a look at the full composition of the local government committees and other committees relevant to Wisconsin’s municipalities.  To see a full listing of all committees, the Legislature’s website has been updated with the Senate committees, Assembly committees, and joint committees.

Welcome your Legislators to a New Session

With around one-fourth of the Legislature new and as returning legislators may be representing new communities due to the new district maps, municipalities should consider reaching out to the legislators for their community to introduce yourself, welcome them to the new legislative session, and offer yourself as a resource for questions they may have about constituent issues or legislative proposals. Building these relationships early is important to help ensure your shared constituency is represented properly in the State Capitol!

To find the legislators for your community, visit the Find My Legislator tool on the Legislature's website. While most municipalities will only have one Senator and one Representative, 34 cities and villages have more than two legislators representing their community, so please pay attention to the district lines in the GIS tool to see if legislative district lines split your municipal borders.

Governor Evers Appoints New DNR Secretary

Governor Evers recently announced his pick to fill the vacancy at the head of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR). Dr. Karen Hyun will take over as Secretary-designee of the DNR beginning on January 27^th. She most recently served as the Chief of Staff of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and previously held roles as Congressional staff and in other federal agencies and nonprofit organizations. 

Dr. Hyun holds both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Earth Systems and a doctorate in Marine Affairs. Dr. Hyun’s appointment will be introduced and referred to a standing Senate committee after she takes her role later this month. Her confirmation will be considered in the committee before her appointment can be brought before the full Senate for a vote. 

Check Your Community's Contact Information at DSPS

The Department of Safety and Professional Services (DSPS), which runs the Wisconsin 2% Fire Dues Payments Program, is updating their fire chief and municipal clerks list for the 2025 program to ensure that communities can receive their payments. Please verify that your municipality has the correct contact information submitted to DSPS on their Fire Chief List and Muni Clerk List spreadsheets, and if you need to update the information, email DSPSSBFireDues@Wisconsin.gov. 

Email questions or comments to:

Toni Herkert, Government Affairs Director, therkert@lwm-info.org

Evan Miller, Government Affairs Specialist, emiller@lwm-info.org