ar95(44)
(44) Main motions and questions: The final affirmative question concerning a proposal during any stage of its consideration or any motion made or question raised when no other matter is before the assembly. Main questions have lower precedence than privileged, incidental, and subsidiary questions.
ar95(45)
(45) Majority: One more than one-half.
ar95(46)
(46) Manual: The publication containing the rules of the assembly, the joint rules, the session schedule, the state constitution, alphabetical indexes, and other materials considered relevant to a representative's job.
ar95(47)
(47) Member: A duly elected representative to the assembly.
ar95(48)
(48) Members present: Those members in attendance at a daily session.
ar95(49)
(49) Motion: A proposed action requiring assembly approval by a vote.
ar95(50)
(50) Nonconcurrence: The refusal of one house to agree to a proposal, amendment, or action of the other.
ar95(50m)
(50m) Offer: The formal presentation of a joint resolution, resolution, substitute amendment, amendment, or motion before the assembly.
ar95(51)
(51) Opinion of the attorney general: A formal reply by the attorney general to a specific question.
ar95(52)
(52) Pair: A written agreement between 2 members on opposite sides of a question not to vote on the question if one or both are absent with leave, which permits the absent member to influence the outcome of a vote.
ar95(53)
(53) Parliamentary inquiry: A request for an explanation of a legislative rule or procedure.
ar95(53m)
(53m) Partisan caucus: A conference convened by 2 or more members of a political party to discuss business related to the organization or agenda of that party within the legislature or to discuss any matter pending in or proposed for introduction in the legislature. To facilitate bipartisan leadership meetings, a partisan caucus may also include a conference convened by the members of the elected leadership of one political party with the members of the elected leadership of another political party.
ar95(54)
(54) Passage: Assembly approval of an assembly bill.
ar95(55)
(55) Petition: A request that the assembly take a particular course of action.
ar95(56)
(56) Point of order: A request that the presiding officer rule on a matter of parliamentary procedure.
ar95(57)
(57) Precedent: A previous ruling, decision, or action used to interpret legislative rules.
ar95(57m)
(57m) Presiding officer: The person presiding over the assembly in session. [see also subs. (11), (80), and (81)] ar95(59)
(59) Privileged motions and requests: A group of motions and requests relating to basic questions concerning the meetings, organization, rules, rights, and duties of the assembly and having the highest precedence for consideration. Privileged motions and requests take precedence over incidental, subsidiary, and main questions.
ar95(60)
(60) Proposal: A resolution, joint resolution, or bill put before the assembly for consideration.
ar95(61)
(61) Question: A statement before the assembly for decision.
ar95(62)
(62) Quorum: A majority of the current assembly membership, unless otherwise required by the state constitution.
ar95(63)
(63) Recess: A temporary suspension of business during a roll call day.
ar95(64)
(64) Reconsideration: A motion to nullify a decision and again consider and vote on the question involved.
ar95(65)
(65) Regular order of business: The regular sequence of deliberations on any legislative day.
ar95(66)
(66) Regular session: The biennial session of the legislature established by the constitution and by section 13.02 of the statutes. The Wisconsin legislature convenes in the capitol on the first Monday of January in each odd-numbered year at 2 p.m. to take the oath of office, to select officers, and to organize itself for the conduct of its business, but if the first Monday falls on January 1 or 2, the legislature organizes on January 3. Daily meetings begin in January of each year and continue throughout the biennium until the final adjournment of the session. “Session" is also often used to refer to the daily meetings of the legislature.
ar95(67)
(67) Rejection: An action for the adverse and final disposition of: a) a resolution or joint resolution for the biennial session of the legislature; b) an amendment or substitute amendment with regard to one specific document; c) the application of a motion to the current situation; and d) the report of a committee.
ar95(68)
(68) Remain informal: A temporary suspension of proceedings in the assembly.
ar95(69)
(69) Request: A proposed action that does not require a vote because: a) unanimous consent has been asked for; b) the action is required if there are sufficient seconds; or c) the presiding officer has the authority to take or order the requested action.
ar95(70)
(70) Rescind: An action by which the assembly nullifies an action on a proposal so as to enable the assembly to again consider a proposal from a given stage. When a motion to rescind prevails, the assembly resumes its consideration of a proposal at the stage indicated in the motion.
ar95(71)
(71) Resolution, assembly: A proposal: a) expressing the opinion of the assembly; b) changing the assembly rules; or c) confirming a nomination for appointment under rule 51m. ar95(73)
(73) Roll call day: A legislative day on which any roll call is taken.
ar95(74)
(74) Roll call vote: A vote on which each member voting is recorded by name.
ar95(75)
(75) Rules of procedure: The legislative rules that govern the conduct of legislative business.
ar95(76)
(76) Ruling: The presiding officer's decision on a point of order.
ar95(78)
(78) Sergeant at arms: The officer elected by the members to perform and direct the police and custodial functions of the assembly.
ar95(79)
(79) Sine die adjournment: The final adjournment of a legislative session.
ar95(80)
(80) Speaker: A member of the assembly elected by the membership to preside over the assembly and carry out the duties as described in the assembly rules, the joint rules, and the statutes.
ar95(81)
(81) Speaker pro tempore: A member of the assembly elected by the membership to carry out the duties of the speaker in his or her absence until the return of the speaker or until a speaker is elected.
ar95(82)
(82) Special committee: A committee created by a resolution, or a special committee or temporary special committee created by a written order of the speaker under rule 10, to investigate specific matters during a session or committee work period, and report to the assembly.
ar95(83)
(83) Special order of business: Any proposal ordered by the assembly to be given consideration at a specified time and taking precedence over the regular orders of business at that time.
ar95(84)
(84) Special session: The convening of the legislature by the governor to accomplish a special purpose for which convened.
ar95(85)
(85) Stage: One of the formal steps in the legislative process.
ar95(86)
(86) Standing committee: A permanent legislative committee.
ar95(87)
(87) Subsidiary motions: A group of motions that change, or delay or accelerate the consideration of, a proposal before the assembly. Subsidiary motions have lower precedence than privileged and incidental questions, but higher precedence than main motions.
ar95(88)
(88) Substitute amendment: An amendment that, if accepted, takes the place of the original proposal. The term more accurately describes a “substitute bill" or “substitute resolution."
ar95(89)
(89) Sufficient seconds: The support of 15 members necessary to initiate certain procedures in the assembly rules.
ar95(90)
(90) Suspension of the rules: A motion requiring the support of two-thirds of the members present and by which a special action on a specific proposal is accomplished despite the existence of a rule blocking the action. Any suspension of the rules is temporary.
ar95(92)
(92) Unanimous consent: A request to suspend the rules for a specific purpose; if an objection is not heard, it is assumed that the request has the consent of the entire body.
ar95(93)
(93) Veto: The action by which a bill or a part thereof is rejected by the governor.
ar95(94)
(94) Voice vote: A vote taken by asking the members in favor of a question to say “aye" simultaneously and then the members opposed to likewise say “no."
ar96
Assembly Rule 96. Legislative citations. Any motion under joint rule 7 shall, when received by the assembly and whether originating in this house or in the senate, be laid aside to allow time for the committee on assembly organization to examine the motion for its appropriateness under joint rule 7 (1) and (2). Upon approval by the committee on assembly organization and verbal notification thereof to the chief clerk, and if the motion has not been objected to by any member of the assembly, the motion is approved by the assembly. A written committee report is not necessary. If objected to by any member, any motion under joint rule 7 may be brought before the body on the 12th order of business. ar97
Assembly Rule 97. Assembly citations. Any member may issue a citation on behalf of the assembly to a particular person or organization or to commemorate a particular occasion as specified in the citation.
ar97(1)
(1) Citations may be used in place of resolutions for commendations, congratulations, and condolences of persons or organizations or to give recognition to unusual and important events, except that the use of citations may not be abused. The committee on assembly organization may more specifically interpret this subsection.
ar97(2)
(2) If desired by the issuing representative, a citation on behalf of the assembly may be coauthored by one or more other representatives or cosponsored by one or more senators, but in that case the proposal for issuing the citation shall be signed by each of the coauthors or cosponsors.
ar97(3)
(3) The committee on assembly organization shall establish a procedure for reviewing each citation proposed under this rule, but an assembly citation may not be used to declare a special day or to declare a person an honorary citizen.
ar97(4)
(4) Any citation on behalf of the assembly shall be signed by the speaker and by the speaker pro tempore. A copy of the finished citation shall be provided to the issuing representative, and another copy thereof shall be filed in the legislative reference bureau.
ar97(5)
(5) All citations on behalf of the assembly shall be prepared by employees assigned to the chief clerk, shall be prepared on an artistic form approved by the committee on assembly organization, shall be suitable for framing, and shall be in substantially the following form:
(scrollwork incorporating state coat of arms)
------------------------
CITATION BY THE ASSEMBLY
------------------------
Know You By These Presents:
Whereas, Glen Popple has served for 31 years as game warden of Kennedy County ....; and
Whereas, he has devoted many hours ....; now, therefore,
Representative Robert T. Huber on behalf of the Wisconsin State Assembly, [with the concurrence of Representative(s) ....] [and Senators(s) ....,] under Assembly Rule 97, commends Mr. Popple on his fine service to Kennedy County and ....
State Capitol
Madison, Wisconsin
............................................
(Speaker)
..........................
(Date)
............................................
(Speaker pro tempore)
ar98
Assembly Rule 98. Campaign committee activity. ar98(1)(1)
A member may not schedule, hold, attend, or contribute money for or at a fund-raising social event in Dane County during a floorperiod of the legislature or during a special or extraordinary session if the event is for a member; is sponsored by the member's candidate committee, as defined in section 11.0101 of the statutes; or is sponsored by a legislative campaign committee, as defined in section 11.0101 of the statutes. ar98(2)
(2) Subsection (1) does not apply to a fund-raising social event of a legislative campaign committee held during the period between the first day authorized for filing nomination papers for any special election to the assembly and the date of the special election.
ar98(3)
(3) Subsection (1) does not apply to a fund-raising social event of a current member of the assembly or his or her candidate committee held during the period between the first day authorized for filing nomination papers for any office for which the current member of the assembly is a candidate and the date of the election for that office, if the event is held within the boundaries of the jurisdiction or district served by the office for which the current member of the assembly is a candidate.
ar98(4)
(4) Subsection (1) does not apply to a fund-raising social event of a current member of the assembly or his or her candidate committee held during the period between the first day authorized for filing nomination papers for any office, other than representative to the assembly, for which the current member of the assembly is a candidate and the date of the election for that other office.
ar98(5)
(5) Subsection (1) does not apply to a fund-raising social event of a current member of the assembly who represents a district that contains part of Dane County, or his or her candidate committee, if:
ar98(5)(a)
(a) The event is held within the boundaries of the jurisdiction or district represented by the current member of the assembly;
ar98(5)(b)
(b) The event is held during a special or extraordinary session; and
ar98(5)(c)
(c) The invitations to attend the event are sent before the special or extraordinary session is called.
ar99
Assembly Rule 99. Fiscal estimates. ar99(1)(1)
The speaker or presiding officer may request from the legislative fiscal bureau an original fiscal estimate on a bill if the speaker or presiding officer believes that a fiscal estimate on the bill will not be completed by the state agency assigned to prepare the fiscal estimate before the bill receives a public hearing, is voted on by an assembly standing committee, or is considered by the assembly.
ar99(2)
(2) An original fiscal estimate prepared under sub. (1) shall be submitted to the legislative reference bureau for review by the requester under joint rule 48 and for reproduction and insertion in the bill jacket envelope. The fiscal estimate, however, may not be reproduced or inserted if the fiscal estimate prepared by the state agency is available for reproduction and insertion before the fiscal estimate prepared under sub. (1). ar99(3)
(3) Unless otherwise determined by the assembly, failure to receive a fiscal estimate requested under sub. (1) on a bill that already has one or more original fiscal estimates does not delay consideration of the bill. Unless otherwise determined by the assembly, failure to receive a fiscal estimate requested other than under sub. (1) on a bill that already has one or more original fiscal estimates requested under sub. (1) does not delay consideration of the bill.
Alphabetical Index
Revised by Legislative Reference Bureau
January 2021
Assembly Rule
A
