The Legislatures Website

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The Legislatures Website

• www.legis.state.wi.us
• Wisconsin Library Association
• October 31, 2002

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Legislatures Website

• Provides information about legislative activity
  and Wisconsin law.

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Special Features of Main Page

• Spotlight A summary of recent news relating to
  the actions of the legislature and state
  government generally.
• In Session Gives access to action on the floor
  of each house of the legislature as it happens.
  Includes documents being debated and live audio
  and video.
• Other special features of current interest.

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Basic Tasks

• Who is my legislator?
• How can I reach him or her?
• How can I find a copy of a bill or act?
• What is the legislatures schedule?

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Who are my legislators?

• Start at legislatures home page.
• Click on Who are my legislators?
• Type in full address.

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Who are my legislators?
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Links to your Senator and Representative

• Capitol room and telephone number.
• District address and telephone number.
• E-Mail link. (No way to e-mail ALL members)
• Biographical information.
• Committee assignments.
• District map.
• Personal home page (if any).

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Copies of legislation

• BILL Proposed legislation.
• ACT Passed legislation.
• With access to the legislatures website, your
  library is effectively a full depository of
  legislative documents.

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Finding a bill, status, votes by bill number

• Use box on right hand side of the main page
• Plug in appropriate house (Senate or Assembly)
• Plug in appropriate bill number
• Plug in proper session (most bills are regular
  session).

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Click on Bill Number for full text
Click on roll call for list of ayes and noes.
No numbers indicates voice vote.
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What is the legislatures schedule?

• Click on Legislative Activity.
• Click on Calendars.
• This provides you with the Biennial Session
  Schedule, Weekly Hearing Schedules, and the Daily
  Calendar of floor action.

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Complex Tasks

• Bill status Where is a given piece of
  legislation right now?
• Determining how your legislator voted on a
  particular bill.
• Finding a bill by subject.
• Searching the statutes for current law.

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Finding a bill by subject

• Question Is there any current legislation about
  the sale of tobacco to minors?
• Click on Legislative Activity.
• Select Subject Index.
• Choose an appropriate heading (Tobacco and
  cigarette both seem logical).
• Read the abstracts to determine which if any of
  the bills listed is of interest.
• Click on bill number to link to full text of the
  bill.

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Finding a bill by subject

• Question Is there any current legislation on
  drunken boating?
• Choose an appropriate heading (Boat and drunken
  driving both seem right).
• Two bills seem to fit the inquiry click on bill
  number for full text.
• Analysis indicates no substantive change to law.

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Searching the statutes for current law

• Click on Wisconsin Law
• Click on Statutes
• Type search terms into Search box.
• Use quote marks to group words.

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Searching the statutes for current law.

• The commonly used name for legislation often does
  not match its statutory language.
• EXAMPLE Senior Care (a program providing
  assistance to senior citizens for prescription
  drug costs).
• Search senior care turns up nothing.
• Try other words that fit the concept.
• In this case prescription and elderly find
  the section.

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What bills has my legislator introduced?

• Go to Folio Search
• Click on Author Index to Proposals.
• Type in name of legislator.
• May give a better idea of a members interests
  than voting record.

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Determining how your legislator voted on a
particular bill.

• Find the bill number, using the subject index to
  legislation.
• Check the procedural history of the bill.
• Find the appropriate roll call usually final
  passage in Senate or Assembly.
• Click on the roll call it is a link to a list
  of ayes and noes for that vote.

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Determining how your legislator voted on a
particular bill.

• EXAMPLE Chronic wasting disease.
• Term Deer in subject index refers to heading
  Game.
• Bill My2SB-1 deals with CWD. The number
  indicates May 2002 Special Session.
• Click on bill number then Bill History link.
• Scroll down through history to final passage vote
  (generally the last roll call in each house).
• Click on vote total, 86 Ayes, 5 noes, 2 paired.

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Term Deer in Subject Index refers to Game
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May 2002 Special Session Senate Bill 1 is found
under Game
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Bill number links to bill text click on Bill
History
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Each roll call in Bill History is linked to the
ayes and noes
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The Roll Call
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Other Features of the Legislatures Website

• Administrative Rules.
• Wisconsin Constitution.
• Legislative Service Agencies.

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Service Agency Sites What they can provide

• Legislative Council
• Legislative Reference Bureau
• Legislative Fiscal Bureau
• Legislative Audit Bureau

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Legislative Council

• Provides support to interim study committees.
• Website has a variety of reports and memoranda on
  issues that are being or have recently been
  studied by the Council.

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Legislative Reference Bureau

• Provides bill drafting, research and library
  services to the legislature.
• Website contains a variety of reports on topics
  of interest to the legislature and the general
  public in plain language.
• LRBCat the catalog of the LRB library.
• Wisconsin Blue Book the biennial manual of
  state government.

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Legislative Fiscal Bureau

• Assists the legislature in the budget process
  through fiscal and policy analysis.
• Website contains a variety of publications and
  summaries dealing with the state budget.
• Of particular interest are the biennial
  Informational Papers, which discuss in detail the
  workings of various state programs.

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Legislative Audit Bureau

• Performs audits of state programs at the
  direction of the legislature.
• Copies of audits are available on the website.

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Contact Us

• LEGISLATIVE REFERENCE BUREAU
• 100 N. Hamilton St.
• P.O. Box 2037
• Madison, WI 53701-2037
• A. Peter Cannon
  Phone [phone]
• E-Mail peter.cannon_at_legis.state.wi.us
• Michael Keane
• Phone [phone]
• E-Mail michael.keane_at_legis.state.wi.us

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WEBSITE www.legis.state.wi.us

• [phone] LRB.Reference_at_legis.state.wi.us