2026 Wisconsin legislative session

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2026 Wisconsin legislative session
General information
Scheduled session start:    Jan. 13, 2026 Scheduled session end:    March 19, 2026
Leadership
Senate President Mary Felzkowski (R) House Speaker Robin Vos (R) Majority Leader Senate: Devin LeMahieu (R) House: Tyler August (R) Minority Leader Senate: Dianne Hesselbein (D) House: Greta Neubauer (D)
Elections
Next Election:    November 3, 2026 Last Election:    November 5, 2024
Previous legislative sessions
2025 • 2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018
Other 2026 legislative sessions
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In 2026, the Wisconsin State Legislature is scheduled to convene on January 13, 2026, and adjourn on March 19, 2026.

The legislators serving in this session took office following the 2024 elections. Republicans won an 18-15 majority in the Senate and a 54-45 majority in the Assembly. The Democratic Party controlled the governorship, creating a divided state government. At the start of the 2026 session, Wisconsin was one of 23 state legislatures where neither party had a veto-proof supermajority in both chambers.

At the beginning of the 2026 legislative session:

Republicans held a majority in the Wisconsin state Assembly and state Senate.

Wisconsin was one of 11 divided state governments.

Wisconsin's governor was Democrat Tony Evers.

Leadership in 2026

See also: Leadership positions in state legislatures

Wisconsin State Senate

• Senate president: Mary Felzkowski (R)
• Majority leader: Devin LeMahieu (R)
• Minority leader: Dianne Hesselbein (D)

Wisconsin State Assembly

• Speaker of the Assembly: Robin Vos (R)
• Majority leader: Tyler August (R)
• Minority leader: Greta Neubauer (D)

Partisan control in 2026

See also: State government trifectas

Wisconsin was one of 11 divided state governments at the start of 2026 legislative sessions. A state government trifecta occurs when one political party holds the governor's office, a majority in the state Senate, and a majority in the state House. For more information about state government trifectas, click here.

Wisconsin was also one of 23 state legislatures where neither party had a veto-proof supermajority in both chambers. Veto overrides occur when a legislature votes to reverse a veto issued by an executive such as a governor or the president. If one party has a majority in a state legislature that is large enough to override a gubernatorial veto without any votes from members of the minority party, it is called a veto-proof majority or, sometimes, a supermajority. To read more about veto-proof supermajorities in state legislatures, click here.

The following tables show the partisan breakdown of the Wisconsin State Legislature in the 2026 legislative session.

Wisconsin State Senate

Partisan composition, Wisconsin State Senate

As of February 2026
Party	Members
Democratic	15
Republican	18
Other	0
Vacancies	0
Total	33

Wisconsin State Assembly

Partisan composition, Wisconsin State Assembly

As of February 2026
Party	Members
Democratic	45
Republican	54
Other	0
Vacancies	0
Total	99

Regular session

The list below shows up to 25 pieces of legislation in the 2026 legislative session that most recently passed both chambers of the legislature, were signed by the governor, or were approved by the legislature in a veto override. If no bills are displayed below, no legislation has met these criteria yet in 2026. This information is provided by BillTrack50.

Standing legislative committees

See also: Standing committee and List of committees in Wisconsin state government

A standing committee of a state legislature is a committee that exists on a more-or-less permanent basis, from legislative session to session, that considers and refines legislative bills that fall under the committee's subject matter.

At the beginning of the 2026 legislative session, there were 58 standing committees in Wisconsin's state government, including 10 joint legislative committees, 10 state Senate committees, and 38 state Assembly committees.

Joint legislative committees

• Employment Relations Committee
• Information Policy and Technology Committee
• Joint Finance Committee
• Joint Legislative Audit Committee
• Joint Legislative Council Committee
• Joint Review Committee on Criminal Penalties
• Joint Survey Committee on Retirement Systems
• Legislative Organization Committee
• Review of Administrative Rules Committee
• Tax Exemptions Committee

Senate committees

• Administrative Rules Committee
• Committee on Financial Institutions and Sporting Heritage
• Committee on Mental Health, Substance Abuse Prevention, Children, and Families
• Judiciary and Public Safety Committee
• Senate Education Committee
• Senate Finance Committee
• Senate Health Committee
• Senate Organization Committee
• Transportation and Local Government Committee
• Universities and Technical Colleges Committee

Assembly committees

• Agriculture Committee
• Assembly Organization Committee
• Audit Committee
• Campaigns and Elections Committee
• Children and Families Committee
• Colleges and Universities Committee
• Constitution and Ethics Committee
• Consumer Protection Committee
• Corrections Committee
• Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee
• Education Committee
• Employment Relations Committee
• Energy and Utilities Committee
• Environment Committee
• Finance Committee
• Financial Institutions Committee
• Forestry, Parks, and Outdoor Recreation Committee
• Government Accountability and Oversight Committee
• Health Committee
• Housing and Real Estate Committee
• Insurance Committee
• Jobs and the Economy Committee
• Judiciary Committee
• Local Government Committee
• Mental Health Committee
• Public Benefit Reform Committee
• Regulatory Licensing Reform Committee
• Review of Administrative Rules Committee
• Rules Committee
• Rural Development Committee
• Small Business Development Committee
• Sporting Heritage Committee
• State Affairs Committee
• Tourism Committee
• Transportation Committee
• Veterans and Military Affairs Committee
• Ways and Means Committee
• Workforce Development Committee

Legislatively referred constitutional amendments

In every state but Delaware, voter approval is required to enact a constitutional amendment. In each state, the legislature has a process for referring constitutional amendments before voters. In 18 states, initiated constitutional amendments can be put on the ballot through a signature petition drive. There are also many other types of statewide measures.

The methods by which the Wisconsin Constitution can be amended:

See also: Article XII of the Wisconsin Constitution and Laws governing ballot measures in Wisconsin

Article XII of the Wisconsin Constitution provides two methods of amendment:

• A legislatively referred constitutional amendment may be proposed to the voters if approved by a simple majority of both chambers of the Wisconsin State Legislature in two legislative sessions.

• If an amendment is approved by a majority in both chambers of the Legislature in one session, that proposed amendment must then be considered by the state legislature chosen at the next general election in the state.
• Before that second legislative session, the proposed amendment that will be considered must be published for three months prior to the election.
• Should the amendment be approved by a simple majority of the second session that considers it, the proposed amendment is then placed on a statewide ballot at a special or general election.
• If it is approved by a simple majority of the state's electorate, it becomes part of the constitution.

• Constitutional conventions can also be used to propose amendments to the state's constitution.

• If a simple majority of both houses of the Wisconsin State Legislature votes in favor, a constitutional convention question is placed on a statewide ballot.
• If the electors of the state agree by a simple majority to call a constitutional convention, then the legislature needs to convene a convention during its next session.

Wisconsin citizens do not have the power of amending the constitution through initiated constitutional amendments.

Historical partisan control

The table below depicts the historical trifecta status of Wisconsin.

Wisconsin Party Control: 1992-2026
Two years of Democratic trifectas  •  Ten years of Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.

Year	92	93	94	95	96	97	98	99	00	01	02	03	04	05	06	07	08	09	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26
Governor	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D
Senate	D	R	R	R	D	D	R	D	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	D	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R
House	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R

Historical Senate control

Republicans won control of the Wisconsin State Senate in 2010. In 2024, they won a 18-15 majority.

The table below shows the partisan history of the Wisconsin Senate following every general election from 1992 to 2024. All data from 2006 or earlier comes from Michael Dubin's Party Affiliations in the State Legislatures (McFarland Press, 2007). Data after 2006 was compiled by Ballotpedia staff.

Wisconsin State Senate election results: 1992-2024

Year	'92	'94	'96	'98	'00	'02	'04	'06	'08	'10	'12	'14	'16	'18	'20	'22	'24
Democrats	18	16	17	17	18	15	14	18	18	14	15	14	13	14	12	11	15
Republicans	15	17	16	16	15	18	19	15	15	19	18	19	20	19	21	22	18

Historical House control

Republicans won control of the Wisconsin State Assembly in 2010. In 2024, they won a 54-45 majority.

The table below shows the partisan history of the Wisconsin State Assembly following every general election from 1992 to 2024. All data from 2006 or earlier comes from Michael Dubin's Party Affiliations in the State Legislatures (McFarland Press, 2007). Data after 2006 was compiled by Ballotpedia staff.

Wisconsin State Assembly election results: 1992-2024

Year	'92	'94	'96	'98	'00	'02	'04	'06	'08	'10	'12	'14	'16	'18	'20	'22	'24
Democrats	52	48	47	44	43	41	39	47	52	38	39	36	35	36	38	35	45
Republicans	47	51	52	55	56	58	60	52	46	60	60	63	64	63	61	64	54

Analysis

Adopted legislation, 2011-2024

See also: The State Legislative Decade - Wisconsin

In 2024, Ballotpedia released analysis of bills enacted in each state in the preceding decade. The charts and table below detail legislation passed each year by party sponsorship.

See also

Elections	Wisconsin State Government	State Legislatures	State Politics
Wisconsin State Senate elections, 2026 Wisconsin State Assembly elections, 2026	Wisconsin State Legislature Wisconsin State Assembly Wisconsin State Senate Governor of Wisconsin Wisconsin Supreme Court	State legislative elections, 2026 State legislative special elections, 2026 State legislative elections, 2024 State legislative elections, 2022	State government trifectas State government triplexes Veto overrides in state legislatures State executives State courts Ballot measures

External links

• Search Google News for this topic
• Wisconsin State Legislature homepage

Footnotes

State legislatures

Legislatures

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2026

State legislative elections (2026) • State legislative special elections (2026) • Primary dates and filing requirements • 2026 Session Dates

2025

State legislative elections (2025) • State legislative special elections (2025) • Primary dates and filing requirements • 2025 Session Dates

Historical elections

2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013 • 2012 • 2011 • 2010 • 2009 • 2008 • 2007 • 2006 • 2005 • 2004 • 2003 • 2002 • 2001 • 2000

Features of state legislatures

How vacancies are filled in state legislatures • States with a full-time legislature • State legislatures with term limits • Comparison of state legislative salaries • When state legislators assume office after a general election • Population represented by state legislators • State constitutional articles governing state legislatures • State legislative sessions • Resign-to-run law • State legislature candidate requirements by state • Official names of state legislatures • State legislative chambers that use multi-member districts • Factors Affecting Competitiveness in State Legislative Elections

State senates

Length of terms of state senators • State senators • Partisan composition of state senates • State senators sorted by year first elected

State houses

Length of terms of state representatives • State representatives • Partisan composition of state houses • State representatives sorted by year first elected

Leadership positions

President of the Senate • President Pro Tempore • Senate Majority Leader • Senate Minority Leader • House Majority Leader • House Minority Leader • State Speaker of the House

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