Several of Wisconsin's top political leaders released statements and did press conferences (video courtesy of WisconsinEye) commemorating the start of the 2013-2014 Legislative Session today:

Gov. Scott Walker

Governor Scott Walker released the following statement regarding the upcoming legislative session:

I look forward to working with all four legislative caucuses to help improve our state for the next generation.

Congratulations are in order for incoming Speaker Robin Vos, Assembly Minority Leader Peter Barca, Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, and Minority Leader Chris Larson.  Your leadership position comes with the responsibility to leave any lingering disagreements in the past and look for innovative ways to move Wisconsin forward.

Working together with both Republicans and Democrats, we will focus on policies that help the private sector create jobs, transform education, reform government, develop our workforce, and improve our infrastructure.

(link)

Assembly Speaker Vos

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester), the 75th Wisconsin Speaker, stated in his inauguration press release that begins the session with a renewed focus on private sector job creation. (Excerpt of press release below)

"I'm optimistic that Republicans and Democrats can come together to find the best solutions for Wisconsin's future.   We all must put aside our differences in order to bring more jobs to Wisconsin and strengthen our economy.

Speaker Vos and Assembly Republican leaders have already announced that mining reform will be the first bill they'll introduce this legislative session. The speaker's other priorities include income tax relief, especially for the middle class; regulatory reform to eliminate rules that prohibit job growth and aren't essential for public or environmental protection; and improving education.

"We plan to continue reforming Wisconsin for the better," said Speaker Vos. "Our budget reforms from this past session greatly improved Wisconsin's financial picture but there's still much work to be done. We will work hard to once again balance the state budget without raising taxes and focus on private sector job creation."

(link to complete release)

Press Conference by Speaker Vos

Assembly Majority Leader Scott Suder (R-Abbotsford)

Majority Leader Scott Suder

"Today begins the 101st Legislative Session. Twenty-eight new members will be sworn in to join the Wisconsin State Legislature. They will create a total of 98 representatives, 59 Republicans and 39 Democrats, in the Wisconsin State Assembly.

I am eager to begin the 101st Wisconsin State Legislative session this afternoon. Afterwards, there will be a bipartisan, non-tax payer funded event that showcases how motivated my peers and I are to work together and create new opportunities within our state.

As the Majority Leader and Representative of the 69th District, I know how important it is to encourage a bipartisan atmosphere within the legislature. This session will play an important role in the many possibilities for the people and the future of Wisconsin."

(Link)

Democratic Leader Barca

Assembly Minority Leader Peter Barca (D-Kenosha)

"Today is the beginning of a new session. We see many new faces, a new Assembly leader and legislators returning from both parties who made new promises to voters that things will be different than last session.

"Throughout the fall campaigns, citizens of Wisconsin repeatedly heard the word bipartisanship - spoken as a promise. And it is important that all of us here use and define that word the same way as all other Wisconsinites outside the Capitol.

"Here is what bipartisanship is:

"Bipartisanship is working together with one another and the public from the start - not just a final vote tally.

"Bipartisanship is wide consensus - not picking up a stray vote or two from the other side.

"Bipartisanship is cooperation on thorny problems - not just passing easy, ceremonial bills on a unanimous vote.

"Bipartisanship is not one side going along with the other side's extreme ideas. Limiting public input to simply tweaking extreme proposals is not bipartisanship. Today needs to mark the end of extremism dominating Wisconsin politics.

"The people of Wisconsin have the right to expect they will get what they were promised by each of us as candidates at their door.

"This session we must bury the partisan hatchet that chopped away at our Wisconsin values and legislative traditions and poisoned Wisconsin politics. We must end the extremism that resulted in valuable legislation being ignored and rushed legislation tied up in court.

"In the Assembly races, Democrats got more votes. Republicans got more seats. That is not what is most relevant. It is that both vowed to work together, honestly and openly, with their constituents and one another.

"We take soon-to-be Speaker Vos and his caucus members at their word. If they are true to their promises, they can be assured we will work with them.

"This morning I circulated an email talking about ideas for the initial bills we want to see addressed this session. They focus on to creating jobs, closing the skills gap, reforming and supporting public education and make government more open and responsive to the citizens. Those are not Democratic values or Republican values. Those are Wisconsin values.

"I attached examples of bills that we have worked on previously as well as some of the bipartisan ideas that came out of the Sullivan and Be Bold commissions - private and nonpartisan groups. And we want to make it clear that we are open to new ideas from the great new minds that are joining the legislature and from our colleagues across the aisle, as well as veteran members as we craft these bills together into legislation.

"We saw some ominous signs after the election - talk by our Republican colleagues about returning to extremism such as eliminating same-day voter registration, packing the Government Accountability Board with political cronies and merely 'tweaking' an extreme mining bill rather than working together to craft a successful bipartisan bill that creates jobs and protects tourism, agriculture and our natural resources.

"But today, we stand here hopeful that as all of us take our oaths of office, we will close the door on extremism and partisanship and move forward together to address the serious problems facing Wisconsin.

"Gov. Walker set a goal of 250,000 jobs added during his term. Half way through, things are far off pace. Using the most favorable statistics, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's Politifact estimated Wisconsin is at just 37,011. Another 212,989 jobs are required to meet his goal.

"And I am sure we were all deeply troubled when Forbes Magazine projected last month that Wisconsin will have the second worst job growth in the country through 2016.

"Let's reverse those terrible trends.

"I want to Wisconsin to have a robust economy, plenty of good-paying jobs, skilled workers with top-notch training and government that mirrors the will of the people.

"Let's bury extremism in Wisconsin and, as our motto says, move FORWARD together"

(Link)

Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald (R-Juneau)

Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald (R-Juneau) released the following prepared remarks to open the 101st Session of the Wisconsin State Senate.

It is with a great sense of humility and honor that I stand before you today as Majority Leader. I thank my colleagues in the outer ring for conferring their trust in me, and I thank Minority Leader Larson and the members of his caucus for their efforts in the transition process.

As we begin the important duty of conducting the people's business, I welcome and congratulate the 17 Senators whose oaths were renewed or taken for the first time today. Your constituents gave you the privilege and deep responsibility of representing their interests, and I look forward to working with you and each member of this body on the productive session ahead of us.

We began the difficult work of repairing our state in the last session, and we accomplished a great deal. We balanced the budget, eliminated the deficit, and created a surplus. We deposited an historic amount of money into the rainy day fund and passed a host of bipartisan jobs bills aimed at making our state a better place for employers to stay and create jobs in Wisconsin. There's no doubt that our state is in better shape than it was just two years ago.

Getting those things done for the benefit of the people was not an easy task, and it came at a price for some of our members who refused to put their jobs ahead of what they thought was best for our state. But those days are behind us, and my hope for this session is to transcend the bitterness of the recalls and move forward together with a renewing spirit of bipartisanship and cooperation.

In this new session, we must build upon the proven reforms of the last. Our duty as senators is not to shirk the challenges we face but to confront them head on. We were elected to make the tough calls; not to run away from them. We were sent to this chamber to make Wisconsin better and more prosperous for all.

This is why one of our top priorities will be passing legislation that opens the door for safe and environmentally sound mining in an area of our state in need of revitalization. We have the opportunity to allow for the creation of thousands of good paying, family supporting jobs right here in Wisconsin, and I know that is something we can all support.

In addition to making our state a friendlier place for jobs, we'll focus on balancing our state budget and keeping spending in line with the taxpayers' ability to pay. We're here to be good stewards of the taxpayers' hard earned money, and it's our job to ensure it's used wisely and more efficiently.

As members, we may be defined by districts and party affiliation, but we are united by the desire to make our state a better place. It is in this spirit that I welcome you to the 101st Session of the Wisconsin State Senate. Let's roll up our sleeves and get to work.
(Link)

Sen. Majority Leader Fitzgerald Press Conference

Sen. Democratic Leader Larson

Senate Minority Leader Chris Larson (D-Milwaukee) released the following statement on his Facebook account:

Today is inauguration day at the Wisconsin Capitol. I am thrilled and honored to start as our Senate Democratic Leader as we embark on this session. We must acknowledge that Wisconsin faces a number of steep mountains we must scale in the next two years. From disappointing job creation and economic development efforts, devaluation of our education system, to a lack of accountability and transparency measures for our tax dollars, Wisconsin's middle class families are counting on us to summitt these high ranges.

Starting today, we have a choice between more extreme ideology or real bipartisan solutions. Extremism has cost Wisconsin dearly. Despite jobs numbers growing nationally over the past 34 months, Wisconsin has stumbled; adding only 38,000 jobs during 2011 and 2012. Just last month, Forbes Magazine dropped its ranking of Wisconsin to 42nd out of 50 on its list of best states for business. We have had a costly reminder that putting up "Open for Business" signs is not enough to create real jobs. Wisconsin needs honest change, not just talk and political gimmicks.

We can only do this by working together. And that starts today.

Below please find a link to a joint press conference that Rep. Barca and Sen. Larson held today.

Democratic Leaders

 

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

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Now that lawmakers have been sworn into office, new directories of Assembly and Senate office locations and phone numbers have been released.  Below please find links to PDFs for these new directories:

• Wisconsin State Assembly Directory
• Wisconsin State Senate Directory 

 

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January: 

• Thursday Jan.  10th
• Tuesday Jan. 15th, Wed. Jan. 16th and Thurs. Jan. 17th
• Tuesday Jan. 29th, Wed. 30th, and Thurs. Jan. 31st

February:

• Tuesday Feb. 12th, Wed. Feb. 13th, and Thurs. Feb. 14th 
• Tuesday Feb. 26th, Wed. Feb. 27th, and Thurs. Feb. 28th