_____________
Petitions and Communications
State of Wisconsin
Office of the Senate Majority Leader
January 1, 2021
The Honorable, the Senate:
I am resigning my position as Wisconsin State Senator effective immediately, as is required by the policy of the United States Congress.
It has been an honor to serve in this incredible institution, and I wish the incoming class of senators best of luck in the coming years.
Please contact me if you have any questions.
Sincerely,
SCOTT FITZGERALD
Majority Leader
_____________
Messages from the Assembly
By Kay Inabnet, assistant chief clerk.
Mr. President:
I am directed to inform you that the Assembly has
Adopted and asks concurrence in:
_____________
Consideration of resolutions and joint resolutions not requiring a third reading
Senate Resolution 1
Relating to: notifying the assembly and the governor that the 2021-2022 senate is organized.
hist125649The question was: Adoption of Senate Resolution 1? The ayes and noes were required and the vote was: ayes, 31; noes, 0; absent or not voting, 1; as follows:
Ayes - Senators Agard, Ballweg, Bernier, Bewley, Bradley, Carpenter, Darling, Erpenbach, Felzkowski, Feyen, Jacque, Johnson, Kapenga, Kooyenga, Larson, LeMahieu, Marklein, Nass, Petrowski, Pfaff, Ringhand, Roth, Roys, Smith, Stafsholt, Stroebel, L. Taylor, Testin, Wanggaard, Wimberger and Wirch - 31.
Noes – None - 0.
Absent or not voting - Senator Cowles - 1.
Adopted.
_____________
Senate Officers Oath of Office
The President, Chris Kapenga, the President Pro Tempore, Patrick Testin, the Chief Clerk, Michael Queensland, and the Sergeant at Arms, Edward A. Blazel, having been duly elected by the adoption of Senate Resolution 1, appeared together before the bar of the Senate, took and subscribed the oath of office which was administered by the Honorable Rebecca Bradley, Justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court.
_____________
Remarks of President Kapenga
“Well, first, I just want to say as your new Senate President, officially, welcome to all the members.
I feel very privileged to be up here. I take this very seriously.
I do want to thank also the staff of the Chief Clerk’s office, LTSB. We’ve practiced a lot of extra things with the virtual items. And wanted to make sure all members, if they are not participating here, can participate flawlessly. So there was a significant amount of time put in by all these folks up front. I would just like to first give them all a round of applause.
Thank you team. We appreciate that.
I’m not going to go into a bunch of comments. I actually just wrote down three quick quotes on the position.
The first one is from Henry Roberts who wrote Roberts’ Rules of Order which is something that we follow. And, he wrote the role here is “for the majority is to give the minority a full, free opportunity to present their side of the case.” And, I will ensure that I do that. “And then for the minority having failed to win a majority to their views gracefully to submit and to recognize the action as that of the entire organization and cheerfully to assist in carrying it out until they can secure its repeal.”
So, that was a quote by Henry Roberts.
The second one, my staff actually had it engraved on the gavel, and it’s a quote from George Washington, who is one of my favorite Founding Fathers. And it says, “I hope I shall possess firmness and virtue enough to maintain (what I consider the most enviable of all the titles) the character of an honest man.”
That’s by George Washington.
And then the last one, Rob Marchant Senate Chief Clerk, for those of you who have been here for a while. “Enjoy presiding and don’t forget your sense of humor.” So, I will try to do that.
Thank you all for this honor.”
_____________
President Kapenga introduced the Senators returning from the 104th Session: Senators Jacque, Carpenter, Kooyenga, Larson, LeMahieu, Nass, Ringhand, Marklein, Roth, Wanggaard, Bernier, Bewley, Erpenbach, Petrowski, and Smith.
_____________
Remarks of Majority Leader LeMahieu
“Despite the incredible challenges of this past year, I’ve been heartened and encouraged by our State’s fighting spirit and the grit and determination of our people. Individuals, families, and employers have risen to meet and overcome unexpected challenges even in the face of overwhelming obstacles.
We pray with those that have lost loved ones this year. We mourn with those who have lost businesses this year. Our heart breaks with those who have lost jobs.
Yet, we believe that better days lie ahead. Our thoughts and prayers are with you and our mission here in this chamber is to support your strong spirit and enhance the opportunities available to you in our great state so we can build a stronger future together.
This year will bring its own unique set of challenges to every facet of life. Navigating through these uncertain times require this body to provide a strong, united effort in support of the Wisconsinites we serve.
This session, we will endeavor to build upon the successes of our past work in the State Senate: work that has led to year-after-year of budget surpluses and the largest Rainy Day Fund in state history. Work that has increased individual freedoms, reduced the size and role of government in our lives, and increased the accountability and transparency of our state.
Prior to the pandemic, our pro-growth economic policies resulted in record-low unemployment and record-high wage growth. Our past work has given our state’s employers, both large and small, the confidence to invest in and grow their dream, resulting in more jobs, higher wages, budget surpluses, and a roaring economy. This session, we will continue to build upon the historic reforms which support our state’s farmers, manufacturers, and main street businesses – the backbone of our Wisconsin economy.
As part of the last budget, the Senate put forward a bold tax cut which returned surplus tax collections directly back to working families – a reform which will benefit the middle-class year-after-year. We did this while making historic investments in education, transportation and health services. The people of Wisconsin have entrusted us to continue our prudent budgeting, building on past successes and guiding our great state into the new decade.
We enter the 2021-22 Legislative Session facing historic challenges. However, I am confident in our ability to meet these challenges with wisdom, understanding, and a mutual desire to move our state Forward through our shared hardships. Our state’s economy is recovering quickly with unemployment dropping to 5%. Employers have safely re-opened their doors – welcoming back employees and customers. It’s time to get Wisconsin’s children back into school, our workforce back to business, and our residents & visitors back to play.
Today, on inauguration day, we come together as one body, representing all 5.8 million of our fellow Wisconsinites. We pledge our oath to support the Constitutions of our state and nation. We will faithfully fulfill our duties on behalf of We the People. It is with an incredible sense of responsibility and deep love for our state and her people that we make this solemn promise to all Wisconsinites: our state’s best and most prosperous days lie ahead.
My thanks to all Senators for your willingness to serve your constituents and the State of Wisconsin. It’s time to get to work and move our great state FORWARD.”
_____________
Remarks of Minority Leader Bewley
“Today, we are at our best. We are proud and confident. We congratulate our new members of the Senate, and we thank their families and friends for the support that made it possible. It is a good day.
As we begin this 106th session of the Wisconsin Legislature, I am somewhat surprised my desire to take shelter from all the turmoil surrounding Covid and the presidential election results in here and focus on Wisconsin, our districts, our two caucuses and the important issues that lie ahead
But we can’t forget the two lessons given to us through the challenges of the past year. Covid exposed to everyone the inconsistent and often threadbare social and physical infrastructure throughout our state. And the death of George Floyd sent shockwaves around the world, placing at our feet the obligation to see and face racial injustice within our own systems.
As Senators, our job is to repair what is old and broken, and to create the new. Work delayed is progress and justice denied, and an abdication of our sworn duty to protect our state and its people. This Senate is capable of great things, but we need the courage to do them. Drafting bills is easy. Drafting bills that will pass is hard. Be we can do hard work, and the people of Wisconsin deserve our best work. Unthinkable things are around the corner, and we must be ready, and this is our time. And even if we are spared another global tragedy, what better can we do than plan, and dream and build for the best future possible. Our businesses deserve to thrive, our children want to learn, our elderly hope for security and comfort, and our waters and lands require our protection.
What can we do differently? We can try to see Wisconsin as each other sees it, through each other’s lens and try to appreciate and respect the diversity of opinions, lifestyles, values, backgrounds, fears and joys and simply try to understand. When we see things together, as our shared future, we will be doing our jobs. So, welcome to the future. We have a lot of work to do.”
_____________
Report of Committees
The joint committee on Legislative Organization reported and recommended:
Senate Joint Resolution 1
Relating to: the session schedule for the 2021−20122 biennial session period.
Introduction.
Ayes: 8 − Senator Kapenga, Representative Vos, Senators LeMahieu, Feyen, Bewley and Ringhand, Representatives Steineke and Peterson.
Noes: 2 – Representatives Hintz and Hesselbein.
CHRIS KAPENGA
Senate Chairperson
_____________
Senate Joint Resolution 1
Relating to: the session schedule for the 2021-2022 biennial session period.
By the joint committee on Legislative Organization.
hist125652The question was: Adoption of Senate Joint Resolution 1? The ayes and noes were required and the vote was: ayes, 28; noes, 3; absent or not voting, 1; as follows:
Ayes - Senators Agard, Ballweg, Bernier, Bewley, Bradley, Darling, Erpenbach, Felzkowski, Feyen, Jacque, Johnson, Kapenga, Kooyenga, Larson, LeMahieu, Marklein, Nass, Petrowski, Pfaff, Ringhand, Roth, Roys, Stafsholt, Stroebel, Testin, Wanggaard, Wimberger and Wirch - 28.
Noes - Senators Carpenter, Smith and L. Taylor - 3.
Absent or not voting - Senator Cowles - 1.
Adopted.
