13.26(1)(1) Each house may punish as a contempt, by imprisonment, a breach of its privileges or the privileges of its members; but only for one or more of the following offenses:
13.26(1)(a)
(a) Arresting a member or officer of the house, or procuring such member or officer to be arrested in violation of the member's privilege from arrest.
13.26(1)(b)
(b) Disorderly conduct in the immediate view of either house or of any committee thereof and directly tending to interrupt its proceedings.
13.26(1)(c)
(c) Refusing to attend or be examined as a witness, either before the house or a committee, or before any person authorized to take testimony in legislative proceedings, or to produce any books, records, documents, papers or keys according to the exigency of any subpoena.
13.26(1)(d)
(d) Giving or offering a bribe to a member, or attempting by menace or other corrupt means or device to control or influence a member's vote or to prevent the member from voting.
13.26(2)
(2) The term of imprisonment a house may impose under this section shall not extend beyond the same session of the legislature.
13.26 History
History: 1991 a. 316;
1997 a. 35.
13.26 Annotation
The legislature cannot sentence a person to confinement for contempt without notice and without giving an opportunity to respond to the charge. Groppi v. Leslie,
404 U.S. 496.
13.26 Annotation
Power of a legislature to punish for contempt. Boer, 1973 WLR 268.
13.27
13.27
Punishment for contempt. 13.27(1)
(1) Whenever either house of the legislature orders the imprisonment of any person for contempt under
s. 13.26 such person shall be committed to the Dane County jail, and the jailer shall receive and detain the person in close confinement for the term specified in the order of imprisonment, unless the person is sooner discharged by the order of such house or by due course of law.
13.27(2)
(2) Any person who is adjudged guilty of any contempt of the legislature or either house thereof shall be deemed guilty also of a misdemeanor, and after the adjournment of such legislature, may be prosecuted therefor in Dane County, and may be fined not more than $200 or imprisoned not more than one year in the county jail.
13.27 History
History: 1991 a. 316.
13.28
13.28
Interpellation of officers. 13.28(1)
(1) Upon the petition of 6 members of the senate, not more than 4 of whom belong to the same political party, or of 17 members of the assembly, not more than 9 of whom belong to the same political party, any appointive state officer shall appear before that house of the legislature to which the petitioning members belong, to answer written and oral interrogatories relative to any matter, function or work of such officer, relative to any act, omission or other matter pertaining to the powers or privileges exercised or duties performed by the officer or by any employee or subordinate of such officer, relative to the manner, conditions or terms of the officer's appointment or of any appointment made by the officer or relative to any act, omission or conduct unbecoming the position of any such officer. Such petition shall be in writing, shall be accompanied by written interrogatories, shall be signed by the petitioning members and shall be filed with the presiding officer of that house of the legislature to which such petitioning members belong.
13.28(2)
(2) Upon the joint petition of 6 members of the senate, not more than 4 of whom belong to the same political party, and 17 members of the assembly, not more than 9 of whom belong to the same political party, filed with the presiding officer of the senate, requesting an examination of any appointive state officer made subject thereto by
sub. (1) before a joint session of the 2 houses of the legislature, such officer shall appear before such joint session and answer written and oral interrogatories as to any matters included in
sub. (1).
13.28 History
History: 1983 a. 36 s.
96 (2);
1991 a. 316.
13.29
13.29
Time for interpellation and procedure. 13.29(1)
(1) Upon the filing of any petition, under
s. 13.28, the presiding officer with whom the petition is filed, shall fix a time not later than 20 days after the filing of the petition, for the meeting of that house of the legislature, or the joint session of the legislature, as the case may be, before which such interrogation and examination shall be held. A notice of such meeting, together with a copy of the written interrogatories, shall be forthwith delivered to the officer named therein.
13.29(2)
(2) The legislature may adopt rules to govern such examinations. All proceedings, including all questions and answers, shall be fully recorded and a copy thereof shall be transmitted to the governor within 30 days after the close of the examination.
13.29 History
History: 1983 a. 36 s.
96 (2).
13.30
13.30
State officers; removal by legislature. Any appointive state officer after being examined under
ss. 13.28 and
13.29 may be removed by the legislature by joint resolution adopted in each house by a majority of the members elected to such house. The power to remove appointive state officers provided in this section is additional to and shall not be construed as destroying the right of removal by other persons.
13.31
13.31
Witnesses; how subpoenaed. The attendance of witnesses before any committee of the legislature, or of either house thereof, appointed to investigate any subject matter, may be procured by subpoenas signed by the presiding officer and chief clerk of the senate or assembly. Such subpoenas shall state when and where, and before whom, the witness is required to appear, and may require such attendance forthwith or on a future day named and the production of books, records, documents and papers therein to be designated, and may also require any officer of any corporation or limited liability company, or other person having the custody of the keys, books, records, documents or papers of any such business entity, to produce the same before such committee. Such subpoenas may be served by any person and shall be returned to the chief clerk of the house which issued the same as subpoenas from the circuit court are served and returned.
13.31 History
History: 1993 a. 112.
13.32
13.32
Summary process; custody of witness. 13.32(1)
(1) Upon the return of a subpoena issued under
s. 13.31, duly served, and upon filing with the presiding officer of the house from which the subpoena issued a certificate of the chairperson of the committee certifying that any person named therein failed or neglected to appear before the committee in obedience to the mandate of such subpoena, summary process to compel the attendance of such person shall be issued.
13.32(2)
(2) Such summary process shall be signed by the presiding officer and chief clerk of the house which issued the subpoena, and shall be directed to the sergeant at arms thereof commanding the sergeant at arms "in the name of the state of Wisconsin" to take the body of the person so failing to attend, naming that person, and bring the person forthwith before the house whose subpoena the person disobeyed. When so arrested the person shall be taken before the committee desiring to examine the person as a witness, or to obtain from the person books, records, documents or papers for their use as evidence, and when before such committee such person shall testify as to the matters concerning which the person is interrogated.
13.32(3)
(3) When such person is not on examination before such committee the person shall remain in the custody of the sergeant at arms or in the custody of some person specially deputed for that purpose; and the officer having charge of the person shall from time to time take the person before such committee until the chairperson of the committee certifies that the committee does not wish to examine such person further. Thereupon such witness shall be taken before the house which issued the summary process and that house shall order the release of the witness, or may proceed to punish the witness for any contempt of such house in not complying with the requirement of this chapter or of any writ issued or served as herein provided.
13.32 History
History: 1991 a. 316;
1993 a. 184.
13.33
13.33
Service of process. Either house ordering any summary process may also direct the sergeant at arms to specially depute some competent person to execute the same, and such deputation shall be endorsed on such process in writing over the signature of the sergeant at arms to whom the same is directed. The person so deputed shall have the same power as the sergeant at arms in respect thereto, and shall execute the same according to the mandate thereof, and for that purpose the sergeant at arms or the deputy may call to his or her aid the power of the county wherein such writ is to be executed the same as the sheriff of such county could do for the purpose of arresting a person charged with crime under process issued by a court of competent jurisdiction; and any sergeant at arms having any person in custody by virtue of any such summary process may depute any other person to have charge of the person so in custody, and the person so deputed shall have the same power over such person as is conferred upon the sergeant at arms.
13.33 History
History: 1991 a. 316.
13.34
13.34
Refusal to testify. Every refusal to testify or answer any question, or to produce keys, books, records, documents or papers before any committee included within
s. 13.31 shall be forthwith certified to the proper house by the chairperson of such committee. Such certificate shall be transmitted, and the person so refusing taken, by the sergeant at arms or an assistant to the sergeant at arms, before such house to be dealt with according to law.
13.34 History
History: 1991 a. 316;
1993 a. 184.
13.35
13.35
Liability of witness. 13.35(1)
(1) No person who is required to testify before either house of the legislature or a committee thereof, or joint committee of the 2 houses, and is examined and so testifies, shall be held to answer criminally in any court or be subject to any penalty or forfeiture for any fact or act touching which the person is required to testify and as to which the person has been examined and has testified, and no testimony so given nor any paper, document or record produced by any such person before either house of the legislature or any such committee shall be competent testimony or be used in any trial or criminal proceeding against such person in any court, except upon a prosecution for perjury committed in giving such testimony; and no witness shall be allowed to refuse to testify to any fact, or to produce any papers, documents or records touching which the person is examined before either house or any such committee, for the reason that the testimony touching such fact, or the production of such papers, documents or records may tend to disgrace the person or otherwise render the person infamous.
13.35(2)
(2) The immunity provided under
sub. (1) is subject to the restrictions under
s. 972.085.
13.35 History
History: 1989 a. 122,
359.
13.36
13.36
Witness fees. The compensation of all witnesses who are subpoenaed and appear pursuant to
s. 13.31 shall be $2 for each day's attendance and 10 cents per mile, one way, for travel to attend as such witness. The department of administration shall audit the accounts of such witnesses upon the certificate of the chairperson of the committee before which any such witness has attended, stating the number of days' attendance and the distance the witness has traveled, and the accounts so audited shall be paid out of the state treasury and charged to the appropriation for the legislature.
13.36 History
History: 1991 a. 316;
1993 a. 184.
13.40
13.40
Limitation on state appropriations from general purpose revenue. 13.40(1)(ad)
(ad) "Compensation reserves" means the total estimated amount designated as compensation reserves for a given fiscal year as shown in the schedule under
s. 20.005 (1) published in the biennial budget act or the modified total amount of compensation reserves for that fiscal year specified in any other act.
13.40(1)(am)
(am) "Fiscal biennium" means a 2-year period beginning on July 1 of an odd-numbered year.
13.40(1)(c)
(c) "State operations" means all purposes except aids to individuals and organizations and local assistance.
13.40(2)
(2) Except as provided in
subs. (3) and
(3m), the amount appropriated from general purpose revenue for each fiscal biennium, excluding any amount under an appropriation specified in
sub. (3) (a) to
(i), as determined under
sub. (4), may not exceed the sum of:
13.40(2)(a)
(a) The amount appropriated from general purpose revenue, excluding any amount under an appropriation specified in
sub. (3), for the 2nd fiscal year of the prior fiscal biennium as determined under
sub. (4), multiplied by the sum of 1.0 and the annual percentage change in this state's aggregate personal income, expressed as a decimal, for the calendar year that begins on the January 1 that immediately precedes the first year of the fiscal biennium, as estimated by the legislative fiscal bureau, in consultation with the department of revenue, no later than November 20 of each even-numbered year.
13.40(2)(b)
(b) The amount determined under
par. (a) multiplied by the sum of 1.0 and the annual percentage change in this state's aggregate personal income, expressed as a decimal, for the calendar year that begins on the January 1 that immediately precedes the 2nd year of the fiscal biennium, as estimated by the legislative fiscal bureau, in consultation with the department of revenue, no later than November 20 of each even-numbered year.
13.40(3)
(3) The limitation under
sub. (2) does not apply to any of the following:
13.40(3)(a)
(a) An appropriation for principal repayment and interest payments on public debt, as defined in
s. 18.01 (4), or operating notes, as defined in
s. 18.71 (4).
13.40(3)(b)
(b) An appropriation to honor a moral obligation undertaken pursuant to
ss. 16.527 (10),
18.61 (5),
85.25 (5),
101.143 (9m) (i),
229.50 (7),
229.74 (7),
229.830 (7),
234.15 (4),
234.42 (4),
234.54 (4) (b),
234.626 (7),
234.93 (6),
234.932 (6),
234.933 (6), and
281.59 (13m).
13.40(3)(c)
(c) An appropriation to make a payment to the United States that the building commission determines to be payable under
s. 13.488 (1) (m).
13.40(3)(d)
(d) An appropriation contained in a bill that is enacted with approval of at least two-thirds of the members of each house of the legislature.
13.40(3)(e)
(e) An appropriation for legal expenses and the costs of judgments, orders, and settlements of actions and appeals incurred by the state.
13.40(3)(fm)
(fm) An appropriation for the 2005-07 fiscal biennium to make payments to counties, towns, villages, and cities under
s. 79.035.
13.40(3)(g)
(g) An appropriation to make a transfer from the general fund to the budget stabilization fund under
s. 20.875 (1) (a).
13.40(3)(i)
(i) An appropriation to any of the following:
13.40(3)(i)3.
3. The board of regents of the University of Wisconsin System.
13.40(3m)(ae)(ae) In this subsection, an "excluded appropriation" consists of all of the following:
13.40(3m)(ae)1.
1. State operations appropriations for the Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System.
13.40(3m)(am)
(am) In addition to the limitation under
sub. (2), the amount appropriated from general purpose revenue for state operations in fiscal year 2005-06, less any excluded appropriation and excluding the estimated amount to be expended from general purpose revenue for debt service for that fiscal year, may not exceed the amount appropriated from general purpose revenue for state operations in fiscal year 2004-05, less any excluded appropriation and excluding the estimated amount to be expended from general purpose revenue for debt service for that fiscal year, as shown in the schedule under
s. 20.005 (3) published in the 2003-04 Wisconsin Statutes, less $100,000,000.
13.40(3m)(bm)
(bm) For purposes of
par. (am), the amount of any sum sufficient appropriation for fiscal year 2004-05 is considered to be the amount shown in the schedule under
s. 20.005 (3) as published in the 2003-04 Wisconsin Statutes, and the amount of any sum sufficient appropriation for any other fiscal year is considered to be the amount shown in the schedule under
s. 20.005 (3) in the latest act specifying the estimated expenditures for that appropriation for that fiscal year. For purposes of
par. (am), the amount of any biennial appropriation for fiscal year 2004-05 is considered to be the amount shown in the schedule under
s. 20.005 (3) as published in the 2003-04 Wisconsin Statutes, and the amount of any biennial appropriation for any other fiscal year is considered to be the amount shown in the schedule under
s. 20.005 (3) in the latest act specifying the amount appropriated for that appropriation for that fiscal year.
13.40(4)
(4) For purposes of
sub. (2), the legislative fiscal bureau shall determine the amount appropriated from general purpose revenue for any fiscal biennium to which
sub. (2) applies. The legislative fiscal bureau shall make this determination no later than December 1 of each even-numbered year.
LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEES
13.45
13.45
General provisions on legislative committees. 13.45(1)(1)
Term; eligibility; vacancies. 13.45(1)(a)(a) Unless otherwise provided by law, the terms of all legislator members of committees or other bodies established by statute on which there are legislator members appointed as are the members of standing committees in their respective houses, shall expire on the date specified in
s. 13.02 (1). Unless otherwise provided by rule or resolution, any special legislative committee and the memberships thereof shall expire upon the accomplishment of the purpose for which the committee was created or the termination of the legislative session biennium in which the committee was created.
13.45(1)(b)
(b) A legislator's membership, on any committee or other body established by statute to which the legislator was appointed by reason of being a member of the legislature, terminates when such person ceases to be a legislator.
13.45(1)(c)
(c) Legislator vacancies on committees or other bodies established by statute, including first appointments upon the creation of such committees or bodies, shall be filled as are original appointments at the commencement of the legislative session biennium.
13.45(2)
(2) Appointments reported. The chief clerk of each house shall file a duplicate of each report required by
s. 14.40 (4) with the director of the legislative council staff.
13.45(3)(a)(a) For any day for which the legislator does not file a claim under
s. 13.123 (1), any legislator appointed to serve on a legislative committee or a committee to which the legislator was appointed by either house or the officers thereof shall be reimbursed from the appropriations under
s. 20.765 (1) (a) or
(b) for actual and necessary expenses incurred as a member of the committee.
13.45(3)(b)
(b) Unless otherwise provided by law, any state officer or employee representing an agency as a member of a committee under this chapter shall be reimbursed by the agency for the actual and necessary expenses incurred by the officer or employee in the performance of duties as a committee member.
13.45(3)(c)
(c) Unless otherwise provided by law, any member of a committee under this chapter and not covered by
par. (a) or
(b) shall be reimbursed from the appropriation of the committee on which the member serves for the actual and necessary expenses incurred by the member in the performance of duties as a committee member.
13.45(4)
(4) Organization. Unless otherwise provided by law, and except as provided in
sub. (4m), every legislative committee or committee on which there are legislative members selected by either house or the officers thereof shall:
13.45(4)(a)
(a) Elect a chairperson, vice chairperson and secretary from among its members.
13.45(4)(b)
(b) Meet at such times, and at such locations within this state, as the chairperson with the consent of the members announces.
13.45(4)(d)
(d) Maintain a written record of its proceedings.
