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Overview of Governmental Structure
There are three branches of Wisconsin state government:
legislative, executive and judicial. The legislative branch includes
the Wisconsin Legislature, composed of the senate and assembly,
and the service agencies and staff that assist legislators. The
governor heads the executive branch, which includes five other elected
constitutional officers, as well as 18 departments, and 13 independent
agencies created by statute.i
The Budget Process in a Nutshell
The budget bill is the longest and most complex
bill of the legislative session. It covers a 2-year period from
July 1 of one odd-numbered year through June 30 of the next. (e.g.,
July 1, 2007– June 30, 2009) The governor is required to deliver
the budget message to the new legislature on or before the last
Tuesday in January, although the legislature can extend the deadline
at the governor’s request. This message is accompanied by
the state budget report and the biennial executive budget bill or
bills, proposed by the governor, which will be introduced by one
house of the legislature and sent to the Joint Committee
on Finance** without change.ii
In the legislature, the Joint Committee on Finance
holds hearings on the departmental requests and governor’s
program initiatives. When completed, the Joint Committee on Finance
reports the budget bill to the house of the legislature where it
was introduced. The committee’s report takes the form of a
substitute amendment, which is a modified version of the governor’s
budget.
The bill then follows the normal legislative procedure
through both houses of the legislature, although it is amended many
times. In most sessions, the budget bill has required a conference
committee* before final passage.iii The purpose of the conference
committee is to resolve differences between the two legislative
bodies’ versions of the budget. When finally passed by the
legislature, the budget bill is submitted for the
governor’s approval. The governor may sign the budget bill,
veto*** it in its entirety (which would be unlikely),
or use partial vetoes (line-item veto), as is usually the case.iv
*Conference
Committee
When two houses pass different versions of a bill,
and are not able to resolve their differences through amendments,
one house may request a committee of conference. The conference
committee is made up of representatives of both the senate and assembly,
generally the leaders of each house. The rules do not require bipartisan
representation, although members of both parties are often appointed.
A conference committee report, which requires
agreement of the majority of each house’s representatives,
will consist of the committee’s recommendations to the legislature
and may include one or more simple amendments or a substitute amendment
to the bill. When either house takes up the conference report, the
question is simply adoption or rejection of the report. A conference
report cannot be amended. Approval of
the report by roll call vote in each house constitutes final passage
of the bill.v The biennial budget bill is usually resolved in the
manner.
**Joint Committee on
Finance
The Joint Committee
of Finance examines all legislation that deals with state income
and spending before it can be enacted into law.vi The joint committee
introduces the biennial budget as recommended by the governor. After
holding a series of public hearings and executive sessions, it submits
its own version of the budget as a substitute amendment to be considered
by the legislature.
The committee is composed of the 8 senators on
the Senate Finance Committee and the 8 representatives on the Assembly
Finance Committee. It must include members of the majority and minority
party in each house.vii
***Governor’s
Veto Power
All bills passed by the legislature must either
be approved by the governor or passed over the governor’s
veto (which requires a 2/3 vote in each house) before they can become
law. The governor may veto an entire bill or veto specific parts
of appropriation bills.viii The veto power gives the governor a
great deal of power over the content of any new law, particularly
the final version of the biennial budget.ix
i State of Wisconsin Blue Book, p. 246, 2002 edition
ii State of Wisconsin Blue Book, p.166, 1993-94 edition
iii Ibid
iv State of Wisconsin Blue Book, p. 269-70, 2002 edition
v State of Wisconsin Blue Book, p. 165-66, 1993-94 edition
vi State of Wisconsin Blue Book, p. 265, 2002 edition
vii State of Wisconsin Blue Book, p. 282, 2002 edition
viii State of Wisconsin Blue Book, p. 323, 2002 edition
ix State of Wisconsin Blue Book, p. 247, 2002 edition
Printable
Version of The Wisconsin Biennial Budget Process 
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