77th Wisconsin Legislature

The Seventy-Seventh Wisconsin Legislature convened from January 13, 1965, to January 2, 1967, in regular session.

This was the first legislative session after the redistricting of the Senate and Assembly according to a decision of the Wisconsin Supreme Court in 1964.

Senators representing even-numbered districts were newly elected for this session and were serving the first two years of a four-year term. Assembly members were elected to a two-year term. Assembly members and even-numbered senators were elected in the general election of November 3, 1964. Senators representing odd-numbered districts were serving the third and fourth year of a four-year term, having been elected in the general election of November 6, 1962.

Major events

 * January 4, 1965: Inauguration of Warren P. Knowles as the 37th Governor of Wisconsin.
 * January 20, 1965: Second inauguration of Lyndon B. Johnson as President of the United States.
 * April 6, 1965: 1965 Wisconsin Spring election:
 * Wisconsin voters approved two amendments to the state constitution:
 * Revising the definition of a lottery.
 * Abolishing the county offices of coroner and surveyor for counties with more than 500,000 people (at the time, only Milwaukee County).
 * July 30, 1965: U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Social Security Amendments of 1965, creating Medicare and Medicaid.
 * January 2, 1966: The Green Bay Packers won the 1965 NFL Championship Game.
 * April 5, 1966: 1966 Wisconsin Spring election:
 * Wisconsin voters approved four amendments to the state constitution:
 * To allow state legislators to serve in the military without vacating their legislative office.
 * To allow the legislature to create inferior courts.
 * To eliminate Section 15 of Article VII of the constitution, abolishing the office of justice of the peace.
 * To allow for indebtedness in special districts for public utilities.
 * June 22, 1966: Wisconsin Assembly Republican leaders Paul Alfonsi and Willis J. Hutnik were indicted for accepting bribes. Alfonsi was ultimately convicted, but his conviction was overturned by the Wisconsin Supreme Court.
 * July 27, 1966: The Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled in the case State v. Milwaukee Braves, Inc., lifting a lower court injunction and allowing the Milwaukee Braves to move to Atlanta.
 * August 11, 1966: Wisconsin Supreme Court justice Thomas E. Fairchild resigned after he was confirmed as a judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.
 * August 24, 1966: Wisconsin Governor Warren P. Knowles appointed Leo B. Hanley to the Wisconsin Supreme Court, to succeed Thomas E. Fairchild.
 * November 8, 1966: 1966 United States general election:
 * Warren P. Knowles (R) re-elected as Governor of Wisconsin.

Major legislation

 * December 30, 1965: An Act ... relating to a public defender at appellate level, 1965 Act 479. Created the position of state public defender and placed the role under supervision of the Wisconsin Supreme Court.
 * 1965 Joint Resolution 2: Second legislative passage of a proposed amendment to the state constitution to revise the definition of lotteries. This amendment was ratified by voters at the April 1965 election.
 * 1965 Joint Resolution 5: Second legislative passage of a proposed amendment to the state constitution to abolish the county offices of coroner and surveyor in counties with a population greater than 500,000 (at the time, this only applied to Milwaukee County). This amendment was ratified by voters at the April 1965 election.
 * 1965 Joint Resolution 14: Second legislative passage of a proposed amendment to the state constitution to allow legislators to serve in the military without vacating their legislative seat. This amendment was ratified by voters at the April 1966 election.
 * 1965 Joint Resolution 50: Second legislative passage of two proposed amendments to the state constitution to allow the legislature to create inferior courts and to abolish the office of justice of the peace. Both amendments were ratified by voters at the April 1966 election.

Sessions

 * Regular session: January 13, 1965 –January 2, 1967

Senate leadership

 * President of the Senate: Patrick Lucey (D)
 * President pro tempore: Frank E. Panzer (R–Oakfield)
 * Majority leader: Robert P. Knowles (R–New Richmond)
 * Minority leader: Richard J. Zaborski (D–Milwaukee)

Assembly leadership

 * Speaker of the Assembly: Robert T. Huber (D–West Allis)
 * Speaker pro tempore: George Molinaro (D–Kenosha)
 * Majority leader: Frank Nikolay (D–Abbotsford)
 * Minority leader: Robert Haase (R–Marinette) (resigned Sep. 15, 1965)
 * Paul Alfonsi (R–Minocqua) (Oct. 4, 1965 –Jul. 8, 1966)

Members of the Senate
Members of the Senate for the Seventy-Seventh Wisconsin Legislature:

Members of the Assembly
Members of the Assembly for the Seventy-Seventh Wisconsin Legislature:

Senate committees

 * Senate Standing Committee on Agriculture –J. E. Leverich, chair
 * Senate Standing Committee on Conservation – C. Krueger, chair
 * Senate Standing Committee on Education – P. P. Carr, chair
 * Senate Standing Committee on Governmental and Veterans Affairs –W. Draheim, chair
 * Senate Standing Committee on Highways – J. Miller, chair
 * Senate Standing Committee on Interstate Cooperation – F. E. Panzer, chair
 * Senate Standing Committee on the Judiciary – A. Busby, chair
 * Senate Standing Committee on Labor, Taxation, Insurance, and Banking –G. Lorge, chair
 * Senate Standing Committee on Public Welfare –C. Dempsey, chair
 * Senate Standing Committee on Senate Organization –F. E. Panzer, chair
 * Senate Special Committee on Committees –R. Bice, chair
 * Senate Special Committee on Contingent Expenditures –R. La Fave, chair
 * Senate Special Committee on Legislative Procedure –F. E. Panzer, chair

Assembly committees

 * Assembly Standing Committee on Agriculture – D. D. O'Malley, chair
 * Assembly Standing Committee on Assembly Organization – R. T. Huber, chair
 * Assembly Standing Committee on Commerce and Manufactures – E. S. Kaufman, chair
 * Assembly Standing Committee on Conservation – N. C. Anderson, chair
 * Assembly Standing Committee on Contingent Expenditures – K. Kunde, chair
 * Assembly Standing Committee on Education – A. F. Greco, chair
 * Assembly Standing Committee on Elections – V. R. Mathews, chair
 * Assembly Standing Committee on Engrossed Bills – E. H. Elfers, chair
 * Assembly Standing Committee on Enrolled Bills – L. Barbee, chair
 * Assembly Standing Committee on Excise and Fees – E. E. Bolle, chair
 * Assembly Standing Committee on Highways – J. L. Blaska, chair
 * Assembly Standing Committee on Insurance and Banking – J. E. McCormick, chair
 * Assembly Standing Committee on the Judiciary – F. Nikolay, chair
 * Assembly Standing Committee on Labor – J. E. Jones, chair
 * Assembly Standing Committee on Municipalities – F. E. Schaeffer, chair
 * Assembly Standing Committee on Printing – B. A. Riehle, chair
 * Assembly Standing Committee on Public Welfare – H. L. Dueholm, chair
 * Assembly Standing Committee on Revision – L. V. Mato, chair
 * Assembly Standing Committee on Rules – F. Nikolay, chair
 * Assembly Standing Committee on State Affairs – E. W. Warren, chair
 * Assembly Standing Committee on Taxation – R. A. Perala, chair
 * Assembly Standing Committee on Third Reading – M. Lipscomb, chair
 * Assembly Standing Committee on Transportation – R. J. Tobiasz, chair
 * Assembly Standing Committee on Veterans and Military Affairs – N. Myhra, chair

Joint committees

 * Joint Standing Committee on Finance –W. G. Hollander (Sen.) & G. Molinaro (Asm.), co-chairs
 * Joint Standing Committee on Legislative Organization –R. Haase, chair
 * Joint Standing Committee on Revisions, Repeals, and Uniform Laws –E. Keppler (Sen.) & E. Nager (Asm.), co-chairs
 * Joint Legislative Council –R. T. Huber, chair

Senate employees

 * Chief Clerk: Lawrence R. Larsen (died March 2, 1965)
 * William P. Nugent
 * Sergeant-at-Arms: Harold E. Damon

Assembly employees

 * Chief Clerk: James P. Buckley
 * Sergeant-at-Arms: Thomas H. Browne

Changes from the 76th Legislature
New districts for the 77th Legislature were defined in the case of ''State ex rel. Reynolds v. Zimmerman'', decided by the Wisconsin Supreme Court in May 1964. This was the first time redistricting in Wisconsin was performed by a court.

Summary of Senate changes

 * Only 5 districts were left unchanged.
 * 7 counties were split into two or more districts, the most since the 1892 redistricting.
 * 18 districts comprised at least some split county component, the most in the history of the state.
 * Brown County went from having its own district to being split between two shared districts (2, 30).
 * Kenosha County became its own district (22) after previously having been in a shared district with Walworth.
 * Milwaukee County went from having 8 districts to 8 (3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11) plus part of a 9th (28).
 * Rock County went from having its own district to being split between two shared districts (15, 16).
 * Winnebago County became its own district (19) after previously having been in a shared district with Calumet.

Summary of Assembly changes

 * Only 22 districts were left unchanged.
 * Barron County went from having its own district to being in a shared district with Washburn.
 * Douglas County went from having 2 districts to 1.
 * Green County went from having its own district to being in a shared district with Lafayette.
 * Lincoln County went from having its own district to being in a shared district with Taylor.
 * Marinette County went from having its own district to being in a shared district with Florence.
 * Oconto County went from having its own district to being in a shared district with Langlade.
 * Milwaukee County went from having 24 districts to 25.
 * Outagamie County went from having 2 districts to 3.
 * Waukesha County went from having 2 districts to 3.