81st Wisconsin Legislature

The Eighty-First Wisconsin Legislature convened from January 1, 1973, to January 6, 1975, in regular session, and also convened in three special sessions.

This was the first legislative session after the redistricting of the Senate and Assembly according to an act of the previous session. This was also the first legislative session under the current legislative configuration, with 99 members of the Assembly and 33 state senators, with each senate district comprising three assembly districts.

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 7, 1972. 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 3, 1970.

Major events

 * January 20, 1973: Second inauguration of Richard Nixon as President of the United States.
 * January 27, 1973: The Paris Peace Accords were signed, ending the formal participation of the United States in the Vietnam War.
 * October 10, 1973: U.S. Vice President Spiro Agnew pled no contest to a charge of felony tax evasion and resigned from office.
 * December 6, 1973: Gerald Ford was sworn in as the 40th Vice President of the United States.
 * August 1, 1974: Wisconsin Supreme Court chief justice E. Harold Hallows resigned. Justice Horace W. Wilkie became the 21st chief justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court due to the rule of seniority.
 * August 9, 1974: U.S. President Richard Nixon resigned from office in the midst of the Watergate scandal. Vice President Gerald Ford immediately succeeded him as the 38th President of the United States.
 * November 5, 1974: 1974 United States general election:
 * Patrick Lucey (D) re-elected Governor of Wisconsin.
 * Gaylord Nelson (D) re-elected United States senator from Wisconsin.

Major legislation

 * August 4, 1973: An Act ... constituting the executive budget bill of the 1973 legislature, and making appropriations, 1973 Act 90. The 1973 budget, it also created the Wisconsin State Ethics Board.
 * July 6, 1974: An Act ... relating to regulation of elections and campaign contributions and expenditures, providing penalties and making appropriations, 1973 Act 334. Created the Wisconsin State Elections Board.

Sessions

 * Regular session: January 1, 1973 –January 6, 1975
 * December 1973 special session: December 17, 1973 –December 21, 1973
 * April 1974 special session: April 29, 1974 –June 13, 1974
 * November 1974 special session: November 19, 1974 –November 20, 1974

Senate leadership

 * President of the Senate: Martin J. Schreiber (D)
 * President pro tempore: Robert P. Knowles (R–New Richmond)
 * Vice President of the Senate: Ernest Keppler (R–Sheboygan)
 * Majority leader: Raymond C. Johnson (R–Eau Claire)
 * Minority leader: Fred Risser (D–Madison)

Assembly leadership

 * Speaker of the Assembly: Norman C. Anderson (D–Madison)
 * Speaker pro tempore: Joseph Sweda (D–Lublin)
 * Majority leader: Tony Earl (D–Wausau)
 * Minority leader: John C. Shabaz (R–New Berlin)

Members of the Senate
Members of the Senate for the Eighty-First Wisconsin Legislature:

Members of the Assembly
Members of the Assembly for the Eighty-First Wisconsin Legislature:

Senate employees

 * Chief Clerk: William P. Nugent
 * Sergeant-at-Arms: Kenneth Nicholson

Assembly employees

 * Chief Clerk: Thomas S. Hanson
 * Sergeant-at-Arms: William F. Quick

Changes from the 80th Legislature
New districts for the 81st Legislature were defined in 1971 Wisconsin Act 304, passed into law in the 80th Wisconsin Legislature. This was probably the most important redistricting in state history, as it established the current system of representation, ending the process of allocating Assembly districts by county and creating each Senate district as a combination of three whole Assembly districts.

Summary of Senate changes

 * Every district saw its boundaries change.

Summary of Assembly changes

 * 1 district was left unchanged (73&mdash;previously the Douglas County district).
 * The Eau Claire–Chippewa Falls metro area was divided between four districts (67, 68, 69, 91) after previously being divided between three.
 * The Green Bay metro area was divided between five districts (1, 3, 4, 5, 89) after previously being divided between three.
 * The Madison metro area was divided between 7 districts (37, 38, 46, 47, 76, 77, 78) after previously being divided between five.
 * The Racine–Kenosha metro area was divided between 6 districts (61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66) after previously being divided between five.
 * The Waukesha County suburbs of Milwaukee were divided between 6 districts (82, 83, 84, 97, 98, 99) after previously being divided between four.
 * The size of Milwaukee County's delegation was roughly unchanged.