96th Wisconsin Legislature

The Ninety-Sixth Wisconsin Legislature convened from January 6, 2003, to January 3, 2005, in regular session, and held a concurrent special session from January 30, 2003, to February 20, 2003. They also held seven extraordinary sessions during the term.

This was the first legislative session after the redistricting of the Senate and Assembly according to the 2002 federal court decision, Baumgart v. Wendelberger.

Senators representing odd-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 odd-numbered senators were elected in the general election of November 5, 2002. Senators representing even-numbered districts were serving the third and fourth year of their four-year term, having been elected in the general election of November 7, 2000.

Major events

 * January 6, 2003: Inauguration of Jim Doyle as the 44th Governor of Wisconsin.
 * February 1, 2003: U.S. Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during re-entry, killing all seven crew members aboard.
 * March 20, 2003: The United States invaded Iraq, initiating the Iraq War.
 * April 1, 2003: 2003 Wisconsin Spring election:
 * Patience D. Roggensack was elected to the Wisconsin Supreme Court to succeed William A. Bablitch.
 * Wisconsin voters ratified an amendment to the state constitution codifying the right to fish, hunt, trap, and take game.
 * April 9, 2003: U.S. military forces seized control of Baghdad.
 * April 14, 2003: The Human Genome Project was completed.
 * May 28, 2003: The U.S. Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003 was signed into law.
 * July 14, 2003: Valerie Plame was outed as a CIA agent by columnist Robert Novak, initiating a scandal.
 * December 8, 2003: The U.S. Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act was signed into law.
 * December 13, 2003: Saddam Hussein was captured by U.S. military forces in Ad-Dawr, Iraq.
 * February 4, 2004: Facebook was created by Mark Zuckerberg at Harvard University.
 * February 29, 2004: Haitian president Jean-Bertrand Aristide was overthrown in a coup d'état.
 * March 29, 2004: Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia were admitted to NATO.
 * May 17, 2004: Massachusetts became the first U.S. state to issue marriage licenses for Same-sex marriages.
 * June 5, 2004: Former U.S. president Ronald Reagan died at his home in Los Angeles, California.
 * September 13, 2004: The Federal Assault Weapons Ban expired.
 * November 2, 2004: 2004 United States general election:
 * George W. Bush (R) re-elected as President of the United States.
 * Russ Feingold (D) re-elected as United States senator from Wisconsin.
 * December 17, 2004: The U.S. Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act was signed into law.
 * December 26, 2004: The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami resulted in more than 200,000 deaths in southeast Asia.

Sessions

 * Regular session: January 6, 2003 – January 3, 2005
 * January 2003 Special session: January 30, 2003 – February 20, 2003
 * February 2003 Extraordinary session: February 20, 2003 – February 21, 2003
 * July 2003 Extraordinary session: July 1, 2003 – July 2, 2003
 * August 2003 Extraordinary session: August 11, 2003 – September 25, 2003
 * December 2003 Extraordinary session: December 1, 2003 – February 5, 2004
 * March 2004 Extraordinary session: March 11, 2004 – March 25, 2004
 * May 2004 Extraordinary session: May 18, 2004 – May 19, 2004
 * July 2004 Extraordinary session: July 27, 2004 – July 28, 2004

Senate leadership

 * President of the Senate: Alan Lasee (R–Rockland)
 * President pro tempore: Robert Welch (R–Redgranite)


 * Majority leadership (Republican)
 * Majority Leader: Mary Panzer (R–West Bend)
 * Assistant Majority Leader: David Zien (R–Wheaton)
 * Majority Caucus Chairperson: Mary Lazich (R–New Berlin)


 * Minority leadership (Democratic)
 * Minority Leader: Jon Erpenbach (D–Middleton)
 * Assistant Minority Leader: Dave Hansen (D–Green Bay)
 * Minority Caucus Chairperson: Robert Wirch (D–Pleasant Prairie)

Assembly leadership

 * Speaker of the Assembly: John Gard (R–Peshtigo)
 * Speaker pro tempore: Stephen Freese (R–Jamestown)


 * Majority leadership (Republican)
 * Majority Leader: Steven Foti (R–Oconomowoc)
 * Assistant Majority Leader: Jean Hundertmark (R–Larrabee)
 * Majority Caucus Chairperson: Daniel P. Vrakas (R–Delafield)
 * Majority Caucus Vice Chairperson: Glenn Grothman (R–West Bend)
 * Majority Caucus Secretary: Carol Owens (R–Nekimi)
 * Majority Caucus Sergeant at Arms: Jerry Petrowski (R–Stettin)


 * Minority leadership (Democratic)
 * Minority Leader: James Kreuser (D–Kenosha)
 * Assistant Minority Leader: Jon Richards (D–Milwaukee)
 * Minority Caucus Chairperson: Robert L. Turner (D–Racine)
 * Minority Caucus Vice Chairperson: Gary Sherman (D–Port Wing)
 * Minority Caucus Secretary: Amy Sue Vruwink (D–Milladore)
 * Minority Caucus Sergeant at Arms: Jennifer Shilling (D–La Crosse)

Members of the Senate
Members of the Wisconsin Senate for the Ninety-Sixth Wisconsin Legislature:

Members of the Assembly
Members of the Assembly for the Ninety-Sixth Wisconsin Legislature:

Changes from the 95th Legislature
The most significant structural change to the Legislature between the 95th and 96th sessions was the reapportionment and redistricting of legislative seats. The new districts were defined in the federal court decision Baumgart v. Wendelberger, from a three-judge panel of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin.