Although the margins are smaller, Republicans will once again have majority control in both the Assembly 54-45 and Senate 18-15, including  six new State Senators and thirty-one new members of the State Assembly.

Lawmakers have been sworn in, offices assigned, staff hired, leadership elected, and committee appointments completed.  The Senate has already voted on a resolution to amend the State Constitution with Voter ID language, and the Assembly will likely also adopt the resolution sending the Voter ID issue to the voters for approval.

Representative Robin Vos (Burlington), Speaker of the Assembly, and Senator Devin LeMahieu (Oostburg), Senate Majority Leader, said reducing individual income taxes is a top priority of the 2025-26 Legislature. “The money we set aside for tax cuts will not be spent by this Legislature on other wants, no matter how many special interests or tax-and-spend politicians apply pressure to get it out of the Treasury’s hands,” said Vos.

Senator LeMahieu said his top priority is returning the $4 billion budget surplus to Wisconsin taxpayers, and to pass a “responsible balanced” budget.

Senator LeMahieu indicated a stand alone tax cut bill will be introduced and approved by the Senate before any action is taken on the Governor’s budget proposal. “I think it’s important to get a commitment from the Governor to cut taxes first before we pass the budget,” said LeMahieu.

Senator Diane Hesselbein (Middleton), Senate Minority Leader, said her goal this session is to work with each other to “achieve common sense solutions” to important issues.  “Let’s make a promise today that we won’t let that partisan bickering, public squabbles, nonsense and nastiness to get into this Chamber, and that is going to take work.”

She said her top priorities include affordable health care and prescription drug coverage, financial security, healthy families and safe schools – all goals likely shared by all legislators but often disagree about how to achieve them.

Meanwhile Governor Tony Evers is working on his two-year budget proposal which will include “more money for schools,” and whatever he can do to prevent mass deportations.

“In order for us to thrive as a state economically, and that has to be an overall goal, there’s more than one thing that has to happen,” Governor Evers said, “Part of that is affordable housing, part of that is tax relief, part of that is making sure our public schools are strong.”

The Governor will present his budget proposal to a Joint Session of the Legislature on February 18, 2025.