75th Wisconsin Legislature

• January 2, 1961: Second inauguration of Gaylord Nelson as Governor of Wisconsin.
• January 20, 1961: Inauguration of John F. Kennedy as the 35th President of the United States.
• January 25, 1961: John F. Kennedy delivered the first live televised press conference by a U.S. president.
• March 1, 1961: U.S. President John F. Kennedy established the Peace Corps by executive order.
• March 29, 1961: The Twenty-third Amendment to the United States Constitution came into force after it was ratified by the requisite number of states.
• April 4, 1961: 1961 Wisconsin spring election:
  • Myron L. Gordon was elected to the Wisconsin Supreme Court to succeed John E. Martin.
  • Wisconsin voters approved four amendments to the state constitution:
    • Directing the legislature to set a plan for continuity of government.
    • Establishing taxation rules for commercial stock and property.
    • Allowing the legislature to set rules for municipal eminent domain seizures and removing a jury from the process.
    • Allowing an additional 10% municipal indebtedness for school purposes in districts that offer all levels of primary schooling.
  • Wisconsin voters also rejected two amendments to the state constitution:
    • Allowing sheriffs to serve successive terms. This was the fifth failed attempt to remove or alter these term limits for sheriffs.
    • Allowing the legislature to vote a pay increase for the same session of the legislature.
• April 12, 1961: Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human in space, piloting the Vostok 1 mission.
• April 19, 1961: The Bay of Pigs Invasion of Cuba ended in failure.
• May 5, 1961: Astronaut Alan Shepard became the first American in space, piloting the Mercury-Redstone 3.
• May 25, 1961: At a joint session of congress, U.S. President John F. Kennedy announced his goal to put a man on the Moon by the end of the decade.
• August 13, 1961: Construction of the Berlin Wall began.
• November 18, 1962: U.S. President John F. Kennedy ordered 18,000 U.S. military advisors to South Vietnam.
• December 31, 1961: The Green Bay Packers won the 1961 NFL Championship Game.
• January 1, 1962: Grover L. Broadfoot became the 17th chief justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court by rule of seniority, at the expiration of the term of justice John E. Martin.
• May 18, 1962: Wisconsin Supreme Court chief justice Grover L. Broadfoot died in office. Justice Timothy Brown became the 18th chief justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court due to the rule of seniority.
• October 28, 1962: Soviet Union leader Nikita Khrushchev announced that he ordered the removal of Soviet missile bases from Cuba, ending the Cuban Missile Crisis.
• November 6, 1962: 1962 United States general election:
  • John W. Reynolds Jr. (D) elected Governor of Wisconsin.
  • Gaylord Nelson (D) elected United States senator from Wisconsin.
  • Wisconsin voters approved three amendments to the state constitution:
    • Removing the exemption for "indians not taxed" from the legislative apportionment rules.
    • Allowing the legislature to create the office of county executive for counties with more than 500,000 residents (only Milwaukee County).
    • Establishing the rules of the veto power for the county executive.
• December 23, 1962: Wisconsin Assembly speaker David Blanchard died in office.
• December 30, 1962: The Green Bay Packers won the 1962 NFL Championship Game.

• 1961 Joint Resolution 8: Second legislative passage of a proposed amendment to the state constitution to allow an additional 10% municipal indebtedness for school purposes in districts that offer all levels of primary schooling. This amendment was ratified by voters at the April 1961 election.
• 1961 Joint Resolution 9: Second legislative passage of a proposed amendment to the state constitution to allow sheriffs to serve successive terms. This amendment was rejected by voters at the April 1961 election.
• 1961 Joint Resolution 10: Second legislative passage of a proposed amendment to the state constitution to create section 34 of article IV, directing the legislature to create a plan for continuity of government in the event of an emergency. This amendment was ratified by voters at the April 1961 election.
• 1961 Joint Resolution 11: Second legislative passage of a proposed amendment to the state constitution to allow legislators to change their own salary within the same session. This amendment was rejected by voters at the April 1961 election.
• 1961 Joint Resolution 12: Second legislative passage of a proposed amendment to the state constitution to allow the legislature to set new rules for municipal eminent domain acquisitions, and removing the constitutional requirement for a jury verdict in such cases. This amendment was ratified by voters at the April 1961 election.
• 1961 Joint Resolution 13: Second legislative passage of a proposed amendment to the state constitution to add rules for taxation of commercial goods and property. This amendment was ratified by voters at the April 1961 election.
• 1961 Joint Resolution 32: Second legislative passage of a proposed amendment to the state constitution to remove exemption of "indians not taxed" from the legislative apportionment rules. This amendment was ratified by voters at the November 1962 election.
• 1961 Joint Resolution 64: Second legislative passage of two proposed amendments to the state constitution to allow the legislature to establish the office of county executive for any county with a population over five hundred thousand (at the time, only Milwaukee County fit this criterion). The amendment also proposed a veto power for the county executive over the acts of the county board, including a powerful partial veto for appropriations. Both amendments were ratified by voters at the November 1962 election.

• Regular session: January 11, 1961 – January 9, 1963

• President of the Senate: Warren P. Knowles (R)
• President pro tempore: Frank E. Panzer (R–Oakfield)
• Majority leader: Robert S. Travis (R–Platteville)
• Minority leader: William R. Moser (D–Milwaukee) (res. Jan. 30, 1962)

• Speaker of the Assembly: David Blanchard (R–Edgerton) (died Dec. 23, 1962)
• Speaker pro tempore: Willis J. Hutnik (R–Tony)
• Majority leader: Robert Haase (R–Marinette)
• Minority leader: Robert T. Huber (D–West Allis)

Members of the Senate for the Seventy-Fifth Wisconsin Legislature:^[2]

 

Members of the Assembly for the Seventy-Fifth Wisconsin Legislature:^[2]

 

 

• 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 – L. P. O'Brien, 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 – A. A. Laun, chair
• Senate Standing Committee on Public Welfare – R. Bice, chair
• Senate Special Committee on Committees – C. Dempsey, chair
• Senate Special Committee on Contingent Expenditures – R. La Fave, chair
• Senate Special Committee on Legislative Procedure – F. E. Panzer, chair

• Assembly Standing Committee on Agriculture – W. Merriam, chair
• Assembly Standing Committee on Commerce and Manufactures – G. Hipke, chair
• Assembly Standing Committee on Conservation – P. Alfonsi, chair
• Assembly Standing Committee on Contingent Expenditures – L. R. Baumgart, chair
• Assembly Standing Committee on Education – W. B. Calvert, chair
• Assembly Standing Committee on Elections – G. Pommerening, chair
• Assembly Standing Committee on Engrossed Bills – E. J. Schowalter, chair
• Assembly Standing Committee on Enrolled Bills – V. J. Zellinger, chair
• Assembly Standing Committee on Excise and Fees – F. E. Shurbert, chair
• Assembly Standing Committee on Highways – H. A. Harper, chair
• Assembly Standing Committee on Insurance and Banking – K. E. Priebe, chair
• Assembly Standing Committee on the Judiciary – R. E. Peterson, chair
• Assembly Standing Committee on Labor – E. L. Genzmer, chair
• Assembly Standing Committee on Municipalities – P. A. Luedtke, chair
• Assembly Standing Committee on Printing – M. C. Kintz, chair
• Assembly Standing Committee on Public Welfare – W. Terry, chair
• Assembly Standing Committee on Revision – W. E. Owen, chair
• Assembly Standing Committee on Rules – R. Haase, chair
• Assembly Standing Committee on State Affairs – W. J. Hutnik, chair
• Assembly Standing Committee on Taxation – G. B. Belting, chair
• Assembly Standing Committee on Third Reading – C. M. Stauffer, chair
• Assembly Standing Committee on Transportation – B. Lewison, chair
• Assembly Standing Committee on Veterans and Military Affairs – K. Kenyon, chair

• Joint Standing Committee on Finance – W. Draheim (Sen.) & E. Bidwell (Asm.), co-chairs
• Joint Standing Committee on Revisions, Repeals, and Uniform Laws – G. Lorge (Sen.) & R. Uehling (Asm.), co-chairs
• Joint Legislative Council – D. Blanchard, chair

• Chief Clerk: Lawrence R. Larsen^[3]
• Sergeant-at-Arms: Harold E. Damon

• Chief Clerk: Robert G. Marotz^[3]
• Sergeant-at-Arms: Norris J. Kellman

• 1961: Related Documents from Wisconsin Legislature