Nearly 80 percent of Wisconsin legislators are experiencing divided government for the first time, according to a new Wisconsin Policy Forum report.
Only 28 of the Legislature’s 132 members were in office last time control of state government was split. Of those members, 15 are state senators and 13 are in the state Assembly.
The last time the two parties shared control of state government in Wisconsin was the 2007-08 legislative session, when Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle had a Republican-controlled Assembly and Democratic majority in the Senate.
The first big test of this new era of divided government will likely come when Gov. Tony Evers submits his budget in late February or early March. Historically, divided government in Wisconsin often results in delayed budget approval.
