House leaders have the real clout

By Phil Brinkman and Scott Milfred, State government reporters

Every state lawmaker gets a single and equal vote in the Senate as well as in the Assembly.

But two lawmakers in particular wield far more power than that.

Senate Majority Leader Mary Panzer, R-West Bend, and Rep. John Gard, R-Peshtigo, are elected by their peers to lead their respective houses. As a result, they have enormous control over how state money is spent and which legislative proposals move forward.

To a lesser extent, Senate Minority Leader Jon Erpenbach, D-Middleton, and Assembly Minority Leader Jim Kreuser, D-Kenosha, have extra pull. But their members are outnumbered in each house.

Leaders immediately make their presence felt at the start of each legislative session by assigning office space and seating charts in the Assembly and Senate.

They also have final say over the formation of legislative committees. The leaders assign chairmen or chairwomen to each committee as well as a majority of members. The committees have the power to endorse or kill legislation on such issues as agriculture, the environment, transportation and economic development.

Arguably the most powerful committee is Joint Finance, which releases money for state projects and makes the first pass at rewriting the governor's proposed budget.

To chair that committee, Panzer has appointed Sen. Alberta Darling, R-River Hills, while Gard has appointed Rep. Dean Kaufert, R-Neenah.

As soon as floor sessions begin in the Assembly and Senate chambers, Panzer and Gard along with their assistant leaders decide which bills will be debated and voted on. Often leaders can stop bills from reaching the floor of each house even if support for the legislation is strong.

Legislative leaders enjoy larger staffs and budgets. They endorse state worker contracts before the full Senate and Assembly can consider them.

When elections approach, legislative leaders and their assistants oversee statewide campaign strategy and fund raising, steering extra campaign cash to key races.

Their positions as gatekeepers of legislation also make leaders magnets for campaign donations by special interest groups.

Panzer, Gard, Erpenbach and Kreuser serve as spokespeople for their members and political parties. The leaders give countless interviews to newspaper, radio and television reporters. They also travel the state to speak to community and business groups, municipal and school leaders, contributors and the public.

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