Delmar DeLong's legislative papers span 1967 to 1978 and document his first, second, and third terms as a Wisconsin Republican Assemblyman for the 44th District. DeLong organized his papers as subject files for each of his three terms as an Assemblyman.
The subject files are subdivided according to DeLong's terms in office: First Legislative Term (1973-1974), Second Legislative Term (1975-1976), and Third Legislative Term (1977-1978). The bulk of these documents are from 1975 to 1978, corresponding with DeLong's second term in office. These subject files provide detailed information about the Republican Party, education, taxation, and local issues. While these records include very little documentation about the pieces of legislation DeLong authored, they do provide detailed information regarding DeLong's position on a wide variety of legislative issues.
The first series, FIRST LEGISLATIVE TERM (1973-1974), contains agendas, amendment proposals, brochures, court documents, formal statements, handwritten notes, incoming and outgoing correspondence, informational bulletins, invitations, legislative bills and drafts, lists of senate and assembly bill proposals, meeting minutes, memoranda, petitions, photocopied newspaper clippings, post card issue mail, press releases, reports, resolutions, speeches, substitute amendments, statistical charts, surveys, telegrams, telephone messages, and zoning maps. These documents span 1969 to 1974, but the bulk of which is dated 1973-1974.
Several files in this series document DeLong's involvement in legislation concerning education, especially within the Assembly Bills and Senate Bills files. Assembly bills about education include 148 (school buses), 178 (school system), 205 (University of Wisconsin faculty), 211 (School Board appointments), 223 (barber instruction), 251 (school expulsions and suspensions), 409 (teacher contract renewal), 412 (pregnant girls in the school system), 419 (teaching of evolution), 420 (election of the Vocational, Technical, and Adult Education District Board), 509 (certification of soil testers), 538 (licensing of ambulance attendants and operators), 611 (public school behavior codes), 640 (School Board operating rules), 752 (bilingual education), 930 (University of Wisconsin system merger), and 1089 (vocational education). Senate bills about education issues include 45 (school attendance), 111 (school aids), 185 (handicapped children), 231, 512, 627 and 737 (school teacher retirement), 659 (students' bill of rights), and 732 (health care certification).
The second series, SECOND LEGISLATIVE TERM (1975-1976), contains address lists, annual reports, applications, assembly amendments, assembly substitute amendments, brochures, court documents, financial charts, formal statements, incoming and outgoing correspondence, invitations, legislative bills and drafts of bills, legislative roll calls, lists of publications, magazine articles excerpts, mailgrams, meeting notices, memoranda, newsletters, pay schedules, photocopied newspaper clippings, platform proposals of organizations, press releases, publications, questionnaires, reports, reprinted speeches, schedules, telephone messages, and university position papers. These documents span 1967 to 1977, the bulk dating from 1975-1976.
His interest in higher education is well represented through files he kept on the University of Wisconsin system, University of Wisconsin Whitewater, Walworth County University Extension Program, Veterinary schools, and Higher Educational Aids Board. The Walworth County University Extension Program files contain correspondence, a directory, invitations, annual reports, and monthly narrative reports. The monthly reports were sent to DeLong from the 4-H Youth coordinator, Agri-Business Agent, Agricultural Agent, Home Economist, Home Economist-Nutrition, Recreation Agent, and Senior Citizen Program coordinator. The files on the University of Wisconsin system include drafts of legislative bills, correspondence to and from the University's Board of Regents, newsletters issued by The Association of University of Wisconsin Faculties (T.A.U.W.F.), administrative reports, academic management surveys, etc.
Also well documented is the issue of taxation, specifically, property taxation. Within the Property Tax file are photocopied newspaper clippings, correspondence, and newsletters about a local organization, The Beloit Property Owner's League. Other files addressing property taxation includes: Levy limits and Homestead tax relief. Also included is information regarding income taxes, background material on other taxation issues, and publications by the Wisconsin Taxpayers' Alliance. More general information about tax issues can be found in the Department of Revenue file.
The third series, THIRD LEGISLATIVE TERM (1977-1978), contains assembly amendments, assembly substitute amendments, correspondence, court documents, fiscal summaries, form letters, government publications, invitations, meeting minutes, memoranda, news releases, newsletters, photocopied articles, photocopied newspaper clippings, proposed legislation summaries, questionnaires, reports, resolutions, statistical data, telegrams, and Wisconsin briefs. These documents span 1972 to 1978, but the bulk is dated 1977-1978.
DeLong continued to stress education legislation such as education system reforms to provide for handicapped and exceptional needs children which is documented in the exceptional education needs, handicapped children, and Panitch v. State of Wisconsin files. Another issue documented for this legislative term is retirement benefits for teachers. Filed under the heading Retirement, the documents there are mostly letters from school districts, teachers, and concerned individuals around the state advocating for passage of Assembly Bill 802.
