The David G. Berger Papers consist of legislative papers transferred to the Historical Society, 1978-1983, by his office. There are no campaign records or personal papers in the collection. There is, however, good documentation on Berger's committee work, especially his leadership of the Joint Committee for the Review of Administrative Rules, and legislative initiatives such as probate reform, product liability, and condominium law.
The largest portion of the collection consists of alphabetically-arranged GENERAL CORRESPONDENCE which includes memoranda; correspondence from constituents, colleagues, and state agencies; reports; and floor debate materials. Berger's correspondence is of considerable research interest because of the frank expressions of his opinions and views which are contained. Topics which are particularly well documented include abortion, Milwaukee politics and government, probate reform, and taxation. General constituent correspondence is filed by name. Also included in these files are congratulations, newsletters, schedules, information on internal office operations, questionnaire responses and summaries, and an extensive file of press releases. There are also copies of Berger's writings on probate reform and his 1975 comparative taxation study. Correspondence concerning specific legislation for the 1981-1982 session which was removed from the bill jacket file in the senator's office is filed by bill number under the heading BILL JACKET CORRESPONDENCE.
The COMMITTEE FILES are perhaps the most interesting and important portion of the collection. Although consisting of almost five cubic feet of documentation, the files of the Joint Committee for the Review of Administrative Rules cannot be considered the official records of the committee for the Berger period. Instead, the material in the collection appears to have been assembled from several disparate sources. These include several chronologically-arranged files of correspondence and memoranda dating only from 1979 through 1982 and an incomplete assortment of project files (mainly 1980-1981). Most notable among the projects is a file created by Senator Peter Bear, chair of the Legislative Oversight Subcommittee, which pertains to the group's investigation of the Bureau of Migrant and Rural Services. This extensive file includes correspondence of Bear and staff members Douglas Johnson and Bruce Goldman, legal research material, hearing transcripts, and drafts of the final report. Elsewhere in the project file is some material on volunteerism which also appears to have been created by Bear and Goldman. Added to this material which was transferred from Berger's office are xerox copies of correspondence and memoranda to and from the senator which were circulated to other members of JCRAR. These copies were removed from the files of Senator F. James Sensenbrenner in the Archives in order to provide some documentation of Berger's earlier years on the committee.
Other committees having notable documentation in the collection include the Subcommittee on Condominium Reform, the Special Committee on Product Liability, and the Subcommittee on Small Business (the latter files apparently having been inherited by Berger from Senator Jerome Martin).
