Relating to the recovery of erroneous payments made under the tuition and fee reimbursement, part-time study, and retraining grant programs.
Submitted by Department of Veterans Affairs.
Report received from Agency, March 8, 2004.
To committee on Veterans and Military Affairs
.
Referred on March 17, 2004
.
__________________
From: Robert J. Marchant, Senate Chief Clerk.
Mr. Speaker:
I am directed to inform you that the Senate has
Concurred in:
Assembly Bill 665
__________________
Reference Bureau Corrections
Assembly Bill 925
In enrolling, the following correction was made:
1. Page 1, line 1: delete "on" and substitute "of".
__________________
The following Assembly proposals, which have been approved by both the Assembly and Senate, have been enrolled by the Legislative Reference Bureau:
Assembly Bill
633
Assembly Bill
728
Assembly Bill
925
Patrick E. Fuller
Assembly Chief Clerk
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Chief Clerk Reports
The Chief Clerk records:
Assembly Bill 595
Assembly Bill 633
Presented to the Governor on Tuesday, March 16.
Patrick E. Fuller
Assembly Chief Clerk
__________________
Executive Communications
State of Wisconsin
Office of the Governor
Madison
March 17, 2004
To the Honorable Members of the Assembly:
The following bills, originating in the Assembly, have been approved, signed and deposited in the office of the Secretary of State:
Bill Number Act Number Date Approved
Assembly Bill 669144March 15, 2004
Assembly Bill 757146March 15, 2004
A903
Assembly Bill 771147March 15, 2004
Assembly Bill 403150March 15, 2004
Assembly Bill 843152March 15, 2004
Assembly Bill 847155March 16, 2004
Assembly Bill 747156March 16, 2004
Assembly Bill 417157March 16, 2004
Assembly Bill 570159March 16, 2004
Assembly Bill 642160March 16, 2004
Assembly Bill 354161March 16, 2004
Assembly Bill 418162March 17, 2004
Assembly Bill 409163March 17, 2004
Respectfully submitted,
James Doyle
Governor
__________________
Communications
State of Wisconsin
Office of the Secretary of State
Madison
To Whom It May Concern:
Acts, Joint Resolutions and Resolutions deposited in this office have been numbered and published as follows:
Bill Number Act Number Publication Date
Assembly Bill 669144March 29, 2004
Assembly Bill 757146March 29, 2004
Assembly Bill 771147March 29, 2004
Assembly Bill 403150March 29, 2004
Assembly Bill 843152March 29, 2004
Sincerely,
Douglas La Follette
Secretary of State
__________________
Governor's Veto Message
March 16, 2004
To the Honorable Members of the Assembly:
I am vetoing Assembly Bill 633. This bill preempts, with certain exceptions, county, city, village, or town minimum wage ordinances.
Last fall I called for the Department of Workforce Development to convene a wage council to consider raising Wisconsin's minimum wage. The current minimum wage of $5.15 an hour had not been raised in seven years. On March 1st, the Minimum Wage Advisory Council voted 16-2 to increase the state's minimum wage to $6.50 an hour over the next two years. Those increases will benefit more than 100,000 individuals in the first year and 150,000 in the second. Almost two-thirds of those earning the minimum wage are women, often single parents, and I am confident that the Council's recommendations, once implemented, will enhance the lives of those who must make ends meet at this income level. The proposal enjoyed the widespread support of labor, business and community leaders on the council, but it still must make its way through the administrative rules process to become a reality for Wisconsin workers.
I still believe an adequate statewide minimum wage is the best policy. Substantial minimum wage disparities between communities may adversely impact economic development and foster uncertainty among businesses trying to plan investments and create jobs. However, with a minimum wage of $5.15 an hour, I can understand why localities believe that they need to raise the minimum wage. Until the Republicans in the legislature join with the consensus of business, labor and community leaders and support raising Wisconsin's minimum wage, I see no reason to sign this bill.
Respectfully submitted,
Jim Doyle
Governor
__________________
March 16, 2004
To the Honorable Members of the Assembly:
I am vetoing Assembly Bill 746 in its entirety. This bill expands eligibility to attend independent Milwaukee and Racine charter schools in several ways. The bill allows students who previously attended schools that convert from private schools participating in the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program to independent charter schools to continue to attend such schools if they live outside of MPS. It then goes further by generally opening independent Milwaukee and Racine charter schools to nonresidents once resident students are accommodated. The bill also eliminates the existing prior year enrollment requirements to attend a Milwaukee charter school.
I am vetoing the bill because I object to such a broad expansion of the charter program. The original and still valid intent of this program was to allow the City of Milwaukee, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and the Milwaukee Area Technical College to create charter schools in order to provide educational options for students residing in the Milwaukee Public Schools attendance area. Expanding this program to include students who do not reside in the City of Milwaukee does not serve the interests of Milwaukee students and may, in fact, create incentives for these charter schools to focus their efforts on attracting non-Milwaukee residents, rather than improving educational programs for Milwaukee children.
Furthermore, since the Milwaukee charter school program is funded by reallocating general school aids from the state's 426 school districts, a greatly expanded charter school program will reduce state resources available to all public school districts at the expense of increased property taxes, including even for those who live outside of Milwaukee.
A904
Finally, modifications to charter school law should not be considered in isolation, but as a part of a comprehensive reform effort that benefits all of Milwaukee's school children. Any sweeping changes to the charter program should be accompanied with efforts to improve the education of all our children.
Resepectfully submitted,
