Tuesday, October 2, 2007
10:40 A.M.
Ninety-Eighth Regular Session
The Senate met.
The Senate was called to order by Chief Clerk Marchant, pursuant to Senate Rule
5 (4)(b).
The Chair, with unanimous consent, asked that the proper entries be made in the journal.
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Senate amendment 1 to Senate Bill 260 offered by Senator Lassa.
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Read first time and referred:
Senate Bill 276
Relating to: service by a lobbyist as the state chairperson of a political party.
By
Senators
S. Fitzgerald, Darling, A. Lasee and Leibham; cosponsored by Representatives Ballweg, Hahn, Honadel, Nygren, Townsend, Van Roy and Vos.
To committee on Ethics Reform and Government Operations.
Senate Bill 277
Relating to: a speed limit for the operation of snowmobiles during the hours of darkness.
By
Senators
Erpenbach, Breske, Cowles, Wirch, Risser, Olsen, Lassa and Grothman; cosponsored by Representatives Kaufert, Musser, Mursau, Albers, Benedict, Boyle, Cullen, Gottlieb, Hahn, Hraychuck, Jeskewitz, Kerkman, LeMahieu, Nelson, A. Ott, Sheridan, Turner and Ziegelbauer.
To committee on Transportation, Tourism and Insurance.
State of Wisconsin
Office of the Governor
September 28, 2007
The Honorable, The Senate:
I am pleased to nominate and with the advice and consent of the Senate, do appoint Weirich, Lisabeth,
of Middleton, as a member of the Real Estate Board, to serve for the term ending July 1, 2011.
Sincerely,
JIM DOYLE
Governor
Read and referred to committee on Economic Development, Job Creation, Family Prosperity and Housing.
State of Wisconsin
Office of the Governor
October 2, 2007
The Honorable, The Senate:
I am pleased to nominate and with the advice and consent of the Senate, do appoint Wright, Richard,
of Sun Prairie, as a member of the Optometry Examining Board, to serve for the term ending July 1, 2011.
Sincerely,
JIM DOYLE
Governor
Read and referred to committee on Health and Human Services.
State of Wisconsin
Department of Public Instruction
September 27, 2007
The Honorable, The Senate:
The following individual should be removed from confirmation to serve on the Professional Standards Council for Teachers:
Hilary Pollack (for the term ending June 30, 2010)
Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Elizabeth Burmaster
State Superintendent
State of Wisconsin
Legislative Audit Bureau
September 21, 2007
The Honorable, The Legislature:
We have completed a biennial performance evaluation of the Department of Administration's Division of Gaming, as required by s.
13.94(1)(eg), Wis. Stats. The Division oversees Indian gaming, pari-mutuel racing, and charitable gaming activities in Wisconsin. In fiscal year (FY) 2005-06, its expenditures to regulate all three types of gaming activities totaled $3.3 million in program revenue.
S343
Indian gaming represents the most significant gaming activity in Wisconsin. In 2006, tribal gaming revenue was $1.3 billion, tribal gaming expenses were $770.3 million, and tribal gaming profits were $555.9 million. The 2003 compacts between the State and the tribes expanded the types of games that tribes may offer, lengthened the duration of the compacts, and changed the method tribes use to calculate payments they make to the State. In FY 2005-06, the State received $118.7 million from ten tribes. Compact disputes with several tribes remain unresolved.
Compacts contain several provisions designed to ensure the integrity of Indian gaming in Wisconsin and compliance with regulations. One important control requires tribes to identify instances in which amounts recorded by electronic meters in electronic gaming devices differ from amounts collected from those devices and counted by casino staff. We reviewed 2006 data maintained by the Division in the State's Data Collection System and found differences in these amounts for every day of the year. The Division asserts most of these differences were caused by programming errors in the Data Collection System and the casinos' electronic accounting systems.
