Relating to: possession of a dangerous weapon by a minor and providing a penalty.
By
Representatives Jeskewitz, Ladwig, Ziegelbauer, Stone, Owens, Kelso, Musser, Vrakas, Huebsch, Albers, Jensen, Plale, F. Lasee, Kreibich and Spillner; cosponsored by Senators Huelsman, Darling, Roessler, Farrow and Rosenzweig.
To committee on Criminal Justice
.
Assembly Bill 206
Relating to: creating a permit authorizing the operation upon a highway of a specialized hauling rig that exceeds statutory size and weight limits.
By
Representatives Brandemuehl, Albers, Goetsch, Gronemus, La Fave and Powers; cosponsored by Senators Breske and Schultz.
To committee on Transportation.
Assembly Bill 207
Relating to: sexual exploitation of a child.
By
Representatives Huebsch, Rhoades, Petrowski, Hundertmark, Suder, Townsend, Pettis, Kestell, Montgomery, Gundrum, Klusman, Musser, Porter, Goetsch, Albers, Freese, Owens, Ladwig, M. Lehman, Staskunas, Turner, Sykora, Spillner, Kelso, Urban, Olsen, Jensen, Handrick, Vrakas, Kaufert and Gard; cosponsored by Senators Darling, Rosenzweig, Roessler and Drzewiecki.
To committee on Judiciary and Personal Privacy
.
Assembly Bill 208
Relating to: publication or dissemination of false information pertaining to a response to certain questions and providing a penalty.
By
Representatives Montgomery, Suder, Freese, Ryba, Musser, Kestell, Ainsworth, Porter, Bock, Skindrud, Ott, Urban, Wasserman, Duff, Walker, Vrakas, Handrick, Hahn, Ladwig, Owens, M. Lehman, Seratti, Goetsch, Kaufert, Albers and Brandemuehl; cosponsored by Senators Roessler, Clausing, Huelsman, Plache and Lazich.
To committee on Campaigns and Elections
.
__________________
Agency Reports
State of Wisconsin
Department of Justice
Madison
March 10, 1999
To the Honorable, the Assembly:
I am pleased to enclose
The Telecommunications Advocate: What Has Been Accomplished and What Remains to be Done, a Department of Justice report on the telecommunications advocate position created as a part of
1993 Act 496, the Telecommunications Deregulation Act. This position is funded by assessments on the state's telecommunications firms, not state tax dollars.
This report details a solid record of achievement by the Telecommunications Advocate, but continuation of this important work will require legislative action. The 1993 Act placed a sunset on the advocate position, which will expire on July 1, 1999 without reauthorization by the Legislature. Because of the effectiveness of the Advocate, the Department of Justice requested that the position be made permanent in its budget request. However, the Governor's budget proposes elimination of the position.
As the report explains, the Telecommunications Advocate is needed more than ever. Consumer complaints about illegal slamming and cramming are skyrocketing. As more and more unscrupulous firms illegally exploit consumer confusion about the changing telecommunications markets, it is important to retain the Department of Justice's resources for bringing forfeiture and other enforcement actions against telecommunications scam artists.
Telecommunications deregulation is based on the idea that oversight of telecommunications firms by the Public Service Commission will decrease as competition develops. As this process unfolds, the role of the Department of Justice in reviewing the activities of telecommunications firms for antitrust and consumer protection violations has expanded. For example, the Telecommunications Advocate is currently spearheading a multistate antitrust review of the proposed SBC-Ameritech merger. This is the only investigation of the impact of this huge merger on Wisconsin, since PSC authority to approve the merger was eliminated as part of the 1994 legislation. The Telecommunications Advocate is needed to carry on these important and growing responsibilities.
The State is well served when its advocate for the interests of competition and consumer protection has the skills and experience to effectively take on the telephone companies and their lawyers. We have that now. It would be short-sighted and a disservice to the State's consumers to eliminate this position and lose the expertise, experience and reputation that the Telecommunications Advocate has earned.
I hope I can count on your support in restoring authorization in the state budget for this important position.
Sincerely,
James E. Doyle
Attorney General
State of Wisconsin
Department of Health and Family Services
Madison
March 12, 1999
To the Honorable, the Assembly:
The biennial budget bill,
1983 Wisconsin Act 27, created s.
46.275, Community Integration Program (CIP) for Residents of State Centers. The intent of this program "is to relocate persons from the state centers for the developmentally disabled into appropriate community settings with the assistance of home and community-based services and with continuity of care. The intent of the program is also to minimize its impact on state employees through redeployment of employees into vacant positions." S.
46.275(5m) requires the Department to submit a report to the Joint Committee on Finance and to the Chief Clerk of each house of the Legislature describing the program's impact during the preceding calendar year on state employees, including the Department's efforts to redeploy employees into vacant positions and the number of employees laid off.
For the period of January 1, 1998 to December 31, 1998, there were 67 placements of center residents into the community. For fiscal year 1998, reductions of $5,862,995 and 135.32 FTE were made in the budget for the purpose of CIP placements. For the period July 1, 1998 through December 31, 1998, sufficient reductions will be made in the fiscal year 1999 operating budget to reflect reductions for CIP placements. Although twenty-nine employees received at risk letters to be laid off, twenty-three of them transferred to other vacant positions and six employees retired. Thus reductions of positions and dollars have been made for calendar year 1998 with no employees being laid off during the year. Only six layoffs have occurred at the centers due to the CIP program since the program began in 1983. All other reductions have been absorbed through attrition of employees.
Sincerely,
Joe Leean
Secretary
