Senate Chairperson Assembly Chairperson
Senator Brian B. Burke Representative John Gard
Senator Russell S. Decker Representative Steven M. Foti
Senator Gary R. George Representative Cloyd A. Porter
__________________
State of Wisconsin
Director of State Courts
October 1, 1999
The Honorable, The Legislature:
Pursuant to s.
758.19(5)(i), Wis. Stats., the information reported to the Director of State Courts under s.
758.19(5)(e), Wis. Stats., by Wisconsin's counties has been compiled and is herein submitted. Under s.
758.19(5)(e), Wis. Stats., each county is required to submit an annual report to the Director of State Courts which provides information on the actual amount expended in the previous calendar year for court costs relating to the circuit court support and the guardian ad litem payment programs.
Sincerely,
J. Denis Moran
Director of State Courts
State of Wisconsin
Department of Veterans Affairs
September 30, 1999
The Honorable, The Legislature:
In compliance with section 45.35(3d)(b), Wis. Stats., as created by
1989 Wisconsin Act 36, the Council on Veterans Programs and the Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs (WDVA) are jointly submitting the attached general summary report of the activities and membership over the past two years of the Council and the organizations represented on the Council.
Organizations not yet reporting are the American Legion, Catholic War Veterans, Federation of Culturally Diverse Veterans, National Association for Black Veterans, and Vietnam Veterans Against the War.
The information contained in the report was compiled by WDVA staff and the Council Chair from materials submitted by the representative from each organization on the Council.
Sincerely,
John A. Scocos
Executive Assistant
State of Wisconsin
Department of Commerce
September 30, 1999
The Honorable, The Senate:
In accordance with section 66.46(13) of the Wisconsin Statutes, I am pleased to submit the Biennial Report on Tax Incremental Financing (TIF). The report examines the social, economic, and financial impact of TIF and is prepared by the Department's Division of Administrative Services, Bureau of Policy and Budget Development. The data in this report includes tax incremental districts (TIDs) that were established through September 30, 1998.
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Based upon the number of tax incremental districts (TIDs) that have been established in recent years, tax incremental financing is growing in popularity as an economic development tool. From 1994 to 1998, cities and villages established an average of 65 TIDs per year, compared to an average of 37 TIDs per year from 1976 to 1993. The equalized value of the 703 TIDs that remain active through September 30, 1998 exceeded $8 billion, which is nearly 3 times larger than the original base value of the districts. Furthermore, TIF continues to be concentrated in the southern and eastern parts of the state, which corresponds to the state's population pattern and the concentration of commercial and manufacturing activity.
Requests for additional copies of the report or questions regarding it can be directed to Paul Neumann, Bureau of Policy and Budget Development - phone: 267-9382; email:
pneumann@commerce.state.wi.us. In addition, the report will soon be made available on the Department's web page at
www.commerce.state.wi.us.
Sincerely,
Brenda J. Blanchard
Secretary
State of Wisconsin
Legislative Audit Bureau
October 4, 1999
The Honorable, The Legislature:
We have completed an evaluation of the State of Wisconsin Investment Board, as directed by s.
25.17(51m), Wis. Stats. This is our first evaluation under new statutory requirements that were implemented in 1996, in response to a loss of $95 million in the State Investment Fund. That loss, which was disclosed in March 1995, was the result of improper use of investment instruments know as derivatives.
The Investment Board has taken several steps to improve its operations since the 1995 derivatives loss, including increasing its reporting to the Legislature, improving senior management's oversight of investing strategies, increasing the Board of Trustee's involvement in investment activities, and improving communication with State Investment Fund participants. Further, even with the loss, the State Investment Fund's returns have exceeded performance goals, or benchmarks.
In contrast, the Fixed Retirement Trust Fund, which accounted for approximately 80 percent of the Investment Board's $60.6 billion in assets on December 31, 1998, has experienced an erosion of its investment performance. Although the Fixed Retirement Trust Fund has been able to exceed the returns assumed for actuarial projections, it has not consistently met its one-year benchmarks, which recently has affected its longer-term performance returns. For example, both one-year and five-year returns for the period ending December 31, 1998 were not met.
We also compared the Fixed Retirement Trust Fund's performance to that of other large public pension funds and found that its five-year investment return was 10th among 12 funds surveyed. To address performance that is lagging both established benchmarks and that of other large public pension funds, we have recommended the Board reassess its investment strategy and report to the Joint Legislative Audit Committee on steps to take to improve investment performance.
We appreciated the courtesy and cooperation extended to us by the Investment Board. A response from the Board's Executive Director is Appendix IV.
Sincerely,
Janice Mueller
State Auditor
State of Wisconsin
Ethics Board
October 5, 1999
The Honorable, The Senate:
The following lobbyists have been authorized to act on behalf of the organizations set opposite their names.
For more detailed information about these lobbyists and organizations and a complete list of organizations and people authorized to lobby the 1999 session of the legislature, visit the Ethics Board's web site at
http://ethics.state.wi.us
Antoniewicz, Gary Wisconsin Automobile & Truck Dealers Association Inc
Boyce, Lisa American Plastics Council Inc
Boyce, Lisa American Insurance Association
Carey, Ray Lab Safety Supply, Inc.
Dickert, John T Lab Safety Supply, Inc.
Fonfara, Thomas American Insurance Association
Krajewski, Thomas Forest County Potawatomi Community
Matthews, John Lab Safety Supply, Inc.
McDowell, Kelly Forest County Potawatomi Community
Potter, Rosemary Lab Safety Supply, Inc.
Schreiber, Martin Forest County Potawatomi Community
Thomas, Sandi Wyeth-Ayerst Laboratories
Also available from the Wisconsin Ethics Board are reports identifying the amount and value of time state agencies have spent to affect legislative action and reports of expenditures for lobbying activities filed by the organizations that employ lobbyists.
Sincerely,
Roth Judd
Director
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Relating to school district professional employe collective bargaining agreements and the calculation of a qualified economic offer.
Submitted by Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission.
Report received from Agency, September 30, 1999.
Referred to committee on Labor,
October 5, 1999
.
Relating to certification fees for laboratories engaged in public health testing of milk, water and food.
Submitted by Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection.
Report received from Agency, October 1, 1999.
Referred to committee on Agriculture, Environmental Resources and Campaign Finance Reform, October 5, 1999
.
By Charles Sanders, chief clerk.
Mr. President:
I am directed to inform you that the Assembly has passed and asks concurrence in:
Assembly Bill 132
Assembly Bill 247
Assembly Bill 437
