Phyllis J. Dube
Secretary
Referred to committee on Children and Families.
__________________
State of Wisconsin
Department of Natural Resources
Madison
July 24, 2002
To the Honorable, the Legislature:
We at the Department of Natural Resources are pleased to provide you with a copy of our annual Wisconsin Environmental Policy Act (WEPA) report. In fulfillment of Section
1.11 (2)(j) of the state statutes, this document provides information on the numbers of environmental assessments (EAs) and environmental impacts statements (EISs) completed by the Department in the past fiscal year.
Questions about the report can be directed to James Pardee, of the Environmental Analysis and Liaison Section, Bureau of Integrated Science Services, telephone 266-0426.
Sincerely,
George H. Albright
Chief
Environmental Analysis
and Liaison Section
Bureau of Integrated Science Services
Referred to committee on Natural Resources.
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State of Wisconsin
Department of Transportation
Madison
July 26, 2002
To the Honorable, the Legislature:
Enclosed is the report required under
1997 Wisconsin Act 119, regarding the release of photos from the Department of Transportation driver record files to Wisconsin and adjacent state law enforcement agencies.
This report is provided annually and contains the agencies and the purpose for which copies of the photographs were provided.
If you have questions regarding the release of photographs please contact Debbie Kraemer, Supervisor in the Records and Licensing Information Section, Bureau of Driver Services, Division of Motor Vehicles by phone at (608) 264-7060, or e-mail at
debbie.kraemer@dot.state.wi.us.
Sincerely,
Thomas E. Carlson
Secretary
Referred to committee on Criminal Justice.
__________________
State of Wisconsin
Department of Administration
Madison
July 31, 2002
To the Honorable, the Legislature:
This report is transmitted as required by s.
20.002(11)(f), Wisconsin Statutes, (for distribution to the appropriate standing committees under s.
13.172(3), Wisconsin Statutes), and confirms that the Department of Administration has found it necessary to exercise the "temporary reallocation of balances" authority provided by this section in order to meet payment responsibilities and cover resulting negative balances during the month of June 2002.
A917
On June 17, 2002, the
General Fund balance was -$727.4 million. This shortfall continued through June 30, 2002, when the cash balance closed at -$421.9 million. The shortfall was due to the difference in the timing of revenues and expenditures, in combination with the overall budget shortfall.
On June 1, 2002, the Wisconsin Health Education Loan Repayment Fund balance was -$1,000. This shortfall continued until June 24, 2002, when the balance reached a positive $6,000. During this period, the Wisconsin Health Education Loan Repayment Fund balance reached a low of -$2,000 on June 3, 2002. The shortfall was due to the difference in the timing of revenues and expenditures.
The General Fund and the Wisconsin Health Education Loan Repayment Fund shortfalls were not in excess of the statutory interfund borrowing limitation and did not exceed the balances of the funds available for interfund borrowing.
The distribution of interest earnings to investment pool participants is based on the average daily balance in the pool and each fund's share. Therefore, the monthly calculation by the State Controller's Office will automatically reflect the use of these temporary reallocations of balance authority.
Sincerely,
George Lightbourn
Secretary
Referred to committee on Ways and Means.
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Agency Reports
State of Wisconsin
Legislative Audit Bureau
Madison
July 18, 2002
To the Honorable, the Legislature:
We have completed a financial audit of the Division of Gaming within the Department of Administration, as required by s.
13.94(1)(eg), Wis. Stats. The Division regulates the State's racing, Indian gaming, and charitable gaming activities. We have issued an unqualified opinion on the Division's budgetary-based financial statements for fiscal years (FYs) 2000-01 and 1999-2000. Later this year, we will issue an evaluation of the Division's oversight and regulatory authority.
In both FY 2000-01 and FY 1999-2000, the Division's revenues from gaming activities and its transfers to other state programs were significantly affected by two events: the tribal-state compacts were renegotiated, and a constitutional amendment relating to the use and distribution of gaming proceeds was approved.
The State renegotiated gaming compacts with each of 11 Native American tribes in Wisconsin in 1998 and 1999. Under the previously negotiated tribal-state compacts, the State received a total of $350,000 annually in tribal regulation revenue. Under the new compacts, the tribes have agreed to pay the State an additional $21.7 million in FY 1999-2000 and $24.0 million in FY 2000-01. The Division received $21.8 million in FY 1999-2000 and $24.4 million in FY 2000-01.
A constitutional amendment passed by Wisconsin voters and implemented with
1999 Wisconsin Act 5 requires that state revenues from pari-mutuel racing and charitable bingo be used for property tax relief. Consequently, any unencumbered balances remaining in the general program operation appropriations for racing and bingo are transferred to the Lottery Fund at the end of the fiscal year. The Division transferred a total of approximately $6.5 million to the Lottery Fund in FYs 2000-01 and 1999-2000.
We appreciate the courtesy and cooperation extended to us by the Department of Administration during the audit.
Respectfully submitted,
Janice Mueller
State Auditor
