The committee on Judiciary reports and recommends:
Assembly Bill 595
Relating to: civil liability exemption for claims resulting from weight gain and obesity.
Passage:
Ayes: 5 - Representatives Gundrum, McCormick, Albers, Grothman and Kerkman.
Noes: 3 - Representatives Staskunas, Hebl and Cullen.
To committee on Rules.
Assembly Bill 651
Relating to: parental liability for acts of their minor child, recovery of damages for certain criminal actions, increasing the jurisdictional amount in small claims court, garnishment, attorney fees, exemption from execution of accounts, civil actions by collection agencies, earnings garnishment, retail theft, recovery in actions involving worthless checks, and revocation of fish and game approvals for which payment is made by worthless checks.
Assembly Amendment 9 adoption:
Ayes: 6 - Representatives Gundrum, McCormick, Grothman, Staskunas, Hebl and Cullen.
Noes: 2 - Representatives Albers and Kerkman.
Assembly Amendment 11 adoption:
Ayes: 8 - Representatives Gundrum, McCormick, Albers, Grothman, Kerkman, Staskunas, Hebl and Cullen.
Noes: 0.
Passage as amended:
Ayes: 5 - Representatives Gundrum, McCormick, Albers, Grothman and Kerkman.
Noes: 3 - Representatives Staskunas, Hebl and Cullen.
To calendar.
Mark Gundrum
Chairperson
Committee on Judiciary
The committee on Transportation reports and recommends:
Assembly Bill 501
Relating to: the maximum permissible length and width of motor homes and recreational vehicles operated without a permit.
Passage:
Ayes: 16 - Representatives Ainsworth, Petrowski, Ott, Hahn, Suder, Friske, McCormick, Gottlieb, Van Roy, Honadel, Steinbrink, Sherman, Vruwink, Staskunas, Gronemus and Hebl.
Noes: 0.
A657
To committee on Rules.
Assembly Bill 697
Relating to: the maximum permissible length of single vehicles operated on a highway without an overlength permit.
Passage:
Ayes: 15 - Representatives Ainsworth, Petrowski, Ott, Hahn, Suder, Friske, McCormick, Gottlieb, Van Roy, Honadel, Steinbrink, Sherman, Vruwink, Staskunas and Gronemus.
Noes: 1 - Representative
Hebl.
To committee on Rules.
Senate Bill 3
Relating to: the specialized transportation assistance program, minimum qualifications for the operator of a human service vehicle, the registration of human service vehicles, and providing penalties.
Concurrence:
Ayes: 10 - Representatives Ainsworth, Petrowski, Ott, Hahn, McCormick, Gottlieb, Van Roy, Honadel, Steinbrink and Hebl.
Noes: 6 - Representatives Suder, Friske, Sherman, Vruwink, Staskunas and Gronemus.
To committee on Rules.
John Ainsworth
Chairperson
Committee on Transportation
__________________
Referral of Agency Reports
State of Wisconsin
Department of Administration
Madison
January 30, 2004
To the Honorable, the Legislature:
Chapter
34, Laws of 1979, requires that when the Department of Administration maintains an office in Washington, DC, for the purpose of promoting federal/state cooperation, it should submit a report detailing the activities of the office and reporting the status of federal legislation of concern to the Legislature and other state agencies (Wis. Stats. 16.548 (2)).
The report for the period October-December 2003 is attached.
Sincerely,
Marc J. Marotta
Secretary
Referred to committee on State Affairs.
__________________
Agency Reports
State of Wisconsin
Legislative Audit Bureau
Madison
January 30, 2004
To the Honorable, the Legislature:
At your request, we have compiled information on the use of hospital emergency department services by Medical Assistance recipients.
The Department of Health and Family Services (DHFS) administers the Medical Assistance program, through which health care services are provided to low-income individuals through fee-for-service plans or managed care providers. From fiscal year (FY) 1997-98 through FY 2001-02, the State paid fee-for-service providers an average of $20.1 million annually for emergency department services that did not result in an inpatient stay. Expenditure information for emergency department visits that resulted in inpatient hospital stays and for visits made by those enrolled in managed care plans was not available.
From FY 2000-01 to FY 2001-02, the number of fee-for-service Medical Assistance recipients visiting emergency departments increased by 9.2 percent and totaled 106,126 in FY 2001-02. For those covered by managed care providers, the increase was 23.9 percent and totaled 110,669 in FY 2001-02. These increases are primarily the result of an increase in the number of Medical Assistance recipients. Approximately one quarter of Medical Assistance recipients visited an emergency department in FY 2001-02; however, a fairly small number accounted for a substantial percentage of total visits. For example, 5.5 percent of fee-for-service recipients sought emergency department care six or more times in FY 2001-02, but they accounted for 27.0 percent of all visits.
DHFS, hospitals, and managed care providers are taking steps to study and reduce the number of visits to emergency departments for minor injuries and illnesses. Existing steps include the use of fees charged to patients and the creation of "minor ERs" co-located with hospital emergency departments.
I hope you find this information useful. Please contact me if you have additional questions.
Sincerely,
Janice Mueller
State Auditor
