The Medical Assistance Trust Fund, Wisconsin Health Education Loan Repayment Fund, and Worker's Compensation Fund shortfalls were not in excess of the statutory interfund borrowing limitations 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, and as a result, the funds requiring the use of the authority will effectively bear the interest cost.
Sincerely,
Stephen E. Bablitch
Secretary
Referred to committee on Ways and Means.
__________________
State of Wisconsin
Department of Health and Family Services
Madison
December 1, 2006
To the Honorable, the Legislature:
The Department of Health and Family Services is pleased to provide you this annual report of the Wisconsin Food Security Consortium's plans to address food insecurity, as required under s.
46.76(4) and
(5).
The Wisconsin Food Security Consortium continues making progress in devising strategies to end hunger and food insecurity in Wisconsin. Key steps in 2006 include:
• The Consortium expanded its membership to include several more local food security representatives, and improved communications among Consortium members through regular emails. A web site is being planned.
• The Consortium meetings throughout 2006 continued providing updates from the various programs associated with the Consortium, including School Breakfast Programs, Summer Food Program. Emergency Food Programs, FoodShare and the FoodShare Access Program.
• The Consortium established a governance structure with by-laws. The structure represents an independent partnership, rather than a committee appointed by and reporting to DHFS. A Steering Committee consisting of Consortium members meets monthly and carries out the work of the Consortium.
• The Steering Committee wrote and submitted a Wisconsin Food Security Partnership grant application to The Wisconsin Partnership Fund for a Healthy Future. It proposes to plan and conduct a statewide gathering on the issue of hunger that will result in the development and dissemination of an Action Plan that offers a menu of specific steps which state and local leaders from the public and private sectors can take to help minimize hunger and food insecurity.
The WIC Program is planning a Food Insecurity Survey of its participants for January 2007.
These successes indicate the continued commitment of the Department, with the assistance of the Food Security Consortium, to fight hunger in Wisconsin.
Sincerely,
Helene Nelson
Secretary
Referred to committee on Children and Families.
__________________
Agency Reports
State of Wisconsin
Legislative Reference Bureau
Madison
October 2006
To the Honorable, the Legislature:
The LRB has completed another successful year of service to the Wisconsin Legislature. At the request of members of the legislature and others, we prepared thousands of bills, amendments, and resolutions. We published numerous briefs and other documents helping to explain the legislative process and the acts of the legislature.
In August 2005, the LRB began publishing Governing Wisconsin, a series of educational papers that will cover the entire curriculum in civics education. We target these papers to Wisconsin high school students, as they introduce the vocabulary and the basic concepts of how government works in Wisconsin. We believe this series may also be useful to legislators as handouts when members speak to groups. Each issue of Governing Wisconsin is posted at
http://www.legis.state.wi.us/lrb/gw/. This new publication underscores the Bureau's commitment to civics education. We have worked closely with the Department of Public Instruction to identify topics and focus the series for use in the classroom.
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We continue to offer the LRB Seminars, our popular training program on legislative topics and processes. We have experimented with saving some sessions on DVD for later viewing.
The LRB continues to host many international visitors-members and staff of parliamentary organizations who are interested in the Wisconsin legislative process. We enjoy these visits and believe we have a duty to present information about the legislature and its procedure. These visitors also remind us how lucky we are to live and work in a representative democracy.
Sincerely,
Steve Miller
Director
__________________
State of Wisconsin
Legislative Audit Bureau
Madison
November 14, 2006
To the Honorable, the Assembly:
We have completed a best practices review of local government operations, as directed by s.
13.94(8), Wis. Stats. This report focuses on the emergency management activities of Wisconsin's counties, which have primary local responsibility for emergency planning and response and for coordinating the emergency management efforts of municipalities within their borders. The Department of Military Affairs (DMA) is the lead state agency in planning for and responding to emergencies, and its Division of Emergency Management coordinates federal, state, local, and private emergency management efforts statewide. The Office of Justice Assistance (OJA) administers some federal emergency management grants.
In fiscal year 2005-06, counties received 48.6 percent, or $19.4 million, of the $39.9 million in emergency management funds available through DMA and OJA. Municipalities and school districts, state agencies, technical colleges, the University of Wisconsin System, and Native American tribes received the remaining funds. Federal grants funded 90.0 percent of these awards.
Through a survey of the 72 county emergency management directors and an analysis of ten county emergency management plans, we identified best practices related to preparing for and responding to emergencies. Other units of government and individuals may find them useful in carrying out their own emergency management responsibilities.
We appreciate the courtesy and cooperation extended to us by DMA, OJA, and the many local government officials who responded to our survey and our additional requests for information.
Respectfully submitted,
Janice Mueller
State Auditor
__________________
State of Wisconsin
Legislative Audit Bureau
Madison
November 16, 2006
To the Honorable, the Assembly:
As requested by the Joint Legislative Audit Committee, we have completed an evaluation of state efforts to manage chronic wasting disease (CWD), a fatal neurological disease of deer. The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is responsible for coordinating CWD management in the wild deer population. Farm-raised deer are the responsibility of the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP). The Wisconsin Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory provides CWD testing and carcass disposal services, while the Department of Health and Family Services investigates possible effects on human health. Through fiscal year (FY) 2005-06, these agencies spent $32.3 million managing the disease.
DNR has developed several strategies to manage CWD, within the geographic areas in which infected deer are known to live, which are known as CWD zones. They include altering the length and rules of hunting seasons, establishing a ban on baiting and feeding deer, using sharpshooters, and creating monetary incentives for hunters to shoot more deer.
To date, DNR's efforts to eradicate CWD in the free-ranging deer population have not been effective. Neither the estimated number of deer in CWD zones nor the percentage infected with CWD has decreased. In addition, fewer deer have been killed in the CWD zones: the number declined from 23.1 deer per square mile in the 2003 hunting season to 17.4 deer per square mile in the 2005 hunting season.
In an October 2006 report to the Natural Resources Board, DNR conceded the need to modify its management efforts to more effectively address CWD. We include options for DNR and the Legislature to more effectively address the disease and control costs in the future.
We appreciate the courtesy and cooperation extended to us by staff of DNR, other state agencies, and interest groups. DNR's response follows the report.
Respectfully submitted,
Janice Mueller
State Auditor
