Walby, Kathleen Johnson Controls Inc
Walker, Sherry Wisconsin Chiropractic Association
Walker, Thomas Wisconsin Transportation Builders Association
Walsh, Michael Wisconsin Education Association Council
Watson, Josh Golden Rule Insurance Company
Westphal, Jason State Bar of Wisconsin
Williams, Steven Wisconsin State Employees Union
Wilusz, Edward Wisconsin Paper Council
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 organizations that employ lobbyists.
Sincerely,
R. ROTH JUDD
Executive Director
State of Wisconsin
Department of Transportation
December 30, 2004
The Honorable, The Senate:
I am pleased to present to you, for distribution to the Wisconsin Senate, the annual evaluation report on the Pretrial Intoxicated Driver Intervention Grant Program. It is also available on our website
www.dot.wisconsin.gov/library/publications/topic/safety.htm. The program, created by section 86.53 Wis. Stats., was established by the legislature in 1997 with the requirement that the Department study its impact and report on its findings.
The Pretrial Intoxicated Driver Intervention Grant Program is intended for offenders who are arrested for their second or subsequent OWI (Operating While Intoxicated) offense. Offender participation may be voluntary or court order. It is an intervention model designed to get offenders into counseling, treatment and supervision as soon as possible after the arrest. The program is individual to each community.
As you will see in the report, no community that has begun a program has dropped it. Overall, offenders who successfully completed the program were less likely than non-participants to be re-arrested for subsequent OWI violations. Those who were re-arrested went significantly longer between arrests than non-participants. Currently there are seven counties on a waiting list for funding to begin programs.
I commend those people who have dedicated themselves to making this innovative program a success. There are no "silver bullets" in eradicating impaired driving, but I feel this effort is a vital piece in the total transportation safety effort.
Sincerely,
MAJOR DANIEL W. LONSDORF
Director, Bureau of Transportation Safety
State of Wisconsin
Department of Health and Family Services
December 20, 2004
The Honorable, The Legislature:
Section
46.03(26) of the statutes requires the Department of Health and Family Services to report annually on information systems projects under development including the implementation schedule, estimate of costs, and methods of determining changes (if applicable).
The Department has one group of systems now under development: Public Health Information Network (PHIN), and Health Alert Network (HAN)/National Electronic Disease Surveillance System (NEDSS). The PHIN was designed to rapidly detect, analyze and learn, and respond to public health emergencies.
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Through state-of-the-art Web resources, the Wisconsin PHIN connects all functional units: state and local public health and their partners, emergency responders and managers, laboratories, hospitals and clinics, emergency rooms, law enforcement, and the public. In a secure environment, it will provide alert messaging, information access and exchange, and integrate on-line public health surveillance systems under the NEDSS initiative. By doing this, it will provide a dynamic, comprehensive, real-time view of the health status of Wisconsin's communities and relay this view to our state and federal partners. This electronic nervous system connects and supports the functions of all the bioterrorism focus areas: Planning and Preparedness, Epidemiology and Surveillance, Laboratory, Public Communications, Education and Training, and the Health Resources and Services Administration hospital initiative.
The PHIN provides advanced information technology resources - developed by the University of Wisconsin Division of Information Technology - for Wisconsin's public health system. These resources support communications, data analysis, and public health response during public health threats, emergencies, and daily operations. Key activities include:
• Communications Technology - assuring high-speed Internet connectivity; routine use of the Web for notification of alerts and other critical communication; creating a directory of public health participants, their roles, and contact information covering all local jurisdictions.
• Emergency Communications - Providing an automated, redundant (e-mail, voicemail, fax, text pager, etc.) communications system for public health emergencies. This is currently operational.
• Protection of Data and Information Systems - for continuity of operations.
• Secure Electronic Exchange of Public Health Information-sharing clinical and laboratory information in standard formats electronically between public health partners and with the NEDSS programs. Electronic messaging of laboratory data is operational with select laboratory partners.
• Support of Emergency Response Management - by providing online emergency response management systems to aid the deployment and support of response teams.
• Information Technology Support and Service - including modern software development practices, user support practices (network, desktop, application), and ongoing monitoring and maintenance of systems
This project is federally funded. The budget for HAN (September 2004-August 2005) is $1,665,185. The budget for NEDSS (September 2004-June 2005) is $344,400. The basic infrastructure is built and some of the public health system functionality is operational. Continuing feature development and build-out is anticipated to occur through 2010.
Sincerely,
HELENE NELSON
Secretary
State of Wisconsin
Ice Age Park and Trail Foundation
December 29, 2004
The Honorable, The Senate:
In 1999 the State Legislature included a $75,000 annual grant in the state budget to be matched with $25,000 of private funds for the purpose of establishing, maintaining, and promoting the Ice Age National and State Scenic Trail. The Ice Age Park and Trail Foundation (IAPTF) has been delighted to be the recipient of that grant since 2000. It is my pleasure to submit our final report for the year 2004 as required by statute s.
23.295.
The Ice Age Park and Trail Foundation is a volunteer and member based organization whose mission is to create, support, and protect the Ice Age Trail - designated a National Scenic Trail in 1980 and State Scenic Trail in 1987. The trail is the only unit of the National Park Service and the only National Scenic Trail that commemorates the effects of continental glaciation in the United States.
Despite its federal and state status, the protection, development and management of the Ice Age Trail is dependent on partnerships. The Trail's primary partners, the National Park Service, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and IAPTF, work closely with county governments and other municipalities, and with local volunteers from around the state. In 2004 alone, volunteers provided and "in kind" match of over 87,000 hours spent in support of the Trail. When translated into dollars their contribution equals more than $1,500,000 annually - really quite extraordinary.
The grant from the DNR has allowed IAPTF to:
• Support the work of volunteers who develop, maintain and promote the Ice Age Trail.
• Build Partnerships for the Trail area with local governmental units and nonprofit organizations
• Promote the protection of a corridor for the Ice Age Trail by providing information about acquiring land, or an interest in land in the corridor.
• Strengthen community support for the Ice Age Trail area by recruiting and training volunteers and by coordinating the activities of interest groups.
• Promote tourism in the Ice Age Trail area.
We genuinely appreciate your continuing support and your partnership. Please telephone me at 608-663-1240 with any questions you may have.
Sincerely,
CHRISTINE THISTED
Executive Director
__________________
State of Wisconsin
Department of Public Instruction
January 3, 2005
The Honorable, The Senate:
Pursuant to s.
15.377(8), Wis. Stats., enclosed please find a list of nominees to the Professional Standards Council for Teachers. These individuals were selected based upon organizational recommendations as prescribed in statute. Your confirmation of the appointees is requested.
Sincerely,
ELIZABETH BURMASTER
State Superintendent
barnett, jeffrey,
of Whitewater, as a member of the Professional Standards Council for Teachers, to serve for the term ending June 30, 2007.
Read and Referred to committee on Education.
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Bohon
, Frances,
of Marshfield, as a member of the Professional Standards Council for Teachers, to serve for the term ending June 30, 2007.
Read and Referred to committee on Education.
Cattau
, Ann,
of Neenah, as a member of the Professional Standards Council for Teachers, to serve for the term ending June 30, 2007.
Read and Referred to committee on Education.
Pollack, Hilary,
of Ashland, as a member of the Professional Standards Council for Teachers, to serve for the term ending June 30, 2007.
Read and Referred to committee on Education.
Schoessow, Terry,
of Mequon, as a member of the Professional Standards Council for Teachers, to serve for the term ending June 30, 2007.
Read and Referred to committee on Education.
Zindl
, Lynn,
of Sussex, as a member of the Professional Standards Council for Teachers, to serve for the term ending June 30, 2007.
Read and Referred to committee on Education.
__________________
The following appointments to the Professional Standards Council for Teachers are continued from the 2003 session.
Champeau, Ryan,
of Waukesha, as a member of the Professional Standards Council for Teachers, to serve for the term ending July 1, 2006.
Referred to committee on Education.
Foster, Connie,
of River Falls, as a member of the Professional Standards Council for Teachers, to serve for the term ending July 1, 2005.
Referred to committee on Education.
Goss
, Gloria,
of Brookfield, as a member of the Professional Standards Council for Teachers, to serve for the term ending July 1, 2005.
Referred to committee on Education.
Helf
, Linda,
of Manitowoc, as a member of the Professional Standards Council for Teachers, to serve for the term ending July 1, 2005.
