To committee on Health and Healthcare Reform
.
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Executive Communications
State of Wisconsin
Office of the Governor
Madison
December 11, 2009
To the Honorable Members of the Assembly:
The following bills, originating in the Assembly, have been approved, signed and deposited in the office of the Secretary of State:
Bill Number Act Number Date Approved
Assembly Bill 29298December 10, 2009
Assembly Bill 17299December 10, 2009
Respectfully submitted,
JIM Doyle
Governor
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Speaker's Appointments
December 4, 2009
Patrick Fuller
Assembly Chief Clerk
17 West Main Street, Suite 401
Madison, WI 53703
Dear Chief Clerk Fuller:
I am appointing Representative Fred Clark as Chairman of the Forestry Committee replacing Representative Gary Sherman. Representative Sherman will continue to serve on this committee as Vice-Chairman.
These appointments are effective immediately.
Sincerely,
Michael J. Sheridan
Assembly Speaker
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Referral of Agency Reports
State of Wisconsin
Department of Regulation and Licensing
Madison
To the Honorable, the Legislature:
Enclosed please find the State of Wisconsin Controlled Substance Board's annual report for 2009. The Controlled Substance Board is required to submit this report to you annually, pursuant to Wis. Stat. 961.36 (3).
Sincerely,
Darold Treffert, MD, Chair
Controlled Substance Board
Referred to committee on Criminal Justice.
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Agency Reports
State of Wisconsin
Legislative Audit Bureau
Madison
December 1, 2009
To the Honorable, the Legislature:
At your direction, we conducted a limited-scope review to assess whether the rates that video service providers charge subscribers have changed since
2007 Wisconsin Act 42 took effect in January 2008. The Act instituted a state-level franchising process under which land-based providers apply to the Department of Financial Institutions for a single video service franchise instead of negotiating separate franchises with individual municipalities.
We analyzed ten providers' monthly charges for basic and expanded basic service in 17 Wisconsin municipalities at two points in time-July 2007 and July 2009-using data reported to us by the providers. Over this two-year period, charges for basic service increased an average of 21.2 percent, and charges for expanded basic service increased an average of 11.5 percent. The reported data do not suggest that competition has had a substantial effect in reducing either basic or expanded basic video service charges or in slowing their rates of growth during the period we reviewed.
However, the data we analyzed must be interpreted with caution for several reasons, including variations in the number and types of channels that different providers offer as basic and expanded basic service, as well as variations in individual providers' charges for the same services because of promotional rates and the increasingly common practice of "bundling" video, Internet, and telephone services and charging less than their standard rate for each bundled component. In addition, a relatively short amount of time has passed since passage of the Act, making it difficult to assess whether the rate trends we identified will continue in the future.
We appreciate the courtesy and cooperation of the Department of Financial Institutions, the Wisconsin Cable Communications Association, and video service providers that assisted us in collecting this information.
Sincerely,
Janice Mueller
State Auditor
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State of Wisconsin
Legislative Audit Bureau
Madison
December 3, 2009
To the Honorable, the Assembly:
We have completed an audit of the financial statements of the Wisconsin State Life Insurance Fund for the years ended December 31, 2008, 2007, 2006, and 2005, as required by s.
13.94 (1)(de), Wis. Stats. The Fund provides low-cost life insurance policies to Wisconsin residents, is self-funded through premiums and investment earnings, and is administered by the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance. As of December 31, 2008, it had 28,195 life insurance policies in effect, and $214.8 million of life insurance in force.
The Fund operates under specific statutory restrictions, including a prohibition on employing insurance agents and a limitation on coverage of $10,000 to any insured person. The Fund prepares its financial statements in accordance with insurance accounting practices prescribed by the Commissioner of Insurance. We found its financial statements to be fairly presented in accordance with these accounting practices.
State statutes require the Fund's net profits to be distributed annually as policy dividends, except that the Fund's surplus must be maintained at a level between 7.0 and 10.0 percent of assets to ensure benefits can be paid as they are claimed. However, as we reported previously (report 05-17), the Fund's surplus-to-assets ratio was only 2.7 percent as of December 31, 2004, which was below the statutorily required minimum. The Office of the Commissioner of Insurance worked with the Fund's actuary and implemented several changes, including a new dividend policy, beginning in 2005. As a result, the surplus-to-assets ratio was 7.3 percent and within the statutorily required range as of December 31, 2008.
In a separate letter dated December 3, 2009, we make recommendations to improve the Fund's financial reporting, reconcile cash recorded in the State's central accounting system to cash recorded in the Fund's general ledger, and improve its security over computer systems and data.
We appreciate the courtesy and cooperation extended to us by the staff of the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance in completing our audit.
Respectfully submitted,
Janice Mueller
State Auditor
