STATE OF WISCONSIN
Senate Journal
One-Hundred and First Regular Session
TUESDAY, January 22, 2013
The Chief Clerk makes the following entries dated Friday, January 18, 2013.
Introduction, First Reading, and Reference of Proposals
hist1085Read and referred:
Senate Joint Resolution 4
Relating to: creation of a department of transportation, creation of a transportation fund, and deposit of funds into the transportation fund (second consideration).
By Senators Petrowski, Carpenter, Lazich, Darling, Farrow, Gudex, Harsdorf, Kedzie, Lasee, Leibham, Moulton, Olsen and Schultz; cosponsored by Representatives Ripp, Kahl, Bernier, Bies, Brooks, Czaja, Danou, Doyle, Endsley, Honadel, Jacque, Jorgensen, Kaufert, Kerkman, Kestell, Klenke, LeMahieu, T. Larson, Marklein, Murphy, Mursau, Nerison, Nygren, A. Ott, Petersen, Petryk, Pridemore, Schraa, Smith, Spiros, Stone, Steineke, Strachota, Tauchen, Thiesfeldt, Tittl, Tranel, Weininger, Zepnick and August.
hist1089To committee on Transportation, Public Safety, and Veterans and Military Affairs
Read first time and referred:
hist1092Senate Bill 1
Relating to: regulation of ferrous metallic mining and related activities, procedures for obtaining approvals from the Department of Natural Resources for the construction of utility facilities, making an appropriation, and providing penalties.
By Senators Tiffany, Gudex, Darling, Farrow, Kedzie, Lasee, Lazich, Leibham and Vukmir; cosponsored by Representatives Suder, Honadel, Williams, August, Ballweg, Bernier, Bies, Born, Craig, Czaja, Endsley, Hutton, Jacque, Jagler, Kapenga, Kaufert, Kerkman, Kestell, Kleefisch, Klenke, Knodl, Knudson, Kooyenga, Kramer, Kuglitsch, T. Larson, LeMahieu, Loudenbeck, Murphy, Murtha, Nass, Nygren, A. Ott, J. Ott, Petersen, Petryk, Pridemore, Ripp, Sanfelippo, Schraa, Severson, Spiros, Steineke, Stone, Strachota, Stroebel, Swearingen, Tauchen, Thiesfeldt, Tittl, Vos, Weatherston and Weininger.
hist1093To committee on Workforce Development, Forestry, Mining, and Revenue
_____________
The Chief Clerk makes the following entries under the above date.
Introduction, First Reading, and Reference of Proposals
hist1086Read and referred:
Senate Joint Resolution 5
Relating to: fiscal estimate requirements for bills containing penalty provisions.
By Senators Taylor, T. Cullen, Risser, Carpenter, Lehman and Harris; cosponsored by Representatives Bies, Kahl, Hebl, Johnson, Pasch, Barnes, Kessler, Goyke, Berceau, C. Taylor, Bernard Schaber and Hintz.
hist1098To committee on Government Operations, Public Works, and Telecommunications
Read first time and referred:
hist1087Senate Bill 2
Relating to: the publication and effective dates of acts.
By Senator Grothman.
hist1097To committee on Judiciary and Labor
_____________
Petitions and Communications
State of Wisconsin
Claims Board
December 26, 2012
Enclosed is the report of the State Claims Board covering the claims heard on December 12, 2012. Those claims approved for payment pursuant to the provisions of s. 16.007 and 755.05 Stats., have been paid directly by the Board.
This report is for the information of the Legislature. The
Board would appreciate your acceptance and publication of it in the Journal to inform the members of the Legislature.
Sincerely,
GREGORY D. MURRAY
Secretary
STATE OF WISCONSIN CLAIMS BOARD
The State of Wisconsin Claims Board conducted hearings at the State Capitol Building in Madison, Wisconsin, on December 12, 2012, upon the following claims:
Claimant       Agency         Amount
1 .Marion Lynette Workforce  
Development       $80,000.00
2. William Damon   Innocent Convict     Avery         Compensation     $30,000.00
3. Forest Seaton     Innocent Convict
Shomberg       Compensation     $102,500.00
4. Beth Reeves     Innocent Convict    
Compensation     $161,894.72
5. David R.
Turnpaugh     Innocent Convict  
Compensation     $28,201.20
The following claims were decided without hearings:
Claimant       Agency       Amount
6. Kelle &
Brian Dorn       Health Services     $6,638.25
7. Thomas Barbian   Correction       $37.00
8. Trammel Starks   Corrections       $228.93
9. Antonio D.
Johnson         Corrections       $168.00
The Board Finds:
1. Marion Lynette of Antigo, Wisconsin claims $80,000 for worker’s compensation death benefits, lost hours towards pension earnings, and funeral costs for the claimant’s father, Alvin Tillman. Mr. Tillman was working as a plumber at a jobsite in March 1973 when he collapsed and died. The claimant states that on the day of his death, her father was responsible for carrying 125 lb. sections of pipe and placing them in a ditch. She alleges that two weeks before his death, he told his wife that his supervisors were “trying to kill [him].” The claimant alleges that her father’s physician stated that he did not have a pre-existing heart condition. Upon her father’s death, his wife filed a claim for worker’s compensation death benefits, however, the claim was denied on the grounds that the death was due to a pre-existing heart condition, which was not aggravated by the work Mr. Tillman was performing at the time of his death. The denial of benefits was affirmed by the Department of Labor Industry and Human Relations (DILHR) and again reviewed and denied by Dane County Circuit Court in 1975. The claimant states that she was unaware that the attorney she hired to pursue the worker’s compensation claim had lost his license three times in the past. The claimant points to the fact that the physician who declared her father’s death to be due to a heart attack had never examined him while alive. She believes the court should have therefore given less weight to his testimony than that of her father’s physician, who had stated there was no pre-existing heart condition. The claimant also alleges that several of her father’s co-workers were not truthful at trial because they were afraid of losing their jobs. The claimant believes that her mother did not receive justice and requests payment of this claim.
The Department of Workforce Development (DWD, formerly DILHR) recommends denial of this claim, which has been fully litigated before DILHR and DWD, and reviewed upon appeal. DWD notes that the denial of worker’s compensation benefits was upheld by DILHR in 1973 and Dane County Circuit Court in 1975. DWD points to the circuit court decision, which notes that there was conflicting testimony by two doctors, one testifying that the strenuous work performed by her father contributed to his death and one testifying that the work activities were not unusually strenuous and did not cause his death. The court decision stated that “the long recognized general rule is that where there are conflicts and inconsistencies in the medical testimony this is a matter for the department and not a reviewing court to resolve.” DWD also notes that the claimant filed a new claim with DWD in 1996 alleging her father’s death was due to occupational disease. This claim was dismissed by an administrative law judge in 1997 and that dismissal was upheld by the Labor and Industry Review Commission in 1998. DWD notes that although the claimant’s attorney was disciplined for the handling of probate matters, none of these disciplinary proceedings involved her father’s case and that it appears that Dane County Circuit Court was satisfied that the attorney had vigorously argued Mr. Tillman’s case. DWD believes there is no evidence of negligence by any state agency and no equitable basis for payment of this claim.
The Board concludes there has been an insufficient showing of negligence on the part of the state, its officers, agents or employees and this claim is neither one for which the state is legally liable nor one with the state should assume and pay based on equitable principles.
2. William Damon Avery of Milwaukee, Wisconsin claims $30,000.00 for Innocent Convict Compensation pursuant to § 775.05, Wis. Stats. The claimant states that he served 6 years for a murder that was later connected to Walter Ellis, a Milwaukee man convicted of killing seven prostitutes in Milwaukee over a 21-year period. In February 1998, the body of Maryette Griffen, a drug-addict and prostitute, was found strangled on North 7th Street in Milwaukee. The claimant, who at the time ran a nearby crack house, voluntarily spoke with police about the case. The claimant alleges that he never confessed to the murder and that the police fabricated his confession. The claimant was not originally charged with Griffin’s murder at that time, but he was charged with and convicted of drug dealing and sentenced to 10 years in prison. Later, in 2004, the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office charged him with reckless homicide in Griffin’s death, based on the statements of three prison inmates that they had heard the claimant confess to killing Griffin. The claimant maintained his innocence throughout his trial but was convicted in March 2005 and sentenced to 40 years in prison. The claimant continued to maintain his innocence after his conviction and in 2010 requested DNA testing on evidence from the crime scene. The DNA tests excluded the claimant and matched the profile of Walter Ellis, an accused serial killer. Two of the inmates who had testified against the claimant recanted their testimony, stating that they were coerced by police to testify against the claimant. One of the inmates who recanted, Jeffrey Kimbrough, also stated that the third individual who testified against the claimant (Kimbrough’s cellmate) had told Kimbrough that he was lying about the claimant in order to get a reduced sentence. The claimant was released in May 2010 and his conviction was vacated in September 2010. The claimant requests reimbursement for his wrongful conviction at the statutory rate of $5,000 per year.
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