Referred to committee on Criminal Justice and Corrections.
__________________
State of Wisconsin
Office of the Commissioner of Insurance
Madison
July, 1996
To the Honorable, the Legislature:
Pursuant to the requirements of section 153.20, Wis. Stats., we are pleased to submit to the Governor and the Legislature Uncompensated Health Care, Wisconsin Hospitals, FY 1995. This report , prepared by the Office of Health Care Information, sets forth the total charges for charity care, bad debt, and total uncompensated health care for hospital fiscal year 1995; the projected total charges for hospital fiscal year 1995; and the projected number of patients who will receive uncompensated health care in hospital fiscal year 1996.
The information contained in this report was obtained from data submitted by Wisconsin hospitals on the annual FY 1995 Hospital Uncompensated Health Care Plan and their annual FY 1995 Hospital Fiscal Survey.
Sincerely,
Josephine W. Musser
Commissioner of Insurance
Referred to committee on Health.
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Agency Reports
State of Wisconsin
Department of Corrections
Madison
September 1, 1996
To the Honorable, the Assembly:
I am pleased to provide you with the first annual report for the Bureau of Correctional Enterprises. The report highlights the accomplishments of the Prison Industries, Correctional Farms and Institutional Work Projects for fiscal year 1996.
Beyond that I believe the reader will obtain a better understanding of the Mission and Goals of our organization. The Governor and Secretary have designated work as a critical part of their correctional program. The Bureau's "reason for being" is to provide work experience and training to offenders. This report reflects our efforts to meet the expectations of our leaders.
The first annual report is totally a product of Bureau staff. The articles, data, pictures, art work and printing were produced entirely by staff of the Bureau. I thank them for an excellent product.
Sincerely,
Steve Kronzer, Director
Bureau of Correctional Enterprises
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State of Wisconsin
Investment Board
Madison
October 4, 1996
To the Honorable, the Legislature:
Section
25.17(14r) of the Statutes, as created by
1995 Wisconsin Act 274, requires that the State of Wisconsin Investment Board (SWIB) submit a report to the Joint Committee on Audit, Joint Committee on Finance, and Chief Clerks of each House summarizing any change in the Board's investment policies, upon adoption of the change.
On October 3, 1996, the Board of Trustees approved a change to the investment guidelines for our Real Estate portfolios. The changes are highlighted on the attached copy of the guidelines. Additions to the guidelines are and deletions are stricken.
SWIB manages over $1.3 billion in real estate assets for the Fixed Trust Fund of the Wisconsin Retirement System. The guidelines for real estate investments have been modified in three ways:
A1215
1.
Statement of General Goals and Objectives (page 3).
The new guidelines establish that the purpose of the real estate program is prudent investment to create a diversified portfolio of high quality assets which will enhance long-term investment performance, generate attractive risk-adjusted returns and diversify SWIB's asset base. Language in the previous guidelines specified that SWIB should "retain control over major investment and management decisions." This language has been deleted because it does not reflect the risk in an investment and is not relevant to current industry practice.
2. New Definition of Core and Non-Core Assets (page 5). SWIB's real estate investments are managed in two portfolios. The Core portfolio was previously defined to include properties which offered relatively predictable rates of return with minimal levels of risk, and for which SWIB retained discretion (control) over major decisions. The Non-Core portfolio was previously defined to include properties which produced increased rates of return commensurate with additional levels of risk, including investments in which SWIB delegated authority to outside managers.
The new definitions emphasize the nature of the underlying investments in each portfolio. Core investments have relatively stable and predictable income returns, come from four major property types, and will likely be held for more than three years. Non-Core investments have a higher risk profile and greater potential for appreciation. The amount of manager discretion no longer affects the classification of a property as Core or Non-Core. These changes were made at the request of the Board's Real Estate Committee so that the definitions correlate more with the degree of risk in the properties.
3. Allocation Between Core and Non-Core Assets (
page 6). Changed in definitions increased the share of assets classified as Core from 66.6% to 74.3%. The Non-Core share decreased accordingly from 33.4% to 25.7%. The minimum allocation was reduced from 75% to 65% for the Core portfolio and increased from 25% to 35% for the Non-Core portfolio because of the current state of the real estate market. There are many investment products classified as Non-Core that offer substantial risk-adjusted returns to SWIB.
The new guidelines also provide authority to staff to seek approval from the Real Estate Committee of the Board of Trustees to exceed the allocations limits in order to take advantage of opportunities in the market. Typically, this approval would be requested as part of our annual strategic planning process. In light of the extraordinary opportunities in the market for the coming year, the Board has approved an allocation of 40% to Non-Core assets. The Real Estate Committee must approve the acquisition of Non-Core investments.
These changes were made to more accurately reflect the objectives and risk profile of the real estate portfolios. SWIB's real estate consultant (Institutional Property Consultants) has confirmed that the changes are consistent with industry practice.
Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions about this item.
Sincerely,
Patricia Lipton
Executive Director, SWIB
