January 26, 1998
Representative Joan Spillner
Room 21, State Capitol
Madison, WI 53702
Dear Joan:
As Assembly Speaker, it is my pleasure to appoint you as a member of the Mandates Committee. You will be filling the position recently vacated by Representative Gard. This appointment is effective immediately.
Thank you for your service.
Sincerely,
Scott R. Jensen
Assembly Speaker
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Communications
State of Wisconsin
Legislative Council Staff
Madison
February 20, 1998
Mr. Charles R. Sanders
Assembly Chief Clerk
1 East Main Street, Suite 402
Madison, WI 53702
Dear Charlie:
Enclosed is a copy of the 1997 Annual Report on the Legislative Council Rules Clearinghouse, submitted to the Legislature pursuant to s. 227.15(5), Stats. Copies have been distributed to the offices of each member of the Legislature.
The report covers the 18th full calendar year of operation of the Rules Clearinghouse. I trust that it will be found to be informative.
Sincerely,
David J. Stute
Director
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Referral of Agency Reports
State of Wisconsin
Office of the Commissioner of Insurance
Madison
October 1997
To the Honorable, the Legislature:
Pursuant to section 153.10(1), Wis. Stats., we are pleased to submit to the Governor and to the Legislature the seventh annual Health Care Data Report. This report is based on hospital inpatient discharge data reported to the Office of health Care Information by all operating general medical-surgical and specialty hospitals in Wisconsin from January through December 1995. It also contains selected ambulatory surgery utilization and charge data from general medical-surgical hospitals and freestanding ambulatory surgery centers in Wisconsin during the same period.
This report fulfills the statutory requirement to report "in a manner that permits comparisons among hospitals ... the charges for up to 100 health care services or diagnostic-related groups selected by the office."
Sincerely,
Josephine W. Musser
Commissioner of Insurance
Barbara A. Rudolph, PhD.,
Deputy Director, OHCI
Referred to committee on Health.
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DATE: February 11, 1998

TO: Charles Sanders
Assembly Chief Clerk

FROM: Katherine C. Lyall, President
The University of Wisconsin System

RE: 1998 Salary Group/Range Assignment Report
Required under Section 20.923(5), Wis. Stats.
Section 20.923(5), Wis. Stats., requires that the Board of Regents assign specified titled positions to salary ranges in whatever manner the board determines. The board is required to file a report annually with the Governor and Legislature.
The board has directed that all positions referenced in s. 20.923(5) be assigned to either a State Executive Salary Group or to a UW System salary range based on the following assignment criteria:
I. Positions subject to State Executive Salary Group Assignment:
A. All positions referenced in s. 20.923(5) which carry the following titles regardless of annual salary:
Associate Vice Presidents
Assistant Vice Presidents
Associate Chancellors
Vice Chancellors not designated in s. 20.923(4m)
Associate Vice Chancellors
Assistant Vice Chancellors
Assistant Chancellors
B. All positions carrying the director or associate director title with over 50 percent of their activities coded as physical plant, general operations and services, and auxiliary enterprises whose fiscal year annual salary rate exceeds the maximum of pay range 1-17 (1997-98 maximum is $61,984) of the general non-represented pay schedule #1.
II. Positions subject to UWS Salary Range Assignment:
A597 All directors or associate directors with over 50 percent of their position assigned to an enumerated activity code in the statute whose annual salary does not exceed the maximum of pay range 1-17.
Part A of the attached report designates those positions assigned to State Executive Salary Groups and Part B provides the minimum and maximum for those positions assigned to a UWS Salary Range. The report is dated January 1, 1998 and serves to fulfill this calendar year's reporting requirement.
Referred to committee on Colleges and Universities.
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State of Wisconsin
Technical College System Board
Madison
February 11, 1998
To the Honorable, the Assembly:
This letter is to inform you of the Technical College System (WTCS) Board's need for additional time to comply with a new reporting requirement. The 1997-99 state budget (1997 Wisconsin Act 27) included a provision which requires the WTCS Board to submit a report regarding high school pupils attending technical colleges. The report is to be submitted annually to the Legislature and three state agencies (the Departments of Administration, Public Instruction, and Workforce Development) by the third Monday in February. The new statutory provision (s.38.04(21)) is attached.
Another provision in the budget bill (Section 9340(5x)) which relates to the initial applicability of s. 38.04(21) has created some ambiguity as to whether or not the Legislature intended the first report to be submitted by the WTCS Board by February 16, 1998. Nevertheless, the WTCS Board will provide the report this year. However, our agency will need additional time to obtain the necessary data from the 16 technical college districts. We will submit the first report to the Legislature by June 1, 1998.
I apologize for this delay, but I want to assure you that the additional time will improve the accuracy of the data included in the first report. If you have any questions regarding this matter, please contact either me or Dan Clancy at the WTCS Board office.
Sincerely,
Edward Chin
State Director, WTCS
Referred to committee on Colleges and Universities.
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Agency Reports
State of Wisconsin
Department of Health and Family Services
Madison
February 13, 1998
To the Honorable, the Assembly:
The Wisconsin Board on Hunger, in their meeting on January 23, 1998, determined that it would be advantageous to delay the preparation of the annual plan required under provision in 1993 Wisconsin Act 168 until April 1, 1998. The reason for this delay is to allow for the Board to review and examine several key reports that recommend strategies and policy changes to address hunger. The reports to be reviewed include:
* A national report from Second Harvest (which will include extensive data from Southeast Wisconsin).
* A food security indicators report from the Wisconsin Nutrition Project.
* A summary of efforts in sixteen Wisconsin communities participating in the Transforming Anti-Hunger Leadership Project (TAHL), directed by the Hunger Task Force of Milwaukee.
* A demographic analysis by county of indicators suggesting risk of food insecurity prepared by UW-Extension.
* A report regarding emergency food provision in Wisconsin prepared by Wood Communications with support from Miller Brewing.
All of the above reports are available with the exception of the Second Harvest Report which will be released March 10, 1998 - Attachment A. In closing, the Board decided that these reports could form the basis for an analysis of the extent of problems related to food insecurity and provide an improved perspective on the status of hunger in Wisconsin.
Thank you for your continued commitment to Wisconsin families.
Sincerely,
Joseph Leean
Secretary, DHFS
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State of Wisconsin
Legislative Audit Bureau
Madison
February 23, 1998
To the Honorable, the Assembly:
We have completed an evaluation of Menominee County as directed by the Joint Legislative Audit Committee. Menominee County faces unique financial problems because just 1 percent of its land is subject to local property taxes, while nearly all the rest is held in federal trust for the benefit of the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin.
A598 The county's financial condition is poor; its expenditures have exceeded revenues for five of the last seven years, and it ended 1997 with a deficit of approximately $75,684. Although the county's taxable property is mostly lake property and has therefore increased rapidly in value, the total assessed value of $144 million is lowest among all counties. Tax bills paid by county residents are high in comparison to surrounding towns and towns in other counties with lake property, and services such as road maintenance and fire protection provided to county residents are limited. At the same time, the county's high poverty, unemployment, and crime rates place high demands on the human services programs and law enforcement.
If property taxes are to be held to a reasonable level and residents of Menominee County are to be provided even minimally acceptable services, the State may have to provide financial assistance to Menominee County, at least for a time. During that time, the Legislature will need to pursue federal legislation that will cause the federal government to assume greater responsibility for the burdens associated with federal trust lands.
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