State of Wisconsin
Office of the Governor
Madison
June 1, 1997
To the Honorable, the Assembly:
RE: Stripper XVIII 1998 Oil Overcharge Plan
I am pleased to transmit my Stripper XVIII 1998 Oil Overcharge Plan for consideration by the Joint Committee on Finance (JCF) at the next s.13.10, Wis. Stats., meeting. As required by s.
14.065, Wis. Stats., I am also forwarding a copy to the Chief Clerk of the Senate.
This plan allocates $1,590,426 ($745,244 of new Stripper monies and $845,182 of reallocated monies); helps low income citizens stay warm; develops Wisconsin's renewable energy resource base; makes our buildings and homes more energy efficient; protects the environment; and, educates our children regarding the wise use of energy. This Plan also modifies the Stripper XIV Small Business Energy Efficiency Program to make it accessible to more small businesses.
In addition to the JCF's action, the U.S. Department of Energy must also conduct a review to determine if Wisconsin's Plan conforms with Federal requirements and established definitions of restitution. The Department of Administration staff will be available to provide additional information that may be required. I appreciate your usual support.
Sincerely,
Tommy G. Thompson
Governor
Referred to committee on Utilities Oversight.
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Agency Reports
State of Wisconsin
Claims Board
Madison
May 27, 1997
To the Honorable, the Assembly:
Enclosed is the report of the State Claims Board covering the claims heard on May 14, 1998.
The amounts recommended for payment under $5,000 on claims included in this report have, under the provision of s.
16.007, Stats., been paid directly by the Board.
The Board is preparing the bill(s) on the recommended award(s) over $5,000, if any, and will submit such to the Joint Finance Committee for legislative introduction.
This report is for the information of the Legislature. The Board would appreciate your acceptance and spreading of it upon the Journal to inform the members of the Legislature.
Sincerely,
Edward D. Main
Secretary, Claims Board
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State of Wisconsin
Legislative Audit Bureau
Madison
June 2, 1997
To the Honorable, the Legislature:
As directed by the Joint Legislative Audit Committee, we have completed a review of differing approaches to reading instruction, a survey of the approaches used by Wisconsin classroom teachers and school district curriculum professionals, and an evaluation of the process used to develop the curriculum guides published by the Department of Public Instruction for districts to use when creating their reading curricula.
Reading instruction is a contentious topic, as school districts debate the merits of phonics instruction-a skills approach that emphasizes letter and sound combinations within words-versus whole language instruction-an approach that teaches words within the context of literature. Because there is research supporting both skills and context approaches to reading instruction, education professionals nationwide are beginning to support the use of a mixture of approaches that combines the strengths of phonics and whole language instruction.
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We surveyed kindergarten through third-grade classroom teachers in Wisconsin and found that over 90 percent use a mixture of approaches to reading instruction, although approximately 40.6 percent of surveyed teachers reported a skills (phonics-related) emphasis, 33.1 percent reported a context (whole language-related) emphasis, and 20.8 percent reported no specific emphasis. Despite reporting different emphases within their approaches to reading instruction, teachers and districts reported little difference in the types of instructional resources and techniques they use in the classroom.
We also reviewed the task force process that the Department used to develop its Guides to Curriculum Planning. The process used to determine content for the 1985 Guide to Curriculum Planning in Reading allowed for information about phonics and whole language instruction to be included, although this issue was not as contentious when the guide was being developed. The reading guide is now outdated, and we include a recommendation for how the Department can expand participation in the task force process to ensure reading instruction issues are comprehensively addressed in a future revision.
We appreciate the courtesy and cooperation extended to us by the Department of Public Instruction. The Department's response is Appendix III.
Respectfully submitted,
Janice Mueller
State Auditor
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State of Wisconsin
Legislative Audit Bureau
Madison
June 9, 1997
To the Honorable, the Assembly:
As required by s.
13.94(1)(de), Wis. Stats., we have completed a financial audit of the Patients Compensation Fund, which provides medical malpractice insurance coverage in excess of statutory minimums to Wisconsin's health care providers. The Fund is governed by the Board of Governors of the Patients Compensation Fund/Health Care Liability Insurance Plan and administered by the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance. We were able to provide an unqualified auditor's report on the Fund's financial statements for the fiscal years ending June 30, 1997, 1996, and 1995.
Prior audit reports discussed concerns regarding the Fund's accounting deficit. Actions by the governing board and the Legislature, as well as recent favorable claims loss experience, have caused the deficit to decrease from $67.8 million as of June 30, 1994, to $44.1 million as of June 30, 1997. At the same time, assets of the Fund increased from $271 million to $377 million. Although the deficit appears to be a less-serious concern than it had been in earlier years, the Board will need to continue to monitor the Fund's financial status to ensure it addresses any concerns that might arise in the future. For example, the Legislature recently passed
1997 Wisconsin Act 89, which increases the cap on damages for wrongful death from $150,000 to $350,000 for adults and $500,000 for children and allows minor siblings to be plaintiffs. According to the Fund's actuaries, the change in law is not expected to have a material effect on the Fund because only future claims will be affected, and it appears the new provisions would not significantly increase the amounts paid for individual claims.
The Fund has complied with our prior audit recommendation to resolve a potential conflict of interest regarding the purchasing of claim settlement annuities. In addition, we found the Fund's internal controls to be adequate overall. However, we are issuing a management letter to the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance to suggest improvement in controlling access to the Fund's computer system and in technical accounting matters.
We appreciate the courtesy and cooperation extended to us by the staff of the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance and the contractors who help administer the Patients Compensation Fund program.
Respectfully submitted,
Janice Mueller
State Auditor
