I am pleased to send you this report on the Future Funding for Recycling in Wisconsin. The report responds to the 1997-99 budget directive to the DNR to look at the alternatives for continuing the funding of recycling programs through the year 2004. Though the report is not due until December 31, 1998, I felt it was important to have this report finished and the alternatives available for discussion at the earliest possible date.
This report was prepared by a work group consisting of DNR and UW-Extension staff. Work group members relied on material prepared for the Legislative Council Special Committee on the Future of Recycling for much of the background for this report. The work group publicized and held a public meeting attended by thirty interested parties and accepted written comments for over six weeks before finalizing their report.
Based on their feedback, it became clear that there was no consensus among the various interested parties about the best approach to take. The work group decided that a reasonable course of action would be to lay out the most viable options and present them to you for consideration. Those options appear under the "Analysis of Alternatives" section.
If you have any comments or questions about this report please direct them to me, Sue Bangert, Director of Waste Management, (608-266-0014), or Kathy Curtner, Director of the Bureau of Community Financial Assistance, (608-266-0860). Thank you.
Sincerely,
George E. Meyer
Secretary, DNR
Referred to committee on Natural Resources.
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A984
State of Wisconsin
Department of Health and Family Services
Madison
October 1, 1998
To the Honorable, the Assembly:
Wisconsin ss.
49.665(6) requires that the Department submit an annual report on enrollment and costs associated with the BadgerCare program. As of this date, the Department of Health and Family Services has not received the federal waivers required for implementation of the BadgerCare program specified in Wisconsin ss.
49.665. The Department is rigorously pursuing the necessary federal approval and is actively engaged in efforts to obtain this approval through either administrative or legislative actions.
Sincerely,
joe leean
Secretary, DHFS
Referred to committee on Education.
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State of Wisconsin
Department of Natural Resources
Department of Administration
Madison
October 1, 1998
To the Honorable, the Assembly:
Attached to this letter is the Environmental Improvement Fund Biennial Finance Plan for the 1999-2001 biennium.
The Environmental Improvement Fund program legislation (s.
281.59(3), Wis. Stats.) requires the Department of Natural Resources and the Department of Administration to submit the first version of the Biennial Finance Plan to the Legislature and to the State Building Commission. The purpose of the plan is to provide information on loan, loan subsidy, and bonding levels for program operations in the 1999-2001 biennium.
If you have any questions regarding the Biennial Finance Plan, please contact Kathryn A. Curtner at 266-0860 or Frank Hoadley at 266-2305.
Sincerely,
Kathryn A. Curtner, Director
Bureau of Community Financial Assistance
Department of Natural Resources
Frank R. Hoadley,
Capital Finance Director
Department of Administration
Referred to committee on Natural Resources.
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State of Wisconsin
TEACH Wisconsin
Madison
October 1, 1998
To the Honorable, the Legislature:
I am writing to report to you the activities of TEACH Wisconsin since its creation on October 14, 1997 under
1997 Act 27, as required by Wis. Stats. s.
44.71(1)(f).
The past year has been an active and exciting one for TEACH Wisconsin and the institutions that benefit from TEACH's programs and funding. Following the passage of
1997 Act 27, the Secretary of Administration and State Superintendent of Public Instruction constructed an interim TEACH staff, consisting of members of the Department of Administration (DOA) staff and Department of Public Instruction (DPI) staff to begin implementing the TEACH Wisconsin programs. These interim staff members worked to recommend initial Board policies, establish contacts with TEACH-eligible institutions and begin implementing the most time-sensitive TEACH programs. Interim staff continued to work with TEACH Wisconsin until the summer of 1998 when they returned to their previous assignments in DPI and DOA.
In January 1998, Governor Thompson appointed the members of the TEACH Board, who conducted their first meeting at the Capitol on January 14, 1998. The members of the Board are:
* Raymond Allen (Chair), Public Member
* Jonathan Barry, UW Board of Regents
* James M. Brown, Public Member
* Mark D. Bugher, Secretary of Administration
* Rodney G. Pasch, Public Member
* Calvin Potter, for State Superintendent John Benson
* L. Anne Reid (Secretary), Wisconsin Technical College System Board
* Darlyann Whitemarsh, Educational Communications Board
* Gus W. Wirth, Jr. (Vice Chair), Public Member
Permanent TEACH staff members were hired during June and July 1998. since the initial meeting, the TEACH Board and staff members have been actively establishing policies and administering the TEACH Wisconsin programs and duties. Attached is a report that provides an overview of the activities and accomplishments of the TEACH Wisconsin program since its creation nearly one year ago.
Thank you for your continued support of TEACH Wisconsin and its goals and duties. Please contact me if you have any questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
Doris J. Hanson
Executive Director
Referred to committee on Education.
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State of Wisconsin
Wisconsin Public Defender
Madison
October 1, 1998
To the Honorable, the Legislature:
A985
Pursuant to
1997 Wis. Act 27, the Office of the State Public Defender (OSPD) submits this report on the time spent providing representation to persons subject to petitions under chapter 980 of the Wisconsin Statutes.
Please advise me if you would like additional information on this topic.
Sincerely,
Nicholas L. Chiarkas
State Public Defender
Referred to committee on Judiciary.
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State of Wisconsin
Director of State Courts
Madison
October 1, 1998
To the Honorable, the Legislature:
Pursuant to s.
758.19(5)(i), Wis. Stats., the information reported to the Director of State Courts under s.
758.19(5)(e), Wis. Stats., by Wisconsin's counties has been compiled and is herein submitted. Under s.
758.19(5)(e), Wis. Stats., each county is required to submit an annual report to the Director of State Courts which provides information on the actual amount expended in the previous calendar year for court costs relating to the circuit court support and the guardian ad litem payment programs.
Sincerely,
J. Denis Moran
Director of State Courts
Referred to committee on Judiciary.
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Agency Reports
State of Wisconsin
Groundwater Coordinating Council
Madison
August, 1998
To the Honorable, the Legislature:
This is the 1998 Groundwater Coordinating Council (GCC) Report to the Legislature. The GCC was formed in 1984 to help state agencies coordinate non-regulatory activities and exchange information on groundwater. The GCC has served as a model for interagency coordination and cooperation among state government officials, the Governor, local government and federal government. It has achieved the distinction of being one of the few groups in the nation to effectively coordinate groundwater activities in its state from an advisory position.
Examples of GCC-coordinated groundwater accomplish- ments by your state agencies during the past year include:
* Staff from the Departments of Natural Resources, Health and Family Services, and Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, and the State Laboratory of Hygiene evaluated and revised language that will be issued with water sample "triazine screen" test results. Before revision, the recommendations didn't acknowledge by-products of atrazine which cannot be detected by this screening test but which have been shown to have the same health effects as atrazine. Review of technical information led to the conclusion that the triazine test should be continued and then revised language should reflect the presence of metabolites. A laboratory that will quantify the metabolites for members of the public was sought out and the new test should be available by the fall of 1998.
* Publication of the updated "Directory of Groundwater Databases" by the DNR in April, 1998. The Directory was revised to be more useful to local government staff. It is available on the DNR's Bureau of Drinking Water and Groundwater web page (
http://www.dnr.state.wi.us/ org/water/dwg/gw/Pubdwnld.HTM). Through its subcommittees, the GCC continued to address other important data management issues as well. Groundwater-related forms were prepared for electronic submittal and progress was made in the integration of well construction data for public water supply wells into an automated format.
We hope you, your staff, and the public will find this report a useful reference in protecting Wisconsin's valuable groundwater resource.
Sincerely,
SUSAN L. SYLVESTER,
Chair, Groundwater Coordinating Council
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State of Wisconsin
Department of Employment Relations
Madison
September 1998
