Wednesday, December 10, 1997
Ninety-Third Regular Session
The Chief Clerk makes the following entries under the above date.
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Read and referred:
Senate Joint Resolution 38
Relating to: requiring local approval of certain local taxes and charges (first consideration).
By
Senators
Plache, Moen and Roessler; cosponsored by Representatives Grothman, J. Lehman, Sykora, Musser, Plouff, Vander Loop, Springer, Skindrud, R. Young, F. Lasee, Schafer, Olsen, Ladwig and Porter.
Read first and reffered to committee on Economic Development, Housing and Government Operations.
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Read first time and referred:
Senate Bill 374
Relating to: indexing the factors of the formula that is used to calculate the utility component of the shared revenue payments.
By
Senators
Wirch, Rude, Plache, Moen and Roessler; cosponsored by Representatives Steinbrink, Springer, Kreuser, Porter, J. Lehman, F. Lasee, Hutchison, Kaufert, Kreibich, Johnsrud, Huber, Plouff and Otte.
To committee on Economic Development, Housing and Government Operations.
Senate Bill 375
Relating to: point-of-service coverage options, requirements for and certification of health care plans and utilization review programs, prohibiting certain employment terminations, prohibiting requiring prior authorization for emergency services and granting rule-making authority.
By
Senators
Welch, Rosenzweig, Roessler, Darling and C. Potter; cosponsored by Representatives Urban, Hasenohrl, Owens, Sykora, Wasserman, Gunderson, Ladwig, Porter, Lorge, Bock, J. Lehman, Robson, Goetsch, Brandemuehl, Vrakas, Musser, Baldwin and Ott.
To committee on Health, Human Services, Aging, Corrections, Veterans and Military Affairs.
Senate Bill 376
Relating to: technical college for certain Wisconsin works participants.
By
Senators
Jauch, Moen and Moore; cosponsored by Representatives Plouff, Bock, Notestein, Boyle, Black, R. Young, Huber, L. Young, Staskunas, Turner, Gronemus, J. Lehman and Cullen.
To committee on Education.
Senate Bill 377
Relating to: requiring physicians to report injuries to, and deaths of, minors that they suspect are caused by articles intended for use by minors and requiring the secretary of agriculture, trade and consumer protection to publicize dangers created by such articles.
By
Senators
Decker, Clausing, Wirch and Roessler; cosponsored by Representatives Springer, Ott, Ourada, Huber, Ryba, Riley, Bock, Plale, R. Young, Notestein, Boyle, L. Young, Robson, Hasenohrl, Sykora, Kelso and Plouff.
To committee on Judiciary, Campaign Finance Reform and Consumer Affairs.
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State of Wisconsin
Legislative Council
October 30, 1997
The Honorable, The Senate:
I am pleased to transmit to you the following reports to the 1997 Legislature on legislation introduced by the Joint Legislative Council:
RL 97-4 Legislation on Adoption Laws, Adoption Assistance and Long-Term Kinship Care
(1997 Assembly Bills 600, 601 and 602)
RL 97-5 Legislation on Teacher Preparation, Licensure and Regulation
(1997 Senate Bill 364)
I would appreciate your including this letter in the Journal for the information of the membership. Additional copies of these reports are available,at the Legislative Council Staff Offices, One East Main Street, Suite 401, or from our web page at
www.legis.state.wi.us/lc/jlcrecs.html.
Sincerely,
David J. Stute
Director
State of Wisconsin
Legislative Audit Bureau
December 4, 1997
The Honorable, The Legislature:
S370
We have completed an evaluation of consumer protection programs administered by the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) and the Department of Justice (DOJ), as directed by the Joint Legislative Audit Committee.
1995 Wisconsin Act 27 consolidated most consumer protection activities in DATCP effective July 1, 1996, but DOJ retains responsibility for enforcing laws related to telecommunication and deceptive advertising and for litigating cases brought to it by DATCP and others. In fiscal year (FY) 1996-97, DATCP expenditures for consumer protection totaled an estimated $3.9 million. During the same period, DOJ expenditures for this purpose totaled an estimated $742,000.
DATCP and DOJ have different approaches to delivering consumer protection services. DATCP emphasizes providing information to assist consumers in resolving their complaints independently. If, however, disputes involve alleged illegal activities, DATCP emphasizes administrative actions such as mediation and warnings to businesses, an approach that has meant fewer complaints are resolved through court action. DOJ emphasizes strong enforcement action to halt illegal practices and recover financial losses on behalf of consumers. DOJ is concerned DATCP is not aggressively investigating and referring for court action telemarketing and other scams perpetrated by out-of-state businesses against Wisconsin consumers. In FY 1996-97, less than 5 percent of the investigations initiated by DATCP were in business areas for which DOJ had exclusive responsibilities before consolidation. Instead, more than 68 percent of DATCP's investigations were in six business activities, such as home repair, that have always been DATCP's responsibility. Each agency believes its own approach is most effective, but both need to do more to measure the effectiveness of their programs.
We attempted to measure the level of consumer satisfaction with state consumer protection programs by surveying 1,000 randomly selected consumers who filed complaints between October 1995 and September 1996. We found no significant difference in the level of satisfaction between those individuals filing complaints with DATCP and those filing with DOJ.
We appreciate the courtesy and cooperation extended to us by officials of both agencies. Responses from DATCP and DOJ are Appendix IV and Appendix V, respectively.
Sincerely,
Dale Cattanach
State Auditor
State of Wisconsin
Legislative Audit Bureau
December 4, 1997
The Honorable, The Legislature:
We have completed an evaluation of the Department of Health and Family Services' handling of complaints of abuse, neglect, or theft by certified nurse aides, as requested by the Joint Legislative Audit Committee. These aides provide routine care to nursing home residents and recipients of other health care services. Since 1992, the Department has had responsibility for investigating complaints of nurse aide misconduct to determine whether evidence shows "willful and wanton" misconduct, which the Department has found in 439 cases. Notation of such misconduct on a registry prevents the individual's future employment as a nurse aide by any nursing home in the state that receives federal reimbursement. Nurse aides are allowed to continue employment until cases are resolved.
The federal government requires the "timely review and swift investigation" of such complaints, and Wisconsin Administrative Code directs completion within 60 days of filing. However, of the 1,918 complaints investigated, the Department has resolved only 4.2 percent within 60 days; average disposition exceeded 11 months. By January 1997, the backlog of cases pending had reached 477.
