Forestry and endangered resources
This bill authorizes DNR to award grants to owners of private forest land that
is not used commercially to produce timber for the purpose of developing and
implementing land management plans. The bill requires that the plans incorporate
certain practices that will protect and enhance the natural resources on the forest
land.
This bill requires DNR to award grants to cities, villages, towns, counties and
fire fighting organizations for fire fighting services. The grants may pay up to 50%
of the cost of acquiring fire fighting supplies, equipment and vehicles. Only entities
that agree to assist DNR in fighting forest fires are eligible for these grants.
This bill appropriates moneys received by the state from the sale or lease of
resources, such as timber, from land located in the state natural areas system to fund
the endangered resources program. The purposes of the endangered resources
program are to improve habitats for endangered or threatened species and to provide
wildlife management services.
Under current law, DNR may charge a fee for providing information to 3rd
parties under the natural heritage inventory program, under which natural areas
and endangered animals and plants are inventoried and monitored. The fee is
deposited in the conservation fund. This bill appropriates revenues from these fees
to fund the endangered resources program and the natural heritage inventory
program.
Other natural resources
Current law prohibits trespassing. Generally, a person is guilty of trespassing
if he or she does any of the following: 1) enters or remains on any land of another after
having been notified (by "no trespassing" signs or otherwise) not to enter or remain
on the land; or 2) enters enclosed, cultivated or undeveloped land of another, or any
land of another that is occupied by a structure used for agricultural purposes,
without the express or implied consent of the owner or occupant, except that, with
respect to undeveloped private land that abuts a parcel of land that is owned by the
United States, this state or a local governmental unit, a person is guilty of
trespassing only if he or she enters or remains on such land after having been notified
(by "no trespassing" signs or otherwise) not to enter or remain on the land. A person
who is found guilty of trespassing is subject to a forfeiture (civil penalty) of not more
than $1,000.
This bill reduces the penalty for trespassing to a forfeiture of not more than
$500. The bill also provides that, with respect to undeveloped private land that abuts
a parcel of land that is either leased by the United States, this state or a local
governmental unit or subject to a public access requirement, a person is guilty of
trespassing only if he or she enters or remains on such land after having been notified
(by "no trespassing" signs or otherwise) not to enter or remain on the land. Under
the bill, a public access requirement is any requirement under a federal, state or local
law that land to which the law applies must be open to public access, including a
requirement that the public have access only for specified purposes (such as
hunting).
Under current law, DNR provides state funding for recreational boating
projects. The Wisconsin waterways commission determines which projects receive
funding. This bill authorizes DNR, with the approval of the Wisconsin waterways
commission, to pay 100% of the costs of acquiring land for and constructing a harbor
of refuge along the Lake Superior shoreline.
Under current law, DNR provides state funding to construct recreational
boating facilities. This bill requires that DNR do all the following:
1. Provide up to $1,200,000 to Adams County for boat launching facilities and
a harbor of refuge on Petenwell Lake.
2. Provide up to $750,000 to Fond du Lac County for boat launching facilities
at Columbia County Park on Lake Winnebago.
3. Provide up to $700,000 to Calumet County to complete Stockbridge Harbor
on Lake Winnebago.
4. Spend up to $500,000 to construct breakwater structures in Lake Winnebago
at the entrance to High Cliff State Park harbor for boater safety.
This bill requires DNR and the department of transportation to jointly develop
a plan to landscape highways in the state, with priority given to southern Wisconsin.
Under current law, DNR is appropriated moneys from the conservation fund to
enable it to receive intra-departmental moneys from vehicle and equipment pools
and spend these moneys for the operation, maintenance, replacement and purchase
of vehicles and equipment. This bill amends this provision to cover information
technology pools. The bill also requires DNR to submit a report to the department
of administration (DOA) no later than January 1, 1998, detailing DNR's proposed
expenditures from this appropriation necessary to conform to any information
technology guidelines and standards established by DOA. In addition, current law
allows a department to expend general purpose revenue from certain specified
appropriations in an amount equal to the depreciated value of equipment financed
under these appropriations. This bill adds the DNR vehicle and equipment pool
appropriation to the list of specified appropriations, so that DNR may expend general
purpose revenue from this appropriation equal to the amount of the depreciated
value of vehicles and equipment financed by the appropriation.
occupational regulation
Under current law, the department of regulation and licensing (DORL) or an
attached examining board or affiliated credentialing board may not issue certain
occupational and professional credentials if an applicant has been arrested for a
pending charge or been convicted, and the circumstances of the charge or conviction
are substantially related to the occupation or profession. This bill provides specific
statutory authority that allows DORL to conduct an investigation to determine
whether an applicant satisfies any of the eligibility requirements for a credential,
including not having such an arrest or conviction record. In addition, DORL may
require an applicant to provide any information that is necessary for the
investigation or to complete forms provided by the federal bureau of investigation
(FBI) or department of justice (DOJ) for the purpose of obtaining information about
his or her arrest or conviction record. DORL must charge an applicant for any fees,
costs or expenses incurred in conducting its investigation.
This bill changes the fees for initial and renewal credentials issued by DORL
or a board for each of the professions, occupations and businesses that DORL or a
board regulates, except for renewal credentials for charitable organizations,
professional geologists, occupational therapy assistants, physical therapists and
social workers.
Current law does not specify a renewal credential fee for real estate business
entity licenses. This bill imposes a renewal credential fee of $70.
Retirement and group insurance
Under current law, all pension plan benefits provided by the department of
employe trust funds (DETF), any retirement system of a 1st class city (currently, only
the city of Milwaukee) and any retirement system established by a county
government (currently, only Milwaukee County) are generally not assignable or
subject to execution, levy, attachment, garnishment or other legal process. This bill
makes any monthly annuity payment by DETF, any retirement system of a 1st class
city or any retirement system established by a county government assignable and
subject to execution, levy, attachment, garnishment and other legal processes that
relate to child support and family or other maintenance support. In addition, the bill
authorizes the department of industry, labor and job development (DILJD) to direct
DETF, any retirement system of a 1st class city, any retirement system established
by a county government or any private pension plan to withhold from any lump sum
payment that may be paid to a person an amount owed by the person for delinquent
support.
Under current law, with one exception, individual personal information in the
records of DETF may not be disclosed.
This bill provides that individual medical information in the records of DETF
may be disclosed only under one of the following conditions:
1. When a disability application or health insurance claim denial is appealed.
2. Under a court order or an order of a hearing examiner duly obtained after
notice to DETF and upon a showing to the court or the hearing examiner that the
information is relevant to a pending court or administrative action.
3. Upon written request, to the employer of a person who applies for a disability
annuity or duty disability benefit or who files a claim for income continuation
insurance or, if the person is a state employe, to the department of administration
for the purpose of managing the state employes' worker's compensation program.
The only individual medical information that may be disclosed is information
contained in the medical records of the person and any documentation submitted to
DETF pursuant to certain applications for disability benefits.
4. Upon written request, to a participant in the Wisconsin retirement system
or his or her designee, but only if the participant's or his or her designee's access to
the individual medical information is not otherwise restricted by law. The only
individual medical information that may be disclosed by DETF is that specifically
identified in the written request.
State government
District attorneys
Under current law, this state pays for the salaries and various benefits for
district attorneys, deputy district attorneys and assistant district attorneys. Among
their other duties, district attorneys may, if the attorney general has declined to do
so, bring a petition under the sexually violent person commitment law seeking the
commitment for involuntary treatment of a person found to be a sexually violent
person.
This bill specifies that 4 assistant district attorney project positions (one each
in Brown, Dane, Marathon and Milwaukee counties) shall be used until June 30,
1999, to provide assistant district attorneys who will file and prosecute petitions
anywhere in this state under the sexually violent person commitment law. The bill
also requires district attorneys to maintain, during the period ending on June 30,
1999, records of the time spent on cases brought under the sexually violent person
commitment law and to report that information to the department of administration
(DOA).
State building program
Currently, with certain limited exceptions, state construction projects that are
estimated to cost more than $30,000 must be publicly advertised and awarded to the
lowest qualified responsible bidder. Projects that are estimated to cost more than
$250,000 must be specifically enumerated in the authorized state building program
as set forth by law. These requirements apply regardless of the funding source for
a project. As work progresses under a contract, the state makes partial payments
to the contractor and if the work is satisfactorily completed, the state pays the
contractor in full.
This bill permits DOA to contract with a qualified contractor for the
performance of an energy conservation audit of any state-owned building, structure
or facility. The contractor must then prepare a report recommending specific
physical modifications to effect future energy savings and determining the minimum
savings that will be realized by the state if the modifications are made. After
receiving the audit report, and subject to approval of the building commission where
required, the bill permits DOA to contract for construction work to be performed by
the contractor on the building, structure or facility, at the contractor's expense, for
the purpose of realizing potential savings of future energy costs identified in the
audit if, in DOA's judgment, the anticipated savings to the state after completion of
the work will enable recovery of the costs of the work within a reasonable period of
time. Any such contract must provide for the state to pay a stated amount, which
must include any financing costs incurred by the contractor. The amount may not
exceed the minimum savings determined under the audit to be realized within the
period specified in the audit. The state makes payments under the contract as the
savings identified in the audit are realized by the state, in the amounts actually
realized, but not to exceed the stated amount.
Under the bill, any such contract must include a provision stating in substance
that the payments under the contract are contingent upon available appropriations.
The bill exempts any such contract from notice and bidding requirements and from
the requirement for enumeration in the authorized state building program.
State employment
Under current law, the administrator of the division of merit recruitment and
selection in the department of employment relations (DER) is responsible for
administering state law relating to the recruitment, appointment, examination and
certification of applicants for positions in the state classified service. Current law
provides that the administrator may delegate any of these functions to an appointing
authority of a state agency, within prescribed standards, if the administrator finds
that the state agency has personnel management capabilities to perform such
functions effectively and has indicated its approval and willingness to accept such
responsibility by written agreement. Current law also provides that if the
administrator determines that a state agency is not performing such delegated
function within prescribed standards, the administrator must withdraw such
delegated function.
This bill provides that, at the request of the board of regents of the University
of Wisconsin (UW) System, the administrator must delegate to the board of regents
any of his or her functions relating to the recruitment, appointment, examination
and certification of applicants for classified, nonprofessional positions in the UW
System. This delegation is not subject to prescribed standards and is not revocable
by the administrator. Any personnel decision made by the board of regents, however,
is subject to appeal to the personnel commission.
Currently, with limited exceptions, any change in the number of full-time
equivalent positions for any state agency must be approved by law, by the legislature
in budget deliberations, by the joint committee on finance (JCF) or by the governor,
depending upon the funding source for the positions. This bill permits the secretary
of administration, at the request of the secretary of employment relations, to
authorize additional temporary positions for any state agency from any funding
source to provide temporary staffing for the purpose of permitting the agency to loan
the staff members to another state agency or to a state agency of another state, an
agency of a foreign government, a federal agency, an institution of higher education
or a local government. The bill does not define "temporary".
Under current law, any department, agency or instrumentality of the state or
institution of higher education or any local government or municipal corporate
agency may participate in an employe interchange program with departments,
agencies or instrumentalities of a foreign government, the federal government,
another state or local government, an institution of higher education, municipal
corporate agencies or other agencies or instrumentalities of this state. Employes of
the sending governmental unit, even though they report for work at the receiving
governmental unit, are still considered employes of the sending governmental unit
during the duration of the interchange. The employes' salaries and benefits are paid
by the sending governmental unit during the duration of the interchange, except that
a receiving governmental unit (except for a department, agency or instrumentality
of the state) may provide supplemental salaries and benefits to the employe during
the duration of the interchange.
This bill provides that a department, agency or instrumentality of the state that
is a receiving governmental unit may also provide supplemental salaries and
benefits to the employe during the duration of the interchange. In addition, the bill
requires the compensation plan to provide for a supplemental salary increase of up
to 10% of an employe's base salary for any employe who participates in the temporary
interchange program, but only if the state agency to which the employe is assigned
during the period of the interchange pays the cost of the supplemental salary
increase. The bill affects only the compensation and conditions of employment of
state employes who are included in collective bargaining units for which
representatives are recognized or certified to the extent allowed under the employes'
collective bargaining agreements.
This bill eliminates certain requirements for making promotional
appointments to positions in the classified service at the UW System. (See
Education, higher education.).
Under current law, the investment board is authorized to provide bonus
compensation to the executive director of the board and other employes of the board
for meritorious performance. This bill provides that an employe is not eligible to
participate in the bonus compensation plan if the employe is hired by the investment
board after the day on which the bill becomes law to perform functions primarily
related to information technology.
State finance
In addition to modifying the amounts of authorized bonding for existing state
bonding programs, this bill authorizes bonding for several new programs including
an educational technology infrastructure loan program. (See Education, Other
educational and cultural agencies), a safe drinking water loan program (see
Environment, Water quality), and a transportation infrastructure bank program
(see Transportation, Transportation aids.).
Under current law, the statutory purpose of the property tax relief fund is to
provide state property tax relief "during the 1997-99 fiscal biennium". This bill
amends the language creating the fund to delete reference to providing tax relief "in
the 1997-99 fiscal biennium". In addition, the bill requires the secretary of
administration to make annual transfers from the property tax relief fund to the
general fund. The amount of each transfer equals the estimated total increase, if any,
in anticipated expenditures from the appropriations for school aids and for the school
levy tax credit from the previous fiscal year to the current fiscal year, not to exceed
the balance of the property tax relief fund. If the secretary of administration
overestimates or underestimates the amount of the increase, an adjustment to
compensate for the overestimation or underestimation in the transfer is made for the
next fiscal year.
Under current law, the governor is generally authorized to accept federal
funding, on behalf of the state, and to designate the state board, commission or
department to administer these funds for the purpose designated by the federal
government. However, when a block grant is made to the state by a federal law
enacted after August 31, 1995, the governor may administer the funds and the state
board, commission or department may encumber the federal funds only if JCF does
not schedule a meeting on the issue within 14 days of being notified by the governor
of the receipt of the funds.
This bill instead provides for this notification and review upon receipt of any
block grant if the secretary of administration determines that the block grant is not
reflected in the estimates of federal revenues contained in the biennial budget act for
the fiscal year in which the moneys contained in the grant will be encumbered.
Under current law, state operating notes may be issued only upon submission
of a request by DOA to the building commission. If DOA determines that a deficiency
will occur in the funds of the state that will not permit the state to meet its operating
obligations in a timely manner, DOA may prepare a request for the issuance of
operating notes and, after approval by JCF, may submit the request to the building
commission.
This bill replaces the requirement for JCF approval with a 14-day passive
review process. Under the bill, if DOA proposes to submit a request for the issuance
of operating notes to the building commission, the secretary of administration must
notify JCF in writing of the proposed action. If the cochairpersons of JCF do not
notify the secretary that JCF has scheduled a meeting for the purpose of reviewing
the proposed submission within 14 working days after the date of the secretary's
notification, DOA may submit the request to the building commission as proposed.
If, within 14 working days after the date of the secretary's notification, the
cochairpersons of JCF notify the secretary that JCF has scheduled a meeting for the
purpose of reviewing the proposed submission, DOA may submit the request to the
building commission only upon approval of JCF.
This bill requires the arts board, the department of justice (DOJ), the
department of public instruction, the historical society and the public defender board
to submit a report to the governor and JCF no later than October 1, 1997. Each report
must contain the agency's recommendations on how to allocate a specified
appropriation reduction, resulting from budgetary efficiency measures, among the
agency's sum certain general purpose revenue appropriations.
Under current law, the executive director of the investment board may appoint
one division administrator and investment directors and must appoint a chief
investment officer and all other employes necessary to carry out the functions of the
board. The board must participate in the selection of the chief investment officer and
the investment directors. The executive director of the board also may appoint an
executive assistant.
This bill removes the authority of the executive director to appoint a division
administrator. Instead, the bill authorizes the executive director to appoint a chief
legal counsel, a chief financial officer and a chief risk officer. These positions are
made subject to the state code of ethics for public officials and the employes in these
positions are required to file annual statements of economic interests, as well as
quarterly reports of economic transactions, with the state ethics board. Employes
in these positions receive more liberal vacation and retirement benefits than are
provided to most other nonrepresented state employes.
Also, under current law, the board must appoint an investment director to act
as the assistant director. The assistant director acts in place of the executive director
in his or her absence or disability. This bill allows the board to appoint any of the
senior officers mentioned, as well as any investment director, to the position.
Under current law, the investment board may employ special legal or
investment counsel in any matter arising outside of the scope of its investment
authority. In addition, the board may employ professionals, contractors or other
agents necessary to evaluate or operate any property if a fund managed by the board
has an interest in, or is considering purchasing or lending money based upon the
value of, that property. Expenses incurred by these special legal counsel, special
investment counsel, professionals, contractors or other agents may be charged to the
funds for which their services were provided.
This bill requires the board to submit quarterly reports to DOA detailing all
costs and expenses charged to funds under these provisions. In addition, the bill
prohibits the board from charging a fund for these expenses if the expenses are for
data processing services, information technology and telecommunications services,
accounting services other than actuarial services, or general management services.
Under current law, the division of trust lands and investments is under the
direction and supervision of the board of commissioners of public lands and is
attached for administrative purposes to the office of the state treasurer. This bill
attaches the board to DOA for administrative purposes.
Under current law, the board of commissioners of public lands may exchange
part or all of any parcel of public lands for any other land of approximately equal
value if the board determines that the exchange will contribute to the consolidation
or completion of a block of land, enhance conservation of lands or otherwise be in the
public interest. This bill provides that an exchange is of "approximately equal value"
if the difference in value between the more highly valued land and the less highly
valued land does not exceed 10% of the value of the more highly valued land.
Current law allows the division of trust lands and investments to deduct from
the gross receipts of the state trust funds the necessary expenses incurred in caring
for public lands under the board's supervision. This bill specifically provides that
these expenses may include expenses for reforestation, erosion and insect control,
submerged log monitoring, surveys, appraisals and other land management
practices that serve to protect or enhance the interests of the beneficiaries of the trust
funds.
Under current law, the state reserves to itself title to and ownership of all logs
resting on submerged lands owned by the state. The board of commissioners of public
lands issues permits to persons wishing to raise and remove sunken logs resting on
submerged state lands. The state receives 30% of the appraised market value of the
logs raised under such permits, except that an applicant for a permit may propose
projects for the use of logs raised and for the use of proceeds from logs raised and sold
as an offset to the state's share of the value of the raised logs. The projects must have
demonstrated potential to do 2 or more of the following: 1) increase tourism revenues
in this state; 2) increase employment in this state; or 3) contribute to increased
economic development and activity in this state. The board may, in its judgment,
authorize offsets of up to 100% of value that would otherwise be received by the state.
