19. Natural Resources 1 120,000 120,000 Nonpoint grants and local assistance to the Oneida Nation.
20. Natural Resources 1 109,700 109,700 Management of state fishery resources in off-reservation areas where tribes have treaty-based rights to fish.
21. Natural Resources 81,000 131,000 Mandatory snowmobile education program.
22. Natural Resources 6 100,000 100,000 Payment to Lac du Flambeau Band relating to certain fishing and sports licenses.
23. Natural Resources 1 10,000 10,000 Spearfishing enforcement aids.
24. Natural Resources 0 250,000 Management of an elk reintroduction program.
25. Natural Resources 0 300,000 One-time grant to the Town of Swiss in Burnett County and the St. Croix Band for a drinking water study.
26. Public Instruction 7 198,000 203,000 Alternative schools operating American Indian language and culture education programs.
27. Tourism 4,000,000 4,000,000 Tourism marketing, including grants to nonprofit tourism promotion organizations.
28. University of Wisconsin System 0 0 Ashland full-scale aquaculture demonstration facility: debt service payments and operational costs.
29. Veterans Affairs 66,900 68,000 American Indian services coordinator project position and grants to assist American Indians in obtaining federal and state veterans benefits.
Program Revenue
Department 1999-00 2000-01 Purpose
30. Wisconsin Housing and
Economic Development Auth. $2,500,000 $0 One-time funding to guarantee loans to small businesses located in, or adjacent to, counties with tribal casinos.
31. Workforce Development 350,000 350,000 Vocational rehabilitation services for Native American individuals and tribes or bands.
Total $20,605,700 $22,134,400
1 Would eliminate GPR funding and provide an identical amount of gaming revenue for the same purpose.
2 Would eliminate PR lottery and racing revenue funding and provide tribal gaming revenue in a greater amount for the same purpose.
3 Would eliminate GPR and PR penalty assessment funding and provide gaming revenue in a greater amount for the same purpose.
4 Would increase revenue for fish and wildlife account, possibly holding down fee increases or preventing certain program reductions.
5 Would eliminate GPR and SEG funding and provide an identical amount of gaming revenue for the same purpose.
6 Would supplant SEG funding (fish and wildlife account) currently used for this purpose.
7 Would eliminate GPR funding and provide gaming revenue in a greater amount for the same purpose.
[Bill Sections: 546, 547, 3026 and 3027]
2. INDIAN GAMING COMPUTER SYSTEM
PR $1,030,700
Governor: Provide $879,800 in 1999-00 and $150,900 in 2000-01 for a computer system to process gaming data provided to the state by tribal casino operations. Under the recently completed state-tribal gaming compact amendments, the tribes agree, with some variations, to provide the state with electronic access to certain slot machine accounting data (as an alternative to on-site physical access allowed under the original compacts). The proposed new computer system would be designed for processing this data. The funding would be placed in unallotted reserve, to be released by DOA, pending a final determination of cost.
3. TRIBAL GAMING REGULATORY POSITIONS
Funding Positions
PR $468,400 5.00
Governor: Provide $242,800 and 5.0 positions in 1999-00 and $225,600 in 2000-01 for the Office of Indian Gaming. The Office of Indian Gaming is responsible for state regulatory activities under the state-tribal gaming compacts. The positions provided would include 1.0 financial supervisor position, 2.0 auditor positions, 1.0 regulation compliance investigator position and 1.0 program assistant position. The funding would also provide $30,000 in one-time funding in 1999-00 to contract with a private investigator to assist with a backlog of vendor background investigations. Base funding for DOA’s Indian gaming appropriation is $913,100 with 10.0 positions authorized.
4. COMPULSIVE GAMBLING AWARENESS CAMPAIGNS
PR $372,000
Governor: Provide $186,000 annually for compulsive gambling awareness campaigns, as follows: (a) provide $200,000 annually from tribal gaming revenue; and (b) delete $14,000 annually currently provided from pari-mutuel racing revenue. Under current law, the Department of Health and Family Services (DHFS) is provided $100,000 annually ($50,000 from tribal gaming, $14,000 from pari-mutuel racing and $36,000 from the state lottery) for grants to one or more individuals or organizations in the private sector to conduct compulsive gambling awareness campaigns. Under the bill, payments from pari-mutuel racing and the state lottery for this purpose would be eliminated and DHFS would receive a total $250,000 annually from tribal gaming revenue for compulsive gambling awareness campaign grants.
[Bill Sections: 455, 545 and 546 thru 548]
5. PARI-MUTUEL RACING POSITIONS
Funding Positions
PR - $258,800 - 3.00
Governor: Delete $129,400 and 3.0 positions annually from the general program operations for pari-mutuel racing regulation. The positions include a program assistant, a senior accountant and a regulation compliance investigator. The program assistant and accountant positions are currently vacant. The incumbent investigator would be transferred to the general program operations appropriation for Indian gaming as one of the new positions proposed for tribal gaming regulation.
6. POSITION ALLOCATIONS
Governor: Delete $150,500 PR and 2.75 PR positions annually from the general program operations for pari-mutuel racing and provide $87,900 PR and 1.75 PR positions annually for charitable gaming regulation and $62,600 PR and 1.0 PR position annually for Indian gaming regulation. The transfer of funding for the positions is in response to an audit recommendation by the Legislative Audit Bureau that DOA develop an equitable process for allocating administrative costs among all Division of Gaming programs and to seek expenditure authority from the Legislature to pay these allocated costs from the program operations funding for racing, charitable gaming and Indian gaming.
General Statutory Provisions
1. AUTHORITY TO TRANSFER POSITIONS WITHIN DOA WITHOUT LEGISLATIVE APPROVAL
Governor: Authorize DOA to change, without seeking legislative approval, the funding source for any positions funded in whole or in part from program revenue, within any of DOA's program revenue appropriations except for those listed under "Committees and Interstate Bodies," "Attached Divisions, Boards, Councils and Commissions," "Office of Justice Assistance" and "College Tuition Prepayment Program," which are all entities attached to DOA for administrative purposes except for the College Tuition Prepayment Program. Affected positions would include classified as well as unclassified positions and full or part-time positions. This authority would be available during the period from the effective date of the budget to June 30, 2001, or on the date of publication of the 2001-03 budget, whichever is later. During this period, DOA would be required only to report quarterly to the Co-chairs of the Joint Committee on Finance concerning any position changes made during the previous quarter under this authority. The reports would be required to include, for each position, the position type, and the appropriations between what each position was shifted. Although the authority to shift positions in this manner without legislative approval would expire upon enactment of the next biennial budget, all position changes made during the period would remain in effect after the period of authorization expires.
In general, under current law, program revenue positions may only be created, abolished, or transferred to another funding source if authorized by: (a) the Legislature by law or in the budget; (b) the Joint Committee on Finance under ss. 13.10 or 16.515; or (c) for positions funded from federal funds the Governor may act without approval of the Legislature.
There are, in addition, two other special exceptions provided. One exception allows the UW Board of Regents to unilaterally change the number of positions authorized for the UW System--but only for positions funded from certain program revenue or federal revenue accounts. A second exception allows the UW Hospital and Clinics Board to unilaterally change the number of positions authorized for the Board funded from program revenues. The UW Board of Regents and the UW Hospitals and Clinics Board are required to report quarterly to the Department of Administration and Joint Committee on Finance on position changes made under these provisions.
[Bill Sections: 72 thru 75]
2. EXPANSION OF MASTER LEASE PROGRAM
Governor: Amend current law regarding the state master lease program as follows:
Expand basic authority regulating the use of master leases. Modify current law to allow DOA to enter into a master lease to obtain property or services, rather than for the lease of goods or the provision of services. Specify that a master lease may not be used to obtain a facility for use or occupancy by the state, a state agency, or any other instrument of the state or to obtain an internal improvement. Broaden the authority of DOA to enter varied financing agreements, which the Department determines are necessary to facilitate the use of a master lease, and repeal the seven specific financing tools currently identified in the statute (liquidity facilities, re-marketing or dealer agreements, letters of credit, insurance policies, interest rate guarantees, reimbursements and indexing agreements). Exempt master leases from the statutory requirements governing contractual services and lowest responsible bidder requirements. Lastly, clarify the uniform commercial code exemption for master leases from the requirement to file a perfect security interest with Department of Financial Institutions (DFI). DOA is directed to record and preserve the record of perfect interest throughout the master lease and language is included that clarifies that master leases have priority of interest over conflicting interest of an encumbrancer or owner of the real estate.
Under current law, the master lease program may be used for the lease of goods or the provision of services on behalf of one or more state agencies. The types of financing are enumerated in the statutes. Under current law the fiscal agent services are exempt from the requirements governing contractual services and lowest responsible bidder requirements; but the master lease contracts are not. The current process of perfecting security interest is necessary to determine the order of ownership of a property dispute. This is normally done by filing a notice of security interest with DFI. Master leases are currently exempt form the uniform commercial code and DOA may grant a security interest rather than DFI.
Municipalities. Authorize the use of state master leases for municipalities and create an appropriation to expend monies received from municipalities to make state master lease payments. Provide that use of a master lease by a municipality would be restricted to obtaining property or services related to public safety functions of the municipality. Require that when DOA uses a master lease on behalf of a municipality, the Department is required to enter into an installment sales contract with the municipality to obtain any property or service. Specify that the municipality shall issue a general obligation promissory note to DOA as security for the property or services obtained under the master lease. In addition, stipulate that a state agency's ability to use a master lease may not be dependent upon payment by a municipality unless the obligation of the municipality constitutes a general obligation.
The master lease program cannot currently be used to finance municipal purchases.
[Bill Sections: 93 thru 101, 515 and 2819 thru 2822]
3. FINANCING OF ENERGY CONSERVATION CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS
Governor: Modify current law regarding DOA's energy conservation audits and construction projects program to newly allow construction work under this program to be initially financed by the state.
